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It’s slippery. The ground is dry and rumbling. The path that we are following seems to always be on the outer edge of the rice terrace. It is not a matter of if I will fall, I know that I will, but I also know that I am lucky to be surrounded by the rice fields of Sapa in north-western Vietnam. Keeping my balance might be a struggle for me, but that’s not the case for our guide – a local Hmong tribe woman who welcomed our small group of trekking enthusiasts to the mountains that she calls home. There is a certain grace to the way this woman moves. She doesn’t seem to test the ground with each step she takes. Every movement is confident, yet humble. She is a leader. A leader of many tourist groups, but more importantly a leader who takes care of her own. Her love for this place and the magic of the endless green hills turned our group of strangers into a real tribe. When I did fall down it wasn’t hard to get back up because I had a team I could count on to pick me up from the ground. The mountains have a way of bringing people together. Maybe it is the beauty of nature, the silence which makes it possible to hear your thoughts and to truly listen to the people around you. It could simply be the physical challenge of climbing up a steep hill together. Whatever it is, it works. People start to open up, they are ready to absorb everything new, interesting and weird. That is what happened to us. We wanted to know everything there was to learn about the lifestyle of the Hmong tribe – how they live, where children go to school, how they make their jewellery and clothes. Our guide was more than happy to answer all the questions. It is part of the service after all – you get a local guide to introduce you to the local life. The thing is many answers you get by observing and analysing what you see. That’s an extra effort on the traveller – it is not a part of the package deal. It is not guaranteed. It is not always comfortable and convenient because not all answers you get to are pretty and adventurous. Some of them are sad and unfair. It’s slippery again. This time the ground is wet and muddy. We are making our way to a bamboo forest by moving in a line behind each other. Trekking today is a challenge. I grab every branch or plant around me to make sure I have something to hold on in case I start falling again. While trying to keep my balance, I notice the local children who joined us for this expedition, moving fast and steadily ahead of me. They have this elegance to their movements even though they take on the muddy road in flip-flops. We, the tourists, were carrying the right equipment but those children were home. They didn’t need any equipment. They knew the mountains, they were the ones helping us move forward. When we reached a flat area and we stopped for a break, each child took out souvenirs from their small, seemingly empty bags and they started trying to sell them to us. Then it hit me – it’s simply business. These children didn’t join us by coincident, they did it by practice. The colourful handmade wallets they offered us were part of the terms and conditions you always agree to by default. We were here to get a glimpse of how the locals live and that’s what it was – just a glimpse. There is more to the story of these children. They are intelligent, fast, enterprising – they have adapted to their reality and hopefully, they have managed to keep a certain aspect of their world away from our cameras. Respect the people who know the mountains and you might be lucky enough to savour their world. It will happen on their timeline – it might take months, even years. It is not part of the package deal and it will never be. But it is definitely worth the wait.