A TREK WITH MAO... Sapa, Vietnam

// Update//

I have recently received a negative review from a traveler, this was the first one I have had so far after numerous positive emails. His experience of the homestay was shared with a group of 25 other people staying with Mao, the place was very noisy, busy and there was some heavy drinking involved. 

I doubt that this is the case most of the time but if you are looking for the quiet, intimate home stay that I describe in this tumblr it might be worth asking Mao in advance if there are many other guests staying/trekking with her during the same dates of your plan.

Thanks, 

Natalie

Hello from Mao! Thanks Zhi Yuan for filming this and sending it back to me. 

// “we spent two wonderful days where we went back many years but our hearts moved forward”//

We met Mao through a spanish travelers forum. We arrived in Sapa and called her. Our idea was to discover Sapa avoiding the usual tourist tours and living it in a more authentic way. Our expectations were fulfilled. It has been great to know this place with Mao and to sleep with his family at home. It was  a gift. 
The welcoming of Mao and her family was amazing, everything was generosity and humility. There, we spent two wonderful days where we went back many years but our hearts moved forward. 
Thank you very much, we wish you all the best. We encourage all the readers to visit Sapa with Mao and her family. 
Aran and Alvaro
Basque Country

// Contact/Reservations//

To contact Mao you just have to call her on her phone: +84 01645371770.
She speaks english, tell her how many of you are coming and how many nights you would like to stay.

This is a video made by other travelers that enjoyed trekking with Mao :) Makes me want to go back there!

// Hello!//

On our way to the Sapa hills we met some fellow travelers that told us about Mao and the possibility of doing a homestay at her village, they gave us her phone number. We got to Sapa early in the morning after a long night train and waited for Mao, we met her in the morning ready and excited for a 5 hours trek to her village.  A short, 32 years old woman with a genuine smile, colourful handmade clothes and silver earrings. She was so feminine and authentic that I immediately felt admiration for her, I liked her as soon as I saw her.

Mao lives in the village of Hau Thao with her husband and sons. They belong to the Hmong ethnic group of Vietnam. Sapa, located in the northwest of Vietnam, near the Chinese border, has become one of the country’s favourite tourist destinations. The actual town is full of guest houses, restaurants and shops but the surroundings are picture perfect. The scenery combines rice fields, mountain views and river valleys.

We stayed with Mao’s family for three days and two nights. We went trekking everyday, had lovely conversations while sitting in small wooden stools next to the fire, ate delicious home cooked-local food and drank some proper shots of ‘happy water’!

Mao expressed her own interest of having an online presence. Currently, she doesn’t get enough tourists to dedicate herself to the homestays so she works in the rice fields. After experiencing a brilliant homestay with her, we would like to support her and invite other travelers to walk to her village and learn about a simple way of life while appreciating the beauty of the area.  You won’t regret it. 

This is also created with the intention of letting other people leave reviews and comments about their experience with Mao, if you want to submit a post (photos, videos, text) you can email me at natyort*gmail*com

Thank you!

Nat

A very special homestay in a Hmong village in the Sapa hills of Vietnam