Sapa

Sapa was established as a hill station by the French in 1922. It's a small little town atop a mountain that is booming with tourism, minority people, and charm.  The town was often caught in the middle of the wars against the French, US, and China, allowing the colonial hotels to fall into shambles. Because of the rise in tourism, somewhat of a renaissance is happening to this sleepy, mountain town.

We got in the car at 5:30 am and drove from Lao Cai 2.5 hours to Bac Ha, a small village where the minority group, the Flower H'mong live. Ba Hac is in the opposite direction of Sapa, so we spent a lot of time in the car today.  Here are some shots as we drove to Bac Ha.

Riding a water buffalo while talking on a cell phone. Hmm.

Sapa/ Ba Hac has the most magnificent scenery....Towering mountains covered with rice paddies and water buffalo roaming amongst them.

The Flower H'mong have one market per week, so we were lucky enough to get to see what it was all about. I wish I had the words to describe what we saw....I'll let my pictures do the talking.

The Flower H'mong are just one of many minority groups we visited. They really left an impression on us...the hard-working way of life, the innocent faces of the children, the hand-made clothing, the pride on their faces. It was a day we won't soon forget.

On the way back towards Sapa, we stopped at a small village along the way.

We stopped at a house in the village. The family welcomed us inside and the woman offered us tea and potatoes.

This man was pumping sand up from the river through this contraption. He will then export the sand. 

After touring the village, we finally made our way up the mountain to Sapa. We arrived that evening and had a great dinner.

I can't wait to tell you more about Sapa and introduce you to the other minority groups. Hope you enjoyed today as much as I did!
xx,
Lauren