23 December - Sapa and Lao Cai VIETNAM

Sapa and Lao Cai - Vietnam   23rd December 2014

This morning was a beautiful day, the fog and low cloud had gone and the sky was clear and dark blue.

Steve had had an unsuccessful mission at 8.00am to get food from the shop that opened at 7.00am for tonights' train but the shop was closed - maybe we had crossed a time zone without realising.

Probably about 3 degrees this morning, damp, misty and difficult to see anything.

This morning we didn't really know what we were doing, partially because we were all probably knackered from the train trip the day before and probably because nobody was looking forward to the same trip on the night train back either.

So we left with all of our bags which seems to be increasing despite having bought very little and Mandy with her new padded coat and sports hiking shoes.

We went to a locals market which was the recommendation by our guide and initially we were not over keen as we had been to so many but afterwards, we realised that we should never pass an opportunity for a locals market.
Today we were going to see the famous rice growing terraces of Sapa then onto a village market to see local life with the tribes of North Vietnam.

 Downtown Sapa - about 3 centigrade here this morning - just like being at home.  Not really a place for a coffee and read the paper.

 The famous rice terraces of Sapa - hundreds of square miles of scenery like this with a picture at every turn

Most of our time here was spent above the clouds and the scenery was stunning

 drying animal feed corn on the roadside

Making ply-wood - many small wood manufacturers drying bark to make ply-wood

 Semi tropical scenery at the base of the mountains

Buffalo market - apparently a good buffalo with a thick neck and legs can get about $300.  Janette said that Steve would be worth a similar amount

This is not ceremonial dress but the day to day wear. The "Hmong" tribes work in the mountains and have their legs wrapped to protect from wildlife and provide support generally.

This local tribeswomen at the market looking for a buffalo.  It would appear that the men just sit around just getting drunk - a bit like parts of the UK.

With China a few miles down the road, many items are Chinese but you can find genuine hand made local materials which are quite beautiful.

There is nothing quite like sitting down to a plate of pigs ears !!! yum yum

The Vietnamese black bellied pig or should say whats left of it.  The butcher has to provide a discount if he is not able to cut it clean and on this occasion he didn't.

This poor old lady needed to sell her goat but failed to attract a buyer and had to walk home probably many miles....

 Toni and Guys Vietnamese style. 

Cinnamon is found all over this area and obviously an important crop.  Its very full of flavour when fresh but too strong to eat.  Once the bark is dried, it curls up hence cinnamon sticks that we find in our shops.

At the bottom of the mountains, we saw a different tribe and our guide asked if we could see a house.  Inside, a guy was keeping warm with a fire inside the house with no chimney.  We felt we were intruding but they seemed happy enough to show us their world.

 There are two beds for 8 people and the bed on the left is for a married couple.

A couple had recently got married and the "honeymoon" consisted of having their faces "photoshopped" into a picture of the White House in Washington.The next picture was of them "photoshopped" into some kind of paradise island.

For most Vietnamese, China is the enemy so much so that the county has just introduced conscription and most people fully expect war with China soon.  The river along the border acts as a conduit for tax free trade for Vietnamese traders although most see this trade as the necessary evil.  This is the Chinese border gate, end of Vietnam on the front and the beginning of China in the background. We were not allowed to walk further.

China from the river bank of Vietnam

Later we got on our train and braced ourselves for another tortuous night on the night train back to Hanoi where we will spend 3 days
Christmas is around the corner !!!