Bac Ha Market

We returned from Halong Bay on Friday and were hoping to jump on a train to Sapa (in North Vietnam near the Chinese border) that night, but the train was sold out. So, we ended up going up Saturday night and arrived in Lao Cai (the train station about 40 km from Sapa) Sunday morning. We wanted to go to the market in Bac Ha on Sunday morning and heard that we needed to get their early to experience it before the tourists arrived, which was why we wanted to get there on Saturday. Our train arrived at 5:15 on Sunday morning and we got almost immediately on a bus to Bac Ha. We were charged 75,000 VND for the local bus, which was supposed to be 50,000 VND... oh well! The bus ride took about 2 hours and along the way we picked up a number of locals headed to the market.

The draw of the Bac Ha market are all the Flower H'mong (an ethnic minority group) that come in their traditional wear. We were not disappointed. It was a rainy day, which was a bit of a bummer, but we had our rain jackets and rain covers for our bags and just toughed it out like the locals. We got to the market at around 8:00 am and got to observe the locals conducting their business--socializing at the food stalls and buying and selling goods. They trotted their water buffalo up the stairs to the livestock market where they were tethered to rocks waiting to be appraised. There were puppies and dogs for sale (and, no, I don't think they were for pets), ducks and geese.

Water Buffalo at the Livestock Market

Dogs - Sold!

Flower H'mong Ladies

Petrol Station

At around 9:15 the locals started turning their attention to the gathering groups of tourists touting their bags and other goods. So, we grabbed a bite to eat and headed for the bus. Although we were only charged 50,000 VND for the return trip to Lao Cai, we were crowded in to the minivan with several locals standing and about three chickens stashed under the back seat. We also took a break about half way to Lao Cai where the driver and several other men sat down to drink tea and play cards. Turns out, we were waiting for a connection that was delayed by and accident. An hour later we were back on our way to Lao Cai where we found a bus to Sapa, about an hour from Lao Cai.

Chickens on the Bus

We were greeted by stunning views of rice terraces along the mountains on the way to Sapa. We were able to find a comfortable hotel room for USD 15 that had a shared balcony with a view of the rice terraces (when we weren't sitting in the fog). We got settled in the hotel room, just in time for me (Dyanne) to be sick. I'm just grateful that we were able to enjoy the market before I started feeling really poorly.