Sapa. Nestled in the northwest of the Vietnam mountains, home to the the Hmong Tribe, as well as the Dao, Pho Lu and Tay people. In the late 1880's the French colonized the region, where villa's and colonial style buildings were erected. At the end of WWII the region fell under attack due to the Viet Minh, and the city was destroyed. Yet when I visited there in May 2011 there was evidence of the colonial life that once inhabited the city. Tourism swiftly picked up within the past few years so I was eager to get my feet onto the ground!
Remnants of French colonial architecture
The Town
An array of quilts, skirts and bags made by the Hmong and Dao tribes
Every valley you look at looks like this, covered in rice patties, the valleys go on for eternity
Here is an excerpt from my journal when I was in Sapa.
May 22nd 2011
There are huge mountains surrounding the town, engulfed in a sheet of clouds. There are cobble stone streets lined with hotels, small 'minority' handicraft shops, massage and medicine bath houses and many different kinds of restaurants, all of which feature Sapa's pumpkin soup. The locals wake up and the streets begin to hustle around 7am, sleeping is not an option. People yelling, cars honking, or should I say motorbikes and there appears to be a loud speaker in just about every town, who knows what its shouting. Sapa is definitely a place I would come back to, maybe for a trek to Fansi pan mountain, which is Vietnam's tallest. The people are kind, yet the Hmong women, who are from the villages are the most persistent sales people! They shout "I sell you bag?" or just about anything they can come up with. They seem to have a limited vocabulary, but considering they learn it off the streets its fairly good. They don't seem to understand that no means no and "you buy from me?" certainly must mean you buy from them! They don't give up and even when you say you have no money left they don't care and tell you to go to an atm. It must be a hard life, living to support your family by selling on the streets every day.
Johanna who I traveled to Sapa with being urged to buy something!
Some of the Hmong tribe girls who I spent the 4 days I was there with
Aside from the persistent sales ladies, honking and loudspeakers I would give anything to go back to Sapa. I feel at ease in the mountains, and although I do love my heels, there's nothing like putting on your hiking shoes and exploring the hills of Sapa. Plus how amazing are all the tribal prints?! Here's some things things I picked up from the Hmong and Dao tribes! I am in love with the embedded metal and silver cuffs and all the hand woven work!
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