Category Archives: Culture

Sapa Market

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The Sapa Market is a traditional marketplace at the heart of downtown Sapa, Vietnam. It’s still the main meeting place for people in the nearby villages to to buy and sell their produce and goods. Recently with the increasing popularity of Sapa as a tourist destination in Northern Vietnam, you also see the market evolving to also cater to foreigners who come to visit the market to look for souvenirs, backpacking supplies, and anything that represents the local culture.

We walked through the main street of Sapa and passed through a portion of the market. We didn’t actually get in to the market itself as we didn’t really have any particular need for purchasing anything. The market itself from outside looked similar to many traditional markets that we’re familiar with in other Southeast Asian countries, with stalls occupied by vendors selling fresh produce, mixed with stores selling souvenirs.

The photo below was the main entrance of the market as seen from the main street of Sapa.  The think fog in the morning added a unique feel to the scenery, though for the locals it’s just another beginning of a day in Sapa, nothing special.

Sapa Market

Gears for Sale

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When we walked around the town of Sapa, Vietnam, we noticed something that our Australian friends Dave and Anna mentioned the day before, there were many stores in Sapa where you could get trekking / outdoor gears in case you need them. The interesting part was that you would see displays of gears — jackets, hats, pants, shoes, sandals, etc. — that looked very much like what you would find in a sporting goods store, except that the price was significantly lower than what you would find in the United States or Australia.

There were items we saw that looked suspiciously like counterfeits (like sandals that looked like Keen sandals but if you observe closely you see that the brand was actually 3.ten (but shaped like Keen logo). But there are also jackets that looked like legitimate North Face or Columbia gears but at much lower price than what out would expect.

This reminded me to going to ‘factory outlets’ in Indonesia where you could find brand name clothes for cheaper price. What I learned in Indonesia was that those items sold there were typically coming from the same manufacturers who produced the real thing for the actual well-known brands, but some of those merchandise might have small defects that didn’t pass the inspection for export, but to regular consumers who are price sensitive, that would be good enough compromise to make. Compare that to going to a store in the United States to purchase the gear that is guaranteed to be authentic from the chosen brand name, but when you looked at the tag you find that it was made in Vietnam or Indonesia. Or even worse, going to an upscale company store in Jakarta, Indonesia, to purchase clothes that were imported from the United States but prior to that it was exported from a developing country. So you may end up paying the markup due to the exports, when you could get the same thing at much lower price if you know where to look. In the end, it comes down to how much you care for the brand name and the quality of the product, and how much you’re willing to pay for that.

The photo below was taken as we perused the merchandise at one of the stores. Notice the merchandise on display that looked like the real deal (or they could probably be, we just didn’t know).

Gears for Sale

Inclement Weather

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When traveling, sometimes you can have a well planned trip needing to be adjusted due to inclement weather conditions. This can be a deal-breaker especially when the activity you would like to do is outdoors. Such was the case for our second day in Sapa, Vietnam.

After trekking to a couple of villages on the first day, we wanted to do another trek that leads to a waterfall on the second day. The plan was to do this trek in the morning, then spend some time in the afternoon in Sap a relaxing before heading back to Lao Cai in the evening to catch the train back to Hanoi. In my mind it sounded like a great plan — checking out the mountains of Sapa and the natural landscape on the second day. What we didn’t account for was the unpredictable weather, especially during the winter season months.

We woke up on the second day to a foggy and a little bit rainy day. When we went down to the Sapa Rooms Hotel lobby to have breakfast and check on the plan for the trekking, the front desk mentioned that due to the inclement weather, the trek had been cancelled because the trails would quite slippery and a bit dangerous to pass. That meant the plan was shot, and we would have to figure a different plan for the day.

Since the only definite plan now was that we had to be ready to head to Lao Cai by 6 pm, the whole day was then wide open. We decided to play it by ear, and spend the morning walking around downtown Sapa and did our own trek to another village nearby. In the end, it was still an enjoyable and memorable day. I think the point is to not getting frustrated when the original plan got foiled by inclement weather, and instead use the time to find other activities that still make the best use of the available time.

The photo below was taken on the main street of Sapa that morning as Kristi and I walked around the town. You can see the thick fog that pretty much made everything invisible. It gave a different mood and sense of place however when I too some photographs of the town that morning, and for the locals, life went on as usual.

Foggy Morning

Hot Pot

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After a long day that started with early arrival from Hanoi, and continued with an all day trekking to the nearby villages, we’re ready to enjoy some rest at our hotel in Sapa, Vietnam. For dinner, we wanted to have something local. There were restaurants in town serving western foods, but we’d like to try something that we wouldn’t find elsewhere.

Dave and Anna, the Australian couple we met during the trekking, suggested a restaurant that they went to the night before called Sapa Lotus Restaurant. The restaurant, located in downtown Sapa, served local dish that they said was very good, the hot pot dinner for two. Given the cooler weather in the mountain area, that sounded like a good option — local food with nice warm soup.

We found the restaurant pretty easily. When we got there, we were the only one in the restaurant, so it was a little concerning. But we went ahead and stayed there, and ordered the combination hot pot that came with assortment of meats and vegetables. The pot with the broth seemed to be closer to the Japanese style of hot pot, which is lighter than the Chinese style. It also had some herbs to flavor the broth. When the raw ingredients were served at our table, it seemed a lot (especially the vegetables). However we were able to finish everything and it was the right amount for the two of us.

As we we’re in the middle of enjoying our dinner, a group of Vietnamese visitors came. They seemed to be a local tour group consisting several families. Later on we found out that they were going to go to cross the border to China nearby to go shopping there.

The photo below was taken during the dinner. Here is Kristi adding the ingredients to the hot pot.

Hot Pot

Dave and Anna

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Sometimes what makes a trip or tour even more memorable is the company you have during that trip. When we did the trek to the villages of Lao Chai and Tavan on our first day in Sapa, Vietnam, we went on a semi-private tour as our tour group consisted our guide May, Kristi and I, and a couple from Australia named Dave and Anna.

Dave and Anna were from Melbourne, Australia. They came to Sapa one day before we arrived. They stayed at another hotel in town which didn’t have tour services, so during their first day in Sapa, they went on their own to Cat Cat village nearby. Dave said that during his younger days he had done backpacking in many countries in South and Southeast Asia — his description reminded me to the British/Australian couple who started Lonely Planet. During our trek Dave and I talked a little bit about various topics — economy, culture, recent news — to compare between the Australia and the United States. I didn’t remember much on the specifics, though I do remember his comment saying that he could recognize my American accent just like I recognized his Australian accent. I didn’t realize that I speak English in American accent…

Later on during the hike I had conversation with Dave’s wife, Anna. Anna mentioned that they were about ready to become empty nesters as their older son was in college while their younger son was close to finish up high school and was ready to continue on to college. Anna also mentioned that she worked for an Australian government agency as a Public Relations person, whose job sometimes is to do ‘damage control’ when someone higher up in her organization said something to the public incorrectly or was facing difficult time dealing with the press. She said her older son seemed to be interested in a similar line of job.

They were both very attentive as well when May gave explanations about the local culture, and they were interested in learning about Indonesia and the United States as well. When we got back to the Sapa Rooms after the tour, we ended up spending a couple of hours hanging out at the hotel’s restaurant to have drinks and enjoy each other’s company. Later that day, they continued their trip back to Hanoi to spend a day in the city before continuing to Ha Long Bay. Before leaving, we shared contact information and they said that if we ever made it to Melbourne, we’re welcomed to stay with them.

The photo below was taken right after we got back from our trek at the Sapa Rooms. These were May, Dave, Anna, Kristi, and me.

Tour group