Sapa
Our Black H'Mong guide on the rice terraces in Sapa
Flower H'Mong Women at the Bac Ha market
So after Halong Bay and a couple of days in Hanoi, we were able to catch a train to north Vietnam where many different hill-tribes live within mountainous rice terraces. The first day we headed north to Bac Ha, to the Sunday market where people from the area meet to sell, buy, or mingle with their friends. It was really cool because the people were dressed up in their traditional clothes, he Flower H'mong group in bright colours, others with red swaths of fabric draped over their heads.
We then bused to Sapa, and the next day did a 10 km trek through the rice terraces with a Black H'mong girl as our guide, called 'black' because of the colours of their clothes. If they wore white clothes they would be called lazy, and red will attract the ghosts. She was so super fantastic, and she made the walk in the pouring rain really enjoyable, especially when there were a few slips and slides from the older members of our group.
After that we rushed back to Hanoi on the overnight train, headed out to the airport, where we waited and waited and then were told that our flight was cancelled due to technical problems!! Dave was dancing with glee through the airport terminal, with the promise of a 4 star hotel and free meals floating around in his head. It was wonderfully relaxing - a pool overlooking West Lake, a room with both a clean top sheet and a bottom sheet, air conditioning with a thermostat! This was just as good as being bumped up to first class!
We're now in Vientiane, Laos, where the people are calm, the food is wonderful, and the textiles are gorgeous. Oh! And in Vietnam, the intersections looked like that section of the Musical Ride where all the horses do the 4 way cross through the centre (except in Vietnam it's much less graceful), in Laos they have men in booths at major intersections, and they blow their whistle and point at you if you dare to cross the white line. What a relief.
Flower H'Mong Women at the Bac Ha market
So after Halong Bay and a couple of days in Hanoi, we were able to catch a train to north Vietnam where many different hill-tribes live within mountainous rice terraces. The first day we headed north to Bac Ha, to the Sunday market where people from the area meet to sell, buy, or mingle with their friends. It was really cool because the people were dressed up in their traditional clothes, he Flower H'mong group in bright colours, others with red swaths of fabric draped over their heads.
We then bused to Sapa, and the next day did a 10 km trek through the rice terraces with a Black H'mong girl as our guide, called 'black' because of the colours of their clothes. If they wore white clothes they would be called lazy, and red will attract the ghosts. She was so super fantastic, and she made the walk in the pouring rain really enjoyable, especially when there were a few slips and slides from the older members of our group.
After that we rushed back to Hanoi on the overnight train, headed out to the airport, where we waited and waited and then were told that our flight was cancelled due to technical problems!! Dave was dancing with glee through the airport terminal, with the promise of a 4 star hotel and free meals floating around in his head. It was wonderfully relaxing - a pool overlooking West Lake, a room with both a clean top sheet and a bottom sheet, air conditioning with a thermostat! This was just as good as being bumped up to first class!
We're now in Vientiane, Laos, where the people are calm, the food is wonderful, and the textiles are gorgeous. Oh! And in Vietnam, the intersections looked like that section of the Musical Ride where all the horses do the 4 way cross through the centre (except in Vietnam it's much less graceful), in Laos they have men in booths at major intersections, and they blow their whistle and point at you if you dare to cross the white line. What a relief.
posted by Sara and Dave at 7/20/2006 09:51:00 a.m.
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