Sapa Mountain Town

 After an overnight train ride in our luxury private train car (Ballin'), we hopped in a van for a one hour ascend up to the highest point in Vietnam. Up in the mountains, tucked away in a little crevice is Sapa Town. We were checked in to Chau Long New Wing, our very nice hotel. From the balcony of our room you can see the  fog creeping into the mountain vistas and a few tiers of farmlands. Truly a magnificent site in this not so quiet but very little town. We had a 2 day light trek booked. During our treks we visited some of the Hmong, Dzao and Dzai villages. The people of the mountain tribes live very cheerful and happy lives with just about nothing. Basic necessities crammed with multiple generations of family members into tiny basic shacks. Brings back memories of Sally Struthers commercials. Most sleep on the ground, not much in the way of insulation, these people survive very harsh cold conditions with not much more than a wood fire in the middle of there homes. Nearby livestock chicken and pigs live in attached huts or pens. 

My only complaint is just how aggressive  some of the hill tribe people can be trying to sell local handicrafts. Though much work goes into these craft nick knacks, I can't see how they can make a living following tourists around for HOURS. I think tourists buy things just to make them go away. Little do they know this just encourages others to follow. At a resting point we sat for a a drink and within seconds we were surrounded on all sides by women from different tribes all trying to get us to buy their goods.  It's amazing that even young children are out following tourists trying to sell goods; even more amazing is the amount of english that the hill tribe women and children can pick up from tourists. Some of them speak better English than they do Vietnamese.

There is really not much more that i can say. I will let the photos speak for themselves. I'm going to be on a train and on a boat in Halong Bay for the next few days so it might be a few days before my next post. I know, I'm already showing signs of withdrawal. Hope you enjoy.