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About Us

Information

Information - About Us

To know who we are and how we got here. You want an authentic experience, with people that are ethnic to the region. Essentially we are from a long line of family farmers. We have had land in Ta Van for many generations. Being part of the Black Hmong ethnic tribe, land is nearly always passed down to the men in the family. We even get smaller tables to sit at for meal times. Just to get that out of the way, it is what it is.

Me - Ying

Thats me, the main protagonist of the show. Growing up in Ta Van - my birthplace, I followed some friends down to Hanoi when I was old enough as many a young dreamer searching for a better life. The shock from a small village like Ta Van to the capital city Hanoi was huge. It was a struggle for a while for sure.

I found myself doing tours for other companies back then, taking tourists from Hanoi to Sapa, Ha Giang, Cao Bang etc as back then busses were not direct, they were not the most comfortable (not much a/c etc) and you really either needed to speak Hmong or Vietnamese. This is part of what I do today - but this time for myself. To get to Sapa is easy, but Vietnam is still hard to get engaged with locals unless you have a language broker - ie me. I really enjoyed show people around, explaining the culture and making new friends. It really is one of the best jobs.

I got gifted an old laptop by a customer and I taught myself how to use it via youtube. Today I help out my closest family member - my little sister. When you book with us, it’s mostly me and sometimes Sa (my sister) doing the tour.

Now im back in Ta Van (Sapa) as the extended family got a bit bigger with the dragon baby arrivals (2024). We are also doing some home improvements. I am also teaching my immediate family English so there is a lot for me to do.

Sa - My sister

Confusing for westerners is many family members can be called “sister”, however Sa is my actual blood sibling. Her husband is a village elder and works for the Vietnamese government up there which is a hard job. She helps out when she can. Shes just had a new arrival - so she has now three children.

Zaag - My brother

As with things, land passed down to my brother, so he has the farmland that we all help out on. You can see us all in the photos working planting the rice. He is nearly 50 and has been working the land his whole life. He is very much what you would call a traditionalist. He is married and has two children. I am currently helping him learn English. One day he would like to make our house into a homestay as he loves to cook.

So - My neice

They have one child and one on the way. They are currently building a new house together while also working in Sapa town for one of the big hotels. They save hard and work hard. They also help out on the family farm as well, as is the tradition. They occasionally help out on tours when there are too many people in the group for just one guide.