Sunday 13th October - Sapa

At the station we were met by Pang, a Hmong lady from the hills, dressed in traditional dress who was to be our guide. She spoke excellent English but told us that she can neither read nor write but will learn from her eldest daughter who has started school. Pang took us for an
excellent breakfast before we were driven to the Sunday market in Bac Ha one of the larger "villages" where we were shown round a massive range of stalls selling food rice wine & tourist wares including local embroidered & woven goods, water buffaloes, pigs horses & caged birds. The local women dress very much in their tribal outfits which denote where they are from although the men seem largely to have given up on traditional clothes.

After lunch there we drove to the Chinese border with Yunan province, where we saw some very imposing new buildings on either side of the river. It was extremely hot there & we were pleased to climb into the cool car for the somewhat hair rising drive up to Sapa on a road winding & clinging to the hillside. The driving was very cavalier as we passed trucks & motor bikes with gay abandon on blind corners. Surprisingly descending vehicles often slowed
down to let us pass & their drivers all seemed quite relaxed at the manners of the other ones. The scenery was spectacular as wherever it was possible there were up to 20 terraced rice
paddies often no more than 2m wide descending the steep slopes. They had mostly been harvested recently but some still had their crops. The rest of the hillsides were well treed with a variety of forms & the little villages we passed through had a range of activities including small saw mills & shops. The houses were either of rammed earth, woven timber of crudely cut timber lengths although many are now of brick & concrete.

We arrived in Spa at about 3.30 to stay at the Bamboo Spa Hotel, one of the biggest in the town & went up to our 4th floor rooms for a rest as we had all dosed in the car on the way up.

After an early dinner we went to bed. The big 4th floor room with 2 giant single beds pushed together, overlooked the valley with houses & fields below us in the valley & what turned out to be Vietnam's highest mountain on the horizon.



Monday 14th October - Sapa

Jane woke up at 5.45 thinking it was an hour later so we were up by 6.30 & descended 6 storeys to have breakfast. Pang met us at 8.00 & then took us on a fascinating 2hr walk though the town market down into the valley where Cat Cat village appears to be virtually preserved as a living museum of how the hill peoples live. We saw a primitive hand loom
for weaving hemp cloth & the tubs of indigo vegetable dye made from boiled plants. The black Hmong make most of their traditional garments from the hemp cloth which they embroider on the jackets.

Pang was an excellent guide who told us how she had been married at 15 & had her first daughter at 18. The customs around marriage were also described & it is very much seen as a deal between families which is subject to parental approval & negotiations on a financial basis. At 28 she has 3 daughters & lives with her husband & in-laws, as is the custom here. Although she is illiterate it is quite clear that she is pretty smart & seems very content with her lot. After the village we visited a small former French power station which is now used for shows of traditional music & dance & the show was very professionally executed. Leaving the power station we climbed out of the valley on a long path of steps & descended to another small settlement where we were picked up by our driver & returned to the hotel to check out
before midday.