Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia - March 2015: Sapa

Saturday, March 21st

The day didn't start well for someone...as we descended the 40km from Sapa to Lao Cai, the fog turned to rain and the traffic was still behaving badly. Fortunately, our driver is good, real good.

This was going to be a very long day - departing at 7:30pm and eventually arriving in Hanoi at 6:30pm doing around 600km on pretty ordinary roads.

I've been trying to capture a wedding tent for a week, and finally managed to get a picture out the car window. Wedding parties take place just about anywhere, but especially at restaurants in the middle of main streets. The only requirement seems to be a brightly coloured "tent".

Here's another wedding (lots today, it's Saturday) - the bride must be calling the groom.

We eventually arrive at our first destination - the Can Cau market, renowned for the colour of the Flower H'Mong who live in this part of Vietnam. The market sits on the side of a small hill just outside a small town - about 150km to the east of Sapa, including several foggy mountain passes along the way.

The local Flower H'Mong dress quite differently to the H'Mong we've seen elsewhere, including in Sapa - there's lot more blue, for a start.

But again, it's only the women who dress up.

The market is mainly for food and animals, but there's a (too) large section selling handicrafts to tourists as well. I saw more chillies than anywhere else here, and still wonder why most of the food we've eaten has been so bland.

Although I did have two of these on my meal last night, and just a lick blew my head off.

There were ducklings for sale by the hundred (thousand?) - about $5 each, apparently!

Some women carried bags to sell to tourists, but they weren't as pushy as those in Sapa,

This woman managed to find a hat to differentiate herself from the other women - I didn't know Billabong had a store here.

These woman were probably gossiping - the market only occurs each Saturday, but at least one probably uses Facebook to chat with her "friends".

1000 things to carry on you motorbike - number 376: two goats.

While the girls chat, buy and sell, the boys are engaged in more serious business - the water buffalo market, and gambling (in the trees).

Apparently a water buffalo sells for up to $5000, and this is strictly a "cash only" market - wads of 500,000 dong ($30) notes were changing hands.

Prue thought she was underdressed for the occasion, but at least I had a matching blue outfit.

Where there's one stall selling handicrafts, there twenty, all selling the same stuff, probably from the same supplier. Once again, nobody is buying, especially the locals.

On a lower level there's a "cafeteria" - my search for a good latte contnues.

The pineapples are small, but very sweet, and plentiful - we have them every day for breakfast, lunch and dinner.

And the locals stock up on sugar cane - some to chew now, but most to take back to the village for later.

The backdrop is just as stark as in Sapa.

Another threesome on a bike - good to see they're safety conscious though.

These women look like they're riding something larger.

We've seen lots of four member families on bikes, but it's not always easy to get a picture.

We headed back, but first a stop in Bac Ha for "lunch". Most lunches have been OTT, but this one took the cake (no pun intended). Guess which dish Prue's stomach objected to.

We returned to Hanoi via Lao Cai - rapidly growing and developing local capital. It also has a border with China, which explains why it's becoming very important for the Vietnamese.