As you could see, we stop at Sa Pa for our lunch. If you have traveled to VIetnam, you must be very familiar with the word "Sa Pa" - a lovely town settled on mountain top. It was founded as a summer shelter for the French officers during colonial time. Moving from the "Tea paradise" to Sa Pa, the road is only 55 km, but you need to pass the Hoang Lien pass - one of the steepest and most beautiful passes in Vietnam. The land road here peaks at over 2000 meters - the highest road in Vietnam. And the scenery is just worth riding:
We had lunch in Sa Pa - a good treat after all jungles food of places that we had been through. After lunch and before leaving Sapa, I had a shot, of the whole town from above, with the background being the Hoang Lien Son mountain range, whose peak is Fan Xi Pan (3143 meters above sea level):
Next day would be Saturday, the day of the once-per-week mountain market of Bac Ha, with no hesitation, Minsk rolled again. The road shown beneath was above 90 km, however, we could only reached Bac Ha at dusk due to the extremely winding road:
Man, it was rather cold even though we were in summer. I was trembling as Minsk found her way to our hotel in Bac Ha. Forgot to mention we caught some rain on the way riding - the rain in high mountains is always the coldest possible. Well, sitting ourselves at the table, time for good local wine and cuisines. And i slept like I never did before...
[B]The sixth day[/B]
The town of Bac Ha is probably in its first process of development. There are little motels, restaurants and coffee shop (even though with a limited number). Bac Ha is famous around the country for plump fruits. When the season comes, the fruits are everywhere, covering the hills, the gardens and the riding roads...
Not only pump, Bac Ha is well known for its Sunday market (held only on Sunday). This is when the local tribal people (Mostly the H'mong), in their colorful dress, come to the markets and bringing along their domestic products: fruits, food, clothes, pigs...or whatever they can generate, for sales. The whole mountain corner is brightened with the dress color:
Thank you so much for sharing those great story telling pictures and matching it with your narrative. It is really special to be able to see a part of the world that most of us may never see. Great work, you are getting my vote for featured thread!
MDBarrett wrote:
Thank you so much for sharing those great story telling pictures and matching it with your narrative. It is really special to be able to see a part of the world that most of us may never see. Great work, you are getting my vote for featured thread!
Mike
Thank you MDBarrett, your words make great encouragement to me. All the best to you and I will be writing for more.
Major_K wrote:
Wonderful, wonderful, wonderful travel story Nightflower! I really enjoy the post. Keep them coming ...
Khai
Thank you. I'm posting for more now, hope you'll enjoy:
The market is not only for buying or selling, it is also for socializing as many tribal people do not get to see their neighbors for days due to distance. Thus, they are always in their most beautiful dress possible for the market:
A local H'mong lady selling alcohol. You could always have a taste by the cap of the alcohol can/bottle. I have to add up that alcohol, like what it is meant to be, is an integral part of socializing in this market:
Out on the open space, there is an oxen/buffalos market. You could have a look at one, pay in cash and walk the cattle home:
It is very common to see the local lady carrying babies on their back. These little angels sleep and never bother what is going on around the world:
The quick rain comes, just to make things more colorful in some way:
I find it very interesting and burst into laughter when seeing a little girl sitting on a pile of textile, doing some paperwork just like a perfect trader:
Sun comes out afterwards, a local mama carefully adjusts her pulse before heading home:
This one is my favorite: Do you know what she is selling? Thread. In this small society, many local ladies still make their own clothes and most of the sewing, fixing clothes at home are done by the ladies themselves. This picture portraits a lady awaiting clients. I like the color, and the sudden rays of light:
