November 20, 2016
restday Sapa: down to the Bac Ha market
"I'm learning to recognize this song. It's the same song, same lady every morning" Patrick says as we are sitting at a table in the Guesthouse waiting for breakfast. "Perhaps the lady signs in the shower?" Fabio from Italy adds. We are also waiting to be picked up for a tour to Bac Ha, the propaganda speakers start every morning at 6:30.
Today we take a tour to the Sunday market in Bac Ha. Together with about 30 other tourists we are packed in a small bus, driven first back down to Lao Chai, then up to the small mountain town of Bac Ha. Every Sunday the tribal people from the surrounding villages have their big market here and since they dress up pretty it is now firmly on the tourist to-do list in Northern Vietnam.
The women from the Flower Hmong villages dress up very colorful and especially the vegetable market is a riot of colors. There are so many tourist taking photos that the people have adopted a policy of ignoring "white faces". They just look straight through you and carry on with their business. If you ask permission for a close-up, like you should, they do not answer, but cover up their faces that leaves no doubt what they want. So most tourists do not ask permmision, it is a free for all of colorful tribal woman photos, the ugly side of tourism, but on the other hand these communities are greatly helped by the money that is being spent here. "Putting myself in their shoes though, I can see myself in shopping in Home Depot with a bus full of Chinese tourists taking photos of me...... Someone might get hit with a 2x4......." Patrick says. We'll let the photos do the talking.
After a couple of hours we have lunch, do a short hike through a "village", stop at the border monument in Lao Chai, and head back up the mountain to Sapa. Just in time for beer, pizza and lasagna.
Tomorrow back on the road.
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