when we left hanoi, we had about ten days time to get to the chinese boarder (unfortunately visas don't last forever). together with an american friend we decided to rent one of those famous
russian jeeps and hit the northwest loop. our itinary read like: hanoi - mai chau - son lan - lai chau - tam duong - sapa - bac ha - lao cai.
day 1: we stayed overnight in a traditional stilt house of a white thai people family in
mai chau. the view from our room was gorgeous: the ricepaddies started right where our house ended. in the afternoon we took a stroll over the fields and were once more surprised by the friendliness of the people, who welcomed us with a smile eventhough they had been working in de mud of the fields for most of the day.
day 2: after a short drive we stopped for breakfast in
moc chau. we have read that the yoghurt there was delicious and were eager to try some... it was delicious and everybody devoured two of them.
i remember that days drive as very dusty and bumpy. we therefore were very happy to reach
son la in the early afternoon. we didn't mind that the town itself was nothing special for all we wanted was a refreshing shower and a soft bed.
day 3:
thuan chau is a little village but well-known for its lively market. it was the first time we saw one of these famous hilltribes markets. it was great to watch the colourful woman following their everydays business. there is always something new to disvover at these markets. this time we saw a woman pulling caterpillars out of their cocoon - we wondered whether this was to sell caterpillars, silk or both...
we continued our tour on a winding scenic road to
lai chau. we passed small children on huge buffaloes, women in beautifully embrodeidred dresses, tiny villages and steep terrace fields. it's incredible how this people manage to cultivate crops even on the smallest fertile patch on top of the highest peaks.
day 4: we were quite happy, that this days drive was only a short one. we arrived at
tam duong before lunch and hat enough time for a long stroll in the beautiful valley. to our surprise the cultivation wasn't only rice and corn, but also tea. the people working in the fields were quite surprised to see some foreigners in this area and wanted us to help them plucking tea. why not? however, after we had given them a hand for about half an hour they had enough fun and set us free again - or maybe, we have been far too slow...
day 5: it was hard to imagine that the drive from tam duong to sapa would even be more specatcular than the ones before - but it was. as we approached
tram ton pass (with 1900m the highest one in vietnam) we got closer and closer to the skyreaching peaks. all of a sudden we were in the middle of fast moving clouds. this "living frames" allowed us, to catch an always changing glance of the amazing scenery - each for only a few seconds. it was thrilling!
on the way to sapa we stopped at
thac bac. this waterfall has an overall height of 100m. a steep path is leading to a crossing-bridge about half-way up. when we visited, a group of young vietnamese was climbing on the very slippery rocks even higher up. we preferred staying on the bridge and watching the water rushing towards the valley from the safe place...
sapa is the most famous hillstation in northwest vietnam. it was built by the french in 1922. today it attracts large numbers of vietnamese and foreign tourists due to its breathtaking mountain scenery and the many hilltribes, who live in the area. the most popolous are the
black h'mong and
red zao. the place definitely got a special atmosphere with the old french buildings and new vietnamese minihotels. in the streets countless girls and elderly women of the hilltribes are looking for tourists who want to buy some souvenirs - and if you don't want to, they know all the tricks to make you want to; tearing your arm is e.g. one of the softer methods;-)
day 6: together with two girls ob the black h'mong we went to visit three villages in the vicinity of sapa. unknowingly we had chosen the most popular trek which was lined with the occasional small restaurant, some pick-nick huts and hard-selling hilltribe women. nevertheless it was good fun and we learnt quite something from our guides about their lifestyle and customs. one girl even invited us to her
home, a very simple wooden house. the floor was dump earth, the walls had holes and there was not much that could have been called furniture. these people live in really poor conditions and it's hard to imagine, how they manage to survive the cold winter months. the hospitality was overwhelming for out of nothing the girl prepared some rice and vegetables for lunch for us. these are the things one will always remember and from which we, who live in the rich west, can learn so much!
day 7: we spent one more day
trekking. we passed through villages of the red zao and black h'mong. it was very obious that this trek was much less popular than the one of the day before. the people were much more welcoming; eventhough it was difficult to communicate, there was always something to laugh and have fun. we enjoyed the refreshing and picturesque landscape as much as its charming inhabitants.
day 8: friday was the day to say goodbye to sapa. the place gets very very crowded on weekends due to its famous market (which almost turnt into a show for tourists in recent years). when we left, there were already many buses approaching sapa and we were happy to be on our way to
bac ha, where we would visit two less crowded hilltribe markets.
in the surrounding hills of bac ha live mostly people of the
flower h'mong, well-known for their colourful embroidered clothes. in our guidebook was written, that they were very welcoming and friendly. manuela and i were therefore full of good expectations when we left for a short walk in the area. it came as a surprise when we met some children who were showing us their tongue and gesturing to throw stones at us... others had a dark look in their faces but almost nobody was smiling. how comes? i guess that there had been all of a sudden way too many tourists in this area who in addition might not always have had behaved adequately. it's sad, to see how foreign impact can change people.
day 9: market in
can cau, about 20km from bac ha. it's one of the best markets in the area for it takes place admidst beautiful mountains and many of the hilltribes are flower h'mong with their unrivalled bright dresses. this time the people were friendly or at least they didn't bother about picture-crazy tourists. all a hilltribe-heart desires was for sale: buffalos, ricewine, tobacoo, bright clothes, sweets and icecream. if one wanted to rest, there were plenty of food-stalls offering a bowl of soup and a place to sit. we enjoyed sitting on a small hill just above the market and watching things go by.
day 10: every sunday,
market takes place in
bah ha. this one is even bigger than the one in can cau, but less idyllic. it takes place in the middle of the small town and attracts montagnards and tourists alike. one of the most popular attractions seemed to be watching videos. it was a funny scene: crowds of hilltribe people squeezed in a small room in front of a tv.
after lunch we left for
lao cai, a small city on the chinese boarder, where we had to say good-bye to our fellow american traveller. one gets easily used to such a good company and it was quite strange to be on ourselves again. the days in northwest vietnam were not only fascinating but very interesting too. it was great to get to know some of the hilltribes and their different way of live. we had enjoyed this part of ourtrip very much and felt kind of sentimental when we finally had to cross the bridge from vietnam to china...
posted by christoph 16:55
