Bắc Hà Sunday market

At Bắc Hà Sunday market
A H'mong woman and her son
at the mark

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 popular tourist destinations in north west Vietnam. Tourists often go to Bắc Hà on Sundays to see the market of the flowery H'mong ethnic minority people (different with black H'mong people in Sapa based on their dresses). This market is held every Sunday from morning until 2pm. The locals bring their own products (corn wine, pigs, horses, even dogs) to this market for sale and they also buy necessary things for their families. It's not only a market, but a chance for them to meet, talk and enjoy their lives.

As I've been to Sapa (a good place for trekking) twice, my major interest on this trip was to see the Sunday market in Bắc Hà, then I would go back to Hanoi on the same day. When I arrived at Lào Cai railway station, it was 5:30am. As I traveled alone on this trip, I booked my bus tickets in advance through a travel agent in Hanoi, so I could go from Lào Cai to Bắc Hà by tourist mini bus which is more comfortable than the local buses.