August 10

We got back to the hotel late afternoon and rested up for a
bit before Tiger returned to walk us to the lovely lake in a different part of
Sapa town . The vendors from the market spilled over and lined the streets where we walked and I loved watching this community of mountain people interact with each other with so much animation and life.

The lake was close by and had a beautifully landscaped walking path all the way around it. There were, also, these funny Disney like swan pedal boats for people to cruise around on the water. As we were walking, Tiger pointed out a large Neon sign advertising Karaoke that, he informed us, is wildly popular in Sapa. If we had had more time
there, it would have been fun to experience a Vietnamese Karaoke Bar. In contrast, it was so peaceful and scenic walking around the lake and then…..low and behold….we practically ran into a woman herding her pigs on the street right in front of us. What a strange site that was!

It started to rain and soon turned into a downpour so, we
headed back towards the hotel and stopped, en route, to say good night to
Tiger, then grab a bite to eat at a restaurant down the street from the hotel
before heading back . We were exhausted, after having had little sleep the night before,
but exhilarated after experiencing the incredible mountain life and villages of Sapa.

August 11

We had a wonderful breakfast buffet at the hotel before we
checked out and then, boarded the van to go to our next location…the famous
Sunday Market in Bac Ha, about two and a half hours from Sapa. Nestled in the northern hills of Vietnam near the Chinese border, Bac Ha is one of the best and largest ethnic markets in all of
Southeast Asia. It’s held only on Sundays and, in addition to tourists, attracts throngs of villagers, primarily from the Flower H’mong tribe. They come by foot, often walking for hours,
motor scooter, horse and water buffalo, to do their weekly shopping, selling and bartering as well as to eat, drink, get a haircut and socialize with friends and family. All the women were dressed in their traditional, very intricate and colorful, hand-made costumes which, according to Tiger, takes 3 to 5 months to embroider . What a magnificent blur of color and motion!

The trading here was brisk and one could find everything imaginable. There was hardware, plastic goods, clothing, fresh produce, puppies, water buffalo, chop chop tobacco, chickens, pigs, cut meats, H'mong costume, handicraft, kitchenware, dried natural medicines and much much more. Then, there was the "Ruou" or corn hooch. Bac Ha is known for the manufacture of several types of alcoholic home brew and "Ruou" is said to be so potent that it can peel paint. It was wild to watch these village women sitting on the steps selling their hooch out of large plastic containers.  We were tempted to try it but, lightweight that I am, I’m sure I would have passed out with one sip.

There was a whole section at the upper part of the market
where they were selling livestock, primarily, water buffalo, that sold for about $2,500
per head. Then, we spotted a young village girl displaying her prize rooster and she didn’t look very happy that it hadn’t yet sold

We watched hundreds of village women, carrying their babies
on their backs and walked through the large section of picnic tables where the
villagers, some who had come from afar, were gathered together in lively
conversation, obviously relishing this weekly opportunity to see friends and
relax . Some of the food they were eating looked like very unappetising grey "entrails" served from huge woks. 

We roamed the market, leisurely, for quite some time before
stopping for the delicious lunch that was included in our tour. Afterwards, we sadly bid farewell to this magical scene from another world and hopped in the van to drive another hour
where we would visit a small village on the Chay river before heading to the train station for our overnight train back to Hanoi.