Posted on 10-12-2008 under Travel

Day in day out, this blog is about weddings, weddings, and more weddings…. well, it’s time to set off for Vietnam on an exotic escapade! :)

Lao Cai means ‘Old Street’ in Chinese. We started our journey by the night train from Hanoi at 9.00pm and arrived at Lao Cai Town, at 8.00am in the morning. Thereafter, we took a bus to Sa Pa where we checked into the hotel and then proceeded straightaway to start our 12-km trek through the mountainous countryside to the Lao Cai Village. When I completed the entire trail, I couldn’t believe that I had actually embarked on it without any actual prior outdoor training in trekking! Fortunately, I survived! ;)

At the Lao Cai Village, most of the civilians are from the Black H’mong tribe, and they deal mainly in agriculture.

You may be wondering why they are all decked out in their traditional costumes like this. Are they just trying to impress the tourists? If you think so, then you are totally wrong. This is what they actually wear every day, even when they work in the fields.

When we checked into the hotel prior to our hike, I saw a group of young Black H’mong schoolgirls dressed in their traditional costumes surfing away on the computers in a cybercafe! And one of the teenage Black H’mong tour guides was speaking in perfect English with an American accent to a bunch of European tourists… I was actually thinking, I wish our University graduates could speak such good English! ;)

How about those elderly Black H’mong women? I was even more shocked… not only can they bargain, but they can argue with you on the price tag for each item in their basket in perfect English! So you see, don’t judge a book by it’s cover. ;)

For the kids who play by the river with the buffalo they are tending, to me, they have the innocence and freedom of the ‘Children of Heaven’. However, they are fast-catching up in this internet age and soon, we may not see this innocent face anymore in the near future.

All photos were taken using the Nikon D700 with the 18-35mm lens. More photos can be found here.


Buy from me!!! Buy from me!!! By the way, they trekked alongside with us for 12km… can you believe it?!


Our lunch at Lao Cai village… enjoying the French baguette served with omelette. :)


A Black H’mong family


Here we go again… buy from me, purleeese…


I nearly got charged at by this buffalo… because I didn’t realize that I was wearing a red T-shirt with Uncle Ho’s portrait on it… hahaha!!!


The kitchen in the home of a H’mong Tribe family. But the living hall was equipped with DVD Player and Satellite TV, ok?!


The road is actually intersected by a waterfall which flows down the mountain…. so all vehicles have to pass through the waterfall! Isn’t it amazing?!


Good bye, Sa Pa and Lao Cai! :)