Sapa area trekking, Vietnam

For our second day in the Sapa area, we headed out for more trekking. Before our trip, we had been forewarned about the aggressive hawkers who will spend the whole day trailing after you until they have made a sale. As we took a car to start on our second day, we avoided being tagged on our way out of town, though a pair of young girls latched on to us once we were let out on the road. We have a general policy of not buying from children, so OD tried to discourage them early on, but they kept following us from a distance for some time.

My Entourage

Our trek began on a trail adjacent to rice paddies; our guide informed us that some of these rice paddies have been in place for hundreds of years. It was quite muddy in places and we had a few slips -- luckily the guide was often nearby to steady me. 

We saw quite a few water buffalo, starting with a few blocking the road. Our guide told us that you have to keep track of your water buffalo otherwise they will wonder off and be stolen. On the trail, we passed by some water buffalo quite closely -- I didn't get too close in fear of being knocked over on the steep slope.

Water buffalo blocking the road

Close encounter on the trail

During our hike we came across a dam in construction. Our guide told us that some of the villagers had been relocated in order to clear land for the dam -- the conflicts of progress.

Overlooking the future dam site

Dam construction marring the view

Photo taken from a much sturdier bridge parallel to this one 

Past the dam, the landscape was dominated by rice paddies and dotted by wooden shacks. Powerlines, however, ran through what was otherwise a seemingly ancient way of life.  

 As expected, our route took us by stalls of various handicrafts. The different subgroups of H'mong are identified by their traditional colors and patterns. Unfortunately, we don't have any good photos of the villagers, as we thought it too intrusive to take close-up shots without asking.

At one of the village stalls

Woman with traditional scarf and mickey mouse jacket

Woman in traditional H'mong costume on the right

We also had lunch at a local home, with a simple meal prepared by one of the village women. Our guide was able to translate though it was another tribal language than her own, but we didn't strike up much of a conversation. OD was still forlorn over the accident that happened on our way up the steep path to the home -- he slipped on some moss and came crashing down on his brand new camera, unhinging the lens somewhat. However, both OD and the camera survived to see another day.

Last shot before the fall