Cau May (Cloud Bridge)
by Willettsworld
Cau May (Cloud Bridge) is the main thoroughfare for foreign tourists, and is crowded with restaurants serving western food. This street starts at the south side of the town square and terminates in a steep set of stairs lined with cheap rooms, let out by the Vietnamese who have come here to work. At the top of the stairs, you'll find one of the town's two ATMs that takes foreign cards. The street also gives access to the towns market and usually features Red Dzao selling textiles.
The Red Dao People
by Greggor58
The Dao are another ethnic people seen quite commonly in and around Sa Pa…The women dress in a brilliant red colored clothing and often will be seen wearing a red turban like wrap on they’re head’s. These people also participate in the tourist market and you will experience they’re many attempts to also sell you something for you to take home with you
These people also originated in China and are thought to have settled in and around the Sa Pa region for a few hundred years.
Unlike the Black Hmong though, they have long ago adapted the Chinese writing system but similar to the Black Hmong, all that I encountered here were easy to talk with and quick to smile! There was one woman in particular that I met soon after I arrived in Sa Pa…we established quickly that I was not shopping. She gave me a small embroidered wrist band that she put onto my wrist, a gift she said, so it was a sealed deal I think as far as she was concerned, when I was going to make a purchase, she was going to be the seller@!! I did end up buying a small set of pillow cases from her. At different times when we ran into each other on the street, we would stop to talk…and quickly a crowd of her companions would gather around attempting to make a sale.
Costumes of the different tribes
by dfactor
The women and girls wear indigo turbans, skirts, vests, leggings and may big silver hoop earings (Bigger earings means they are married). Men wear baggy shirts and trousers and a long vest, as well as silver and bronze necklaces.
Rural life
by Willettsworld
If you decide to do a trek through some of the local villages, you'll encounter some amazing rural life. We walked through the village of Lau Chai with Red Dzao women past pigs, ducks, buffalo and some lovely wooden houses.
Walking stick is a must!
by wiskiz
Keep your luggage as light as possible as you'll be hiking with them! Please bring ample water and minimal change of clothes! Shoes will have to be good enough for hiking on rough and muddy terrain for long distances. Basically we can spend the whole morning hiking from a village to another.. but it was a nice experience! A sturdy walking stick (or your camera tripod/monopod) will be useful. When navigating steep slopes, these will come in handy. Alternatively, you can purchase a sturdy stick from little girls peddling them - knowing tourist will find it hard to navigate. Your can make your own too!
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Rosco trying to read a Vietnamese road map
Beautiful mountain scenery of Sapa
Food at our homestay
Black Hmong hill-tribe women
