Bac Ha

7/22 Bac Ha

We go down at Pho Lu, a couple of stops before Lao Cai. Our intention is to reach Bac Ha at least an hour and a half before those who will go to Lao Cai, unnecessarily lengthening the route. The Lonely Planet does not mention this possibility, the Rough Guides does. I have discovered it on a web forum.

While we make our way in the train corridor to the exit, everyone, tourists and even the conductor tells us “here is not Lao Cai, are you sure?” Yes, we are sure, even though we are the only foreigners in a crowd of Vietnamese people on the tracks.

Outside the station, on the forecourt, they indicate us a minibus with destination Bac Ha, reachable in less than a hour, while the train still has to get to Lao Cai.

On the bus, there are no other foreigners, and we are sonorously cheated on the price (100 thousand dong), more than double of the normal price. In front of our strong protests, they reply with a sneer that the alternative is … to go on foot, and so we pay the damned 100 thousand dong. The road is tortuous. I would say that, despite the rip off, this is a good idea, because at some point some characters in colourful costumes get on board, laden with baskets and hens, a preview of the market.. 🙂

We get off at Bac Ha town center, and would like to find a place to leave our luggage. An American couple shows me the Sunset Boulevard Café, where we also have  breakfast. The friendly owner gives me some information to go later to Sapa, so I buy him a ticket for a bus that will leave at around 14.30 (10 USD).

I had read conflicting opinions on this market, but would point out that the part where they sell souvenirs is marginal, and everything else seems very authentic and genuine. Some of the foods offered are at least curious, and then the usual mixture of not exactly enticing odours, for example fresh meat exposed for hours outside the refrigerator. The flowered Hmong pass close to us, sometimes pushing, in a swirl of colors, whose contrasts are made even more intense by the sunlight.

The town of Bac Ha is anyway worth a visit, since there are graceful buildings such as the Vua Meo, a kind of castle built by the French. The surroundings of Bac Ha are inhabited by Montagnards as well, the area does not seem very “commercial”, maybe it would not be bad to make an attempt here. They organize trekkings as well.