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Sapa Vietnam 2014: A number of tour companies offer various kinds of guided tours of the ethnic villages and mountainous terrain in the area. This high resolution image should be readable, if expanded.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Sisters, I presume; the younger one is carrying a baby on her back. Try as I might to get a picture of her face, she managed to make it impossible despite the fact I bought one of her trinkets as a bribe. She can't be over 9 or 10, so I assume her mother manages to make her a willing baby sitter, for surely that cannot be her baby she carries!

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Here is a closer look at that little girl of perhaps 9 or 10 with a sleeping baby on her back. I looked closely to make sure the baby wasn't a doll. It is a baby all right!

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Many fresh fruit venders offer Pommelo citrus fruit for sale, but these enterprising ladies add value to their load by deftly peeling the fruit and breaking it into wedges. I watched as they first cut large chunks of peeling away with a knife and then dug fingernails into the rest of the white pulp to expose the citrus beneath.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: These may be a couple of Santa's elves... I'm not sure. The guy in the foreground looks like he expects rain... and with good reason: two days last week required umbrellas for my walks!

Sapa Vietnam 2014: This scene is repeated every time a new face shows up in Sapa Town.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another of the examples of terraced farming, this one showing the simple dwellings people have constructed.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another example of a homestead near an area of terraced farming.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another example of a homestead near an area of terraced farming.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Sign identifying the Chau Long Sapa Hotel where I had planned to spend a few days, but got sick and stayed in the USapa.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Secluded interior of the Chau Long Sapa Hotel where I had planned to spend a few days, but got sick and stayed in the USapa.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Looking down on the secluded interior of the Chau Long Sapa Hotel which has been turned into a replica of the old Sapa Town layout of 1936.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another shot of the secluded interior of the Chau Long Sapa Hotel (YouTube video Introduction) where I had planned to spend a few days, but got sick and stayed in the USapa Hotel.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Dramatic hanging chandelier seen in the interior of the 7 story Chau Long Sapa Hotel where I had planned to spend a few days.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: An unusual convenience for guests before or after having access to their rooms in the Chau Long Sapa Hotel.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Vicious guard rooster on watch outside the Chau Long Sapa Hotel.

End of column.

21-~31 October 2014

Greetings from Sa Pa Vietnam,

This page contains more photos taken in Sapa Vietnam during October 2014. See the rest on the main postcard page.

Peace,

Fred L Bellomy

Sapa Vietnam 2014: This map shows the points of interest around Sapa Town. The terraced rice fields and ethnic mountain villages with their people in their distinctive dress attract trekkers wanting to take long walks.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: A number of tour companies offer various kinds of guided tours of the ethnic villages and mountainous terrain in the area. This high resolution image should be readable, if expanded.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: More of the street food seen on display at one of the many outdoors dining venues.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: This topographical map shows the points of interest around Sapa Town. The terraced rice fields and ethnic mountain villages with their people in their distinctive dress attract trekkers wanting to take long walks. This high resolution image should be readable, if expanded.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: One of the hundreds of little displays laid out to entice the throngs of visiting tourists in town. There are more than a half dozen different ethnicities from villages in the mountains around Sapa Town, mostly distinguished by the unique head gear they wear.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Overloaded motorbikes seem to be the principle mode of moving cargo around, but the shoulder pole still serves as a convenient means for carrying heavy stuff short distances.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: The wall around the central plaza is a popular place to hang out for teens as well as motorbike taxi drivers between fares... and for others waiting for the next tour bus to expel a new crop of tourists eager to be harassed by swarms of gaily dressed girls shaking trinkets in their faces.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another of the examples of terraced farming as seen from the road down the mountain to LaoCai.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Here it is clear rice is the crop growing on the terraced farms like this one. Only when the paddies are flooded like these is it obvious.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Jack Fruit sliced to show the colorful interior on the back of a vendor's motor bike.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another shot of the main street through town a little further down from the central plaza.

At the Chinese border.

Lao Cai Vietnam 2014: This is a view looking north toward China from the main approach road in Vietnam. The bridge seen here connects two sides of the river running through this part of Vietnam. The Friendship Bridge crosses a tributary running in front of those tall twin towers in the background.

Lao Cai Vietnam 2014: This railroad bridge runs parallel to the main Friendship bridge connecting Vietnam to the Peoples Republic of China, but is currently unused as is obvious from the rusty rails.

Lao Cai Vietnam 2014: This archway is the first thing people coming from China into Vietnam see as they cross the Friendship Bridge. I presume is says "Welcome to Vietnam."

Lao Cai Vietnam 2014: This is a view of the unused railroad bridge as seen from near the main Friendship Bridge used for foot traffic between the two countries.

End of column.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the street food seen on display at one of the many outdoors dining venues.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the dried food seen on ground cloths laid at the sides of the streets around town. This is 11111111, used for yyyyyy zzzzzz according to some of my local informants.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the dried food seen on ground cloths laid at the sides of the streets around town. This is dried mushrooms, used in a variety of dishes according to some of my local informants.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the dried food seen on ground cloths laid at the sides of the streets around town. This is a batch of dried apples used for making a beverage according to some of my local informants.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Hundreds of ground cloths like this covered with hand made articles line the paved streets of Sopa Town. The "coin purses" like those shown here must be popular with the tourists as there are endless offerings. Most displays have more attentive sellers.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the dried food seen on ground cloths laid at the sides of the streets around town. This is a root dried and then soaked for a year to make another beverage according to some of my local informants.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the dried food seen on ground cloths laid at the sides of the streets around town. This is 444444444, used for yyyyyy zzzzzz according to some of my local informants.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the dried food seen on ground cloths laid at the sides of the streets around town. This is 555555555, used for yyyyyy zzzzzz according to some of my local informants.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the dried food seen on ground cloths laid at the sides of the streets around town. This is 6666666, used for yyyyyy zzzzzz according to some of my local informants.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Some of the dried food seen on ground cloths laid at the sides of the streets around town. This is dried licorice bark shavings, used as a food flavoring according to some of my local informants.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Every night the trees around the plaza drip color as these hundreds of unique strings of led lights perform an illumination act in red, blue, green, yellow and white. It looks for all the world like rain in slow motion color and creates a magic atmosphere.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Bundles of Bamboo shoots seen in one of the fresh produce market alleys off the main shopping street. They are used in a variety of dishes including soups I've enjoyed.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Wild honey being offered for sale by a hill tribe family on the curb directly across the street from my hotel. Another guest confirmed the quality by a taste test and purchased about a pound for around $7. While the father conducted business, the mother continued nursing her baby.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another of the examples of terraced farming as seen from the road down the mountain to LaoCai.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another example of terraced farming with farmers in the foreground as seen from the moving bus on the road down the mountain to LaoCai.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another of the examples of terraced farming as seen from the road down the mountain to LaoCai.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Many motorcycles passed our bus as I shot photos of the terraced farming along the road down to LaoCai.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another of the examples of terraced farming as seen from the road down the mountain to LaoCai.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: People enjoying the views from a lookout point along the road down the mountain to LaoCai.

Sapa Vietnam 2014: Another of the examples of terraced farming as seen from the road down the mountain to LaoCai.

End of column.