Day 9 - Bac Ha

13th March 2011

The next day I went on a tour to Bac Ha which is about 3 hours drive from Sapa. What attracts people to this town is the Sunday Market. It is the biggest ethnic market in the province - where all the hills peoples (Dao, Tay, Thai, Nung and Flower Hmong) from the surrounding area meet once a week to trade their goods.

The drive there was long and bumpy with lots of sharps turns and sudden stops. Our driver was speeding all the way and was constantly honking and trying to overtake vehicles on a one lane highway. The tour bus passed through many scenic mountains and I could see very steep rice terraces down the valley below. They were the most amazing landscapes I have seen in the entire trip. Unfortunately the tour bus didn't stop so I didn't get a chance to take any photos.

 

The bus soon traveled down through the mountain and passed the cloud base and i noticed the weather got so much better. Dry for a start and the visibility improved too because its lower in the mountains (but still 700m above sea level). The air feels much warmer than Sapa and there was no rain.

I arrived at Bac Ha around 10:30am and the tour guide gave us about two and half hours to explore. The markets here are unlike anything I've seen in Vietnam. It is a genuine country market, with livestock trading, farming tools and a lot of handcraft items. Minorities living high in the hills walk hours on end to get here just to pick up a new plough head or a wooden saddle. They also used this area as a social gathering place. It felt like something out of National Geographic. 

  

The market was very big and sold a wide range of products. There is a section for the purchase of fresh meat - just like a lot of places in Vietnam, the meat were laid out on benches. There is no refrigerated or frozen produce here. Another section was for spices, vegetables as well as a broad selection of fruits. One thing I notice was that the hill tribe people seem to enjoy chewing on sugar canes. 

The other areas of the market were selling everyday household items, kitchen utensils, shoes, sandals, gumboots and even some electrical goods. There is even an area (long row of chairs with mirrors erected) where one can have a haircut. In the central area of the Bac Ha markets, there is a food court. It was filled with lots of locals and not many tourists.

One of the more interesting areas was the livestock section which was selling animals such as buffaloes, horses, chicken, pigs and even puppies. And finally there was also section of the market geared more towards the tourist - selling textiles and wall hangings, elaborate textiles, handbags and other trinkets made by the local tribespeople.

Although I was at the market, I didn't purchase anything. I spent most of the day people watching. There were a huge number of market-goers (local and foreign people alike). It was a blend of sounds, smells and colourful things to see which made it an experience not to be missed. Everywhere you turn the vibrant colours from the Flower Hmong women hits you. Their intricately woven costume is especially great for photography. The locals don't mind you taking pictures of them either as I think they are so used to it by now. The Flower H'mong was also not as pushy or talkative as the ones in Sapa.

I also went to Vua Meo Palace which was located at the base of a mountain about 15 minutes walk from the market. The palace is where the former king of the Hmong people lived early last century. The entrance fee was only 5000 dongs/ 25 cents to get in but there wasn't really much to see (most of the rooms in the building were completely empty). The architectural style is quite interesting though, it was a like a strange mix of 'oriental baroque'.

Then it was time to regroup for the tour. The guide took us to a local village which were surrounded by rice terraces and small mountains. The scenery was similar to the one in Sapa, except this time I could actually see something. I should note, at the time of my visit, it wasn't rice season, so the landscape while impressive wasn't at its best. They say the best time to visit Sapa is around September, when the rice is about to be harvest. This is when the green colour covers all the large mountains, the fields and rice terraces and it's like the images you see in postcards.

Our final stop for the tour was to the Chinese Border near Lao Cai (Vietnamese side) / Hekou (Chinese side). It's just a border with a bridge crossing to the other side. Nothing interesting to say really. Then it was back to Lao Cai Station where the tour ended. I left at 8pm on the overnight train back to Hanoi sharing the cabin with three Americans girls. The train ride back was noisy and very unstable and I had troubles sleeping. At one point, there was a loud bang and the train came to a halt for about half an hour. I eventually was able to fall asleep and I arrived back to Hanoi in the early morning.

Sapa was one of my favourite destinations of the entire trip. Despite the poor weather, I still enjoyed it immensely. It's just an incredibly beautiful part of Vietnam. Definitely a must visit!