Sapa

I was very fortunate to be allowed to join some colleagues on a trip to Sapa this past weekend. Since I came to Hanoi about 3 months ago, everyone has been telling me how beautiful Sapa is. Sapa is northwest of Hanoi, close to the border with China. To get there, we took an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. From there it's about an hour drive to Sapa. Not only is the area beautiful, you also get a chance to meet several Vietnamese ethnic minorities living and farming in the area. There are many tour companies in the area providing tours to the minority villages and trekking (hiking) in the mountains. The pictures below are mostly from my friend Ashir's professional-quality camera.

If you want to see more pictures of Sapa, go to this website: http://www.google.com/images?q=sapa+vietnam&rls=com.microsoft:en-us:IE-SearchBox&oe=UTF-8&rlz=1I7SKPB_en&um=1&ie=UTF-8&source=univ&ei=JTyrTMjnJ83JcaHnsdsE&sa=X&oi=image_result_group&ct=title&resnum=4&ved=0CDwQsAQwAw&biw=1419&bih=665





Rice paddies are terraced on the side of the mountains.

Do you take American Express?

My friend Ashir buying souvenirs from Black Hmong children outside our hotel.
There are two Hmong minority groups - Black and White.They are differentiated by the way they dress, not their skin color.

The market where the villagers come and sell their produce.









Taking a snack break at a roadside food stand.
The vendor sells eggs, corn, sweet potatoes and tea.








Silver Waterfall - so called because when the sun shines on the water, it looks silvery.

Looking out of the window of a cafe' in Sapa.

These Black Hmong children have to sell souvenirs to help their families. Amazingly, they all speak very good English.

One of the ethnic minority villages.

On a cold rainy night, nothing better than having hot pot, called "Lau" in Vietnamese. The area around my apartment in Hanoi is very popular for Lau.

A view of the Love Market in the town square.
In the past, this is where the villagers find their future mates.

Today it's just a market for souvenirs and local products.

One of the main streets in Sapa.

Many tourists from all over the world come here and there are many hotels and tour companies here.

The Emotion Hotel is where we stayed.
A double-room costs US$20 a night.
It comes with free wi-fi and a couple of computers in the lobby to check your email.

Black Hmong women selling souvenirs outside the hotel.

A Catholic church in the town square.

There were 12 of us in the group.
Three of the guys are foreigners, the rest are Vietnamese.

Many of them have been here before and it's so nice to have our friends translate and explain a lot of things to us.

The lady on the right is our main organizer but the rest chipped in to make sure that we all have a good time.

Touring Ta Phin Village and taking pictures with the Red Dao minorities. Believe it or not, these women speak fluent English. One of them told me that they learned English from the tourists. The woman standing to my right is 77 years old and she was able to keep pace with me even though she was carrying a large basket. The villagers walk about 20-30 km a day up and down the mountains, eat mostly vegetables and breathe clean fresh air. No wonder most of them live into the 80s' and 90s'.

No John Deere tractors in the field.
The water buffaloes do all the heavy lifting.




The Lao Cai train station