I met Lan in Sapa Nov 2005, My girlfriend became good friends with a girl called Khu and her baby Ga, We both thought Khus youngest sister Ah was very naughty but extremely beautiful. Lan became my good friend. She was very informative about the Hmong people and eager to teach some one who would listen. Our last day in Sapa, Lan asked me if i would like to visit her village on the out skirts of Sapa. My girlfriend stayed behind to have all the knots brushed out of her long hair after a long motorbike ride the day before. So off we went. On the way she showed me apple and pair orchards that were dripping with fruit. She showed me a mans garden that grew the orchid flower called Lan which she was named after. Lan showed me Tea fields in the higher parts of the mountains and all the herbs and what medical uses they had for them. While Lan was doing this amazing tour, she was singing these songs. I just had to get some footage and wished I had a better camera. I went back to Sapa in Nov 2006 and saw Lan again but not very long. She is working hard now as a full time Guide for a big hotel, taking groups people on tours into the hills. Now has her own cell phone like a little business-women. Sad in a way to see the western ways slowly taking over her village. We still e-mail alot and she will always be a special little Hmong girl in our harts.
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