Day 110 - Colours of Bac Ha

Got up early after almost changing my mind about going to Bac Ha market so the morning was a bit rushed.

Bac Ha is about 2.5h from Sapa and one of the highlights in the area. It is oneof the biggest markets here and one where you (or more likely the locals) go to buy and trade everything fromclothes to fruit to water buffaloes and other things.

The market is a explosion of colour with the different dresses of the various tribes, the fruits and vegetables and crafts.

Being one of the major attractions there are a lot of tourists around as one would expect and at times you see more tourists than locals in some places.
Still, it does not detract from the market too much. It was also funny go see everyone sporting a massive telephoto lens on their cameras and me not only not being happy with 28mm but putting on the 21mm adapter to get closer on the action but also to get a different perspective than anyone else.

I took a lot of pictures on the market and almost managed to fill up my card with them, this made choosing only 15 for this post quite difficult.

While wandering around the market, I got invited to share some rice wine and food with some locals so this was great fun. People in Vietnam are fantastic and very welcoming so if you're open you will always meet locals and get rice wine to drink (lots of it if you're not careful).

After the market the bus stopped off at a Hmong village nearby, then in Lao Cai at the Chinese border crossing and finally at the train station.

While trying to buy a ticket, I found most trains were full. I managed to get a slightly overpriced ticket from a guy re-selling tickets to people like me who did not pre-book their tickets and wanted something last minute.

This means I will get to Hanoi in the morning for a few days or weeks.