Bắc Hà Sunday market

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Bac Ha
September 8th 2009

Published: September 8th 2009

Sunday 6 September 2009 - After an 8 and a half hour train ride from Hanoi, I arrived in Lào Cai. This city is very close to China, only 1km from the Lào Cai - Hekou international border crossing, also on the way to Yunnan province of China. If you look at a map, Sapa is on the left side, 38km from Lào Cai, and Bắc Hà is on the right side, 70km from Lào Cai. Both Sapa and Bắc Hà are popu... Read Full Entry

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Hanoi_girl

theRedRiver

I am a Hanoi_girl who loves to travel. When working for a Japanese construction company in Hanoi, I had the chance to travel to 28 countries and to all the 63 provinces in Vietnam, including 25 trips to Huế city. Egypt, Mongolia and Italy are my love, and other favorite countries are Australia, France, New Zealand, Nepal, Fiji, Japan, India, Indonesia, Belgium, Netherlands, Sri Lanka, Myanmar, China (8 trips, 15 cities), South Korea, New Caledonia, Vanuatu, Cambodia (3 trips), Brunei Darussalam, the United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, the Philippines, Laos (3 trips), Malaysia (4 trips), Singap... full info

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People look so happy

At a house of H'mong people

We are visiting a local house at Bản Phố village near Bắc Hà market. The tour guide is explaining how to make corn wine (local specialty), while the H'mong woman is sitting at her kitchen.

Mother and son

Beautiful landscape

Wish my camera could have better zoom.

People are talking with each other

Favorite food "thắng cố" of the locals

At fruit shops

These shops attract a lot of women.

Pigs are screaming inside the cage

Pigs, horses, buffaloes, chicken, ducks and even dogs are sold at the market.

A H'mong woman passing by the shops

Buffaloes on sale

Ice cream here

The woman selling ice cream sits next to her simple ice cream box and holds a horn in her hand. When people hear the sound from this horn, they will know that she sells ice cream.

At the market

A little girl and her father

Pan-pipe "khèn"

This woman carries the musical instrument of H'mong people.

Pig selling

These pigs (lợn cắp nách hay lợn nương) are raised at the local farms and they are of small size. The man selling pigs has an ice cream in his hand.

At H'mong dress shop

On the way to Bản Phố village

We are going to visit 2 houses at the village of H'mong people.

At the market

The mother ties a band over her child.

Traditional dresses of H'mong people

Two little H'mong girls

At a H'mong house in Bản Phố village.

At the market

8th September 2009

John Strathearn
non-member comment

BAC HA
Thanks for the helpful advice about rail travel from Hanoi. Great photos of H'mong people and the market.

8th September 2009

Hideyuki Kobayashi
non-member comment

H'mong minority
Thanks for your report and photos. Bản Phố village looks like somewhere in Japanese rural area. I wonder how they think about the other side of H'mong people in China each other.

8th September 2009

longthai
Long Thai

Bắc Hà experience
Thanks for sharing your experience in Bắc Hà. We have not been there yet but we will visit it next time. We have been in Sapa in Jul/2009 and the scenery is so beautiful there with its rice terrace fields and the ethnic people mainly black H'Mong and Red Dao. What would be the best time to visit North West Vietnam ? In July, it was pouring and we can hardly see anything. Luckily, it was sunny the last day so we can visit Cat Cat village and Ham Rong. I also observed that the black H'Mong people does not speak Vietnamese language people at all compared to the Red Dao people where they can understand and even reply back to you in Vietnamese. How about the H'Mong Hoa people in Bắc Hà ?

8th September 2009

Rob_n_Lorenza
Rob & Lorenza B

Thanks so much for sharing this entry with us, as always a well written entry with great photos!

9th September 2009

theRedRiver
Hanoi_girl

Reply to Long Thai
What would be the best time to visit North West Vietnam ? - April, May, September and October in my opinion. In other months it may be foggy, cold or rain resulting in the landslides. How about the H'Mong Hoa people in Bắc Hà ? - Some can speak a little Vietnamese. When I asked them "Is this thang co food?" and they understood my question. I heard that Dong Van Sunday market in Ha Giang province is more interesting than Bac Ha Sunday market. However, it's difficult to find a room in Dong Van on Saturday night and you have to travel far away to get to this town. The normal route to the northernmost province is Ha Giang - Meo Vac - Dong Van - Lung Cu. I also want to do this route someday in the future.

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Bắc Hà Sunday market

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