Zhoun demonstrates the use of a type of leaf that makes a nice drinking cup. Water breaks seemed to occur whenever this plant appeared along the trail.
It is through Zhoun that I arranged this homestay. I was in the lobby of our hotel in Sa Pa researching how to set one up and came across another traveler's web travelogue. I saw Zhoun in a picture there, and then saw the same woman walk down the street and sit down right outside the hotel. I ran out, sat down next to her, and asked if she was Zhoun (pronouced like "june" with a softer j). She wasn't, so we had a delightful but pleasant conversation, and I went back in, discouraged. But the picture was still on the laptop, and I brought it back out with me and asked if it was her. Yes it was! I asked what her name was then, and she said Zhoun (pronouced more like "shone," but very close to "june").
Hue is carrying my tripod. Every photo stop she'd pick it up, insisting on being our four-foot, six-inch porter as well as our guide.
Viet Nam. June 2009.
