Tôi Yêu Bac Ha!

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Nathan here, after surviving the great Sa Pa shidd of Saturday. Essentially Ive been working with this random dude on Whatsapp whenever we look into getting a private car who initially arranged our airport transfer on arrival that I purchased on bookaway.com . The price quotes are unbeatable; the only downside is a near complete language barrier, so keep your phone charged and google translate at the ready. These are SUV's going for compact car prices; Ill be happy to share the contact info in our final post where we will leave all our links and best practices. Once again this wizard behind the curtain came through and our driver got us to our homestay earlier than expected.

I kept wondering what the payoff was for the travel time; why this market was so special that it warranted 8 hours of travel each way for a 36 hour stay. And if it HAD just been the market, I'm not sure that the indigenous crafts and food, coupled with the pristine cloud forests surrounding would have been worth the money and time invested, even though Bac Ha is amazing. Time just ain't on our side.

Enter Mr. Trung and his wonderful family and friends, especially Ling, Hai, Chow, Chum, and Mr. Fang. What wouldve been a nice overnight in kind, pastoral surroundings quickly evolved into the most wholesome version of a Honeymoon debauch one could ever fathom. We quickly learned, and practiced, the corn wine cheers of Mot Ha Bai Yo!!! Their entire custom of drinking is to engage with every single person at the table, which is kick ass!

The spread of crispy skinned, succlent pork roasted whole and then broken down and served with a green paste derived from foraged herbs, all of the countless garnishes (mustard greens, blood sausage and roasted mushrooms with tripe to name a few) and finally, the widgety grubs served wreathing in some kiss-of-death salty sauce capitulated a serene, relaxing day of walking around the Bac Ha valley before the insanity of the Sunday market would unfurl. It was an unforgettable day that, to me, was ten times the payoff for the travel time invested. They wouldnt let us pay our way on account of the honeymoon, and then our wonderful friends drove us back to Hanoi after the market, saving us from deciding between a $200 private car or taking another night bus and possibly dying in a fiery wreck, according to the internet.

We got back to Hanoi before sunset and had more snails and some killer mussels for dinner, before retiring for a great (and long awaited) full night's rest at La Sinfonia del Rey. The next morning, it was off to Cat Ba, with Goodmorningcatba.com making incredible time for a multi-leg bus-speedboat-bus itinerary. More than anything, I was looking forward to sleeping in the same bed for two nights in a row...well maybe not more than anything 😉, but slowing down the pace and soaking up some sun and ocean breeze were all very, very good ideas.

This is abby. There is no reason for me to add any of this at all since it takes me forever, it takes nate like five seconds and he is way better at it anyways lol.

Day 2: bac ha

We braved a night bus from hanoi and arrived at sa pa around 5am. Nate was a bit nervous about the night bus at first, no thanks to me sharing stories i had read online about bodies piled onto on another on a hot rickety steel trap, cockroaches crawling onto blankets and skittering across eyebrows, and high instances of death from making one sharp turn and tumbling down the mountain. But! We got on the bus, and it was VERY nice. Saoviet met us with a spacious, air conditioned bus lined with private cots, each cot complete with a blanket, pillow, tv, headphones, window screen and curtain, seatbelt. It waa immaculate, quiet, and there was a clean restroom in the back. Still, i didnt sleep well (by not well i mean i didnt sleep at all), because, you know, its still a moving BUS.
So, after missing our stop in lao chai (oops) we booked the first cab in sa pa to a random hotel. I slept a couple hours while nate updated the blog, and then peterahai took us on the scenic, winding 3 hour journey to bac ha.

This is the vietnam i came to see.

Bac ha is a tranquil town nestled in the mountains of north vietnam. For anyone thinking of travelling to vietnam, it is a spot not to be missed. Its safe, friendly, peaceful, with breathtaking scenery.
We were welcomed into our homestay with tea and snacks, and decided to spend the day just walking around town. We were greeted with bosterous waves, smiles, and "hello!"s at every turn. We admired the french colonial architecture painted eggshell, buttermilk, wisteria and the sunbursts of square flags presented in a rainbow of colors. Nate bought half a kilo of jerky from a street vendor, who said it was horse meat, but we are pretty sure it's buffalo.
We rested at a coffee shop for a moment when business was slow. The barista asked to take a picture with me, and then we used google translate to chat for a bit. We are friends now! (Hello, tien an!).

We arrived so late in the day, we didnt have much time for hiking. We returned to the homestay to relax. Our host, trung, was extrordinarily kind and hospitable, as well as his family, and friends visiting from hanoi. We chatted over beers, steamed buffalo jerky and chilis. When it came time for dinner, trung invited us out to be with him and bis friends for pork. We hopped in a car and were whisked away to what may very well have been the best meal experience of my life.
We hopped from a van into a little restaurant in a dimly lit dirt road. We had walked around town all day, and i didnt recognize this place. So immediately i knew-oh, this is goñna be good.

We crowded around a table with our new friends and their friends. A table of roughly 15, we must have been one of three tables there. Food arrived in waves (really, tsunamis). First course, of course: corn wine.
"What is corn wine?" You ask?
If you are vietnamese, its wine made from corn. Its a good time. Its a sweet substance which comes in handy, maybe, to calm the pork and chilies in your belly (it's effective).
If you're a tourist, it is a heavenly elixor which flows freely from every corner store from a reused lipton plastic jug, which may make a "night" of rest on a rickety night bus a bit smoother.
Where i come from, we just call it moonshine.
Second course, third, and all the rest?
Crispy pork: a gargantuan platter of gorgeous squares of pork with crispy skin, served with a halo of mint, basil, other herbs. Just when you thought you couldnt fit more in your stomach, another plate came. Tripe with wild onion and blood sausage. Fresh cucumbers with salt. Salted dried fish...
Every time a new dish hit the table, chum would proudly say, "this is very special."
She told me about the leaves thag were seeved, and explained they are fdkm fhe forest.
...those leaves. How do i describe them?
Theh were like nothing i have ever tasted. It would be like a mantis shrimp trhing to describe colors to me ive nevee seen before. Bitter, earthy, sweet, fragrant but not floral.
Chum said her son's named dominic because her husband (fam) loves the fast and furious movies. ...sounds like he and nate are kindred spirits. I wouldnt be suprised if nate wanted to name a son john mcclane.
We had so much fun chatting and eating with everyone. After dinner we went to the night market, which seemed to mostly be a few vendors setting up early for the following day to get a head start, as well as some street performers singing songs.
Trung is an architect. He showed me his plans for development of the market and town centre. The plans were gorgeous: bright, crisp, proud, organized. I hope we can return to bac ha one day and see that dream realized (pending local government approval, i believe).
We returned to the homestay and i had a quiet beer to myself while soaking in the 360° view of the young, pointed mountains.

Day 3: bac ha market

The bac ha market is the main attraction in bac ha. It is the largest indigenous market in vietnam. This may be the most colorful place i have ever seen. People travel from miles around to sell everything from fruit to bracelets to livestock. Pink bougainvilla spill over walls and immaculately landscaped various spring flowers line fhe river.  Bac ha is home to six indigenous groups, the main one being flower hmong.

The flower hmong people are known for their colorful, handmade textiles adorned with silver bells and medallions. Endless rows of stalls lined with pink, yellow, orange, green, indigo, stripes and plaid created the backdrop for the bustling market. Baskets of plums, sweet potato, dried fruits, nuts, jerky, salted fish, spring onion, and herbs line the streets, dotted with carts where hot dogs, fried songbirds, roasted duck confit, and fried sticky rice/sweet potato balls dipped in sesame seeds are prepared. The livestock market hosts horses, chickens, buffalo, and (hunting) dogs.
We had some incredible pho at a stall for breakfast with fresh, pinkish noodles and meat carved from a whole pig and whole chicken. We spent the morning strolling the market and haggled with vendors to bring some souviniers home for family. Then we walked along the river, watching a newborn foal deloghtedly gallop, whilst a crowd gathered around a cockfightalong the bank.
Back to the homestay, where our new friends generously let us ride with them back to their hometown of hanoi.
Luckily they gave us lots of restaurant reccomendations along the way!
We arrived in hanoi hungry and tried ling's favorite spot, quan vi saigon.
Everything was fantastic: razor clams with peanuts and chilies, snails, green mussles with black pepper, thai steamed clams, white clams in butter, mustard greens, baguette, and of course, cold bia saigon.

Bedtime in hanoi, then at it again tomorrow at the freaking crack of dawn to get a taxi, to a bus, to a speedboat, to a bus to our little slice of paradise on cat ba island.

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Photos

The SaPa Shidder
5 hours was more than enough.

Red River Valley from SaPa to Lao Cai
Massive developments frozen in time since pre-covid. The Vietnamese are very proud they have "eradicated" the disease and can once again welcome back tourists.

Courtyard of our homestay, where all the magic found inception
This is where we met some new friends over tea that would add just a freaking indescribable element to our stay. You'll see...

Mr. "Chuung" is the man with the plan
Essentially he, and his college buddies were together for the weekend, now all professionals with families, and we stumbled into their letting loose.

Abby eating a crabapple that they sell everywhere in Bac Ha.
Not a fan

Sniper pupper has an existential crisis
He came through fine with some scritches