Hmong Girls (or Child Exploitation)
May 10th, 2005
We been dropped in front of Mountain View Hotel, right into a group of Hmong girls, which I believed employed by Mountain View Hotel and Royal Hotel, which both of them belonged to a same family. These kids basically persuaded us to stay at either one of these hotels. After they learnt that we’re not going to stay overnight, they started to promote their merchandise, and kept haggling right until we left. It’s a pity that they didn’t go to school, but work as a child labor instead, although this may seemed to be entrepreneurship, but I rather treat them as child exploitation. May be the children just simply need more money, but I had to admit it’s a very good business strategy that can easily win over any tourists.
[...] A lot of tourists recommended Mountain View Hotel. So did 1 of the hotel guest that came to Sapa in the same minibus with us. It was her forth time to Sapa, and everytime she had stayed in Mountain View Hotel, and even the Hmong children there immediately recognized her. Beside, the hotel locates at the wonderful place that it’s possible to view the beautiful scenery of Sapa valley. However, our experience there was mixed. In the morning when we arrived, the receptionist was so kind and friendly. As we’re doing a day trip, so we’re looking for a place to take a shower. So we requested if it’s possible to do so at the hotel. She happily agreed that, provided we used any of their services. [...]