Travels to Sapa and Vietnam's north Part 2 - Lao Cai to Sapa

Enjoyed the detour also though would probably only recommend it to those with plenty of time on their hands. It runs along the Chinese border and then heads down to a small dot on the map called Muong Mum.

Sapa and its surrounds are stunning at this time of year. The downside is the high likelihood of rain - it is the wet season. There are many upsides. Everything is glisteningly beautiful and fresh, the sounds of water cascading down spectacular falls or trickling down gentle irrigation systems fills the air. Farmers are out in force tending their rice crops.  There's plenty to see - though it can be very hot as well.

Our long and often bumpy ride took us through some spectacular territory. It was all about rice really - as is so much of what happens up here.

After arriving in Sapa, I took a walk through the town. This place is changing so fast - I'm getting tired of saying that about places in Vietnam.... In Sapa, hotels have been going up everywhere - each one seems to be intent on building higher than those in front at the expense of those behind. If you've travelled on Vietnam Airlines, imagine the crush to get off after landing as an inspiration for a city plan and you'll get a sense of what is happening in Sapa. Most of the buildings are new but they don't look it. It's hard to imagine that they will be around for long either. They're aging very quickly.

The best thing about the town is that you only have walk a few hundred metres in any direction out of it and you're completely removed from the technicolour monstrosities and amidst the magic of Sapa. I took the walk down the mountain to Cat Cat and it was every bit as beautiful as I recall. In fact, the sun broke through the cloud and an afternoon shower cleared making this one of the most beautiful visits to Cat Cat I've ever made.

Cat Cat is probably the least imaginative thing a traveller can do in Sapa, but it's still lovely. Perhaps because I left my walk quite late, I was spared that harassment by sellers that the village and its shops are now notorious for.

The ethnic minority groups living around Sapa are amazing. The largest group is the Black Hmong - said to comprise just over 50% of the population. The Red Dzao are the next largest group. Many of the ethnic minority groups still dress in full costume. While tourism is no doubt having a huge impact, these traditions were well and truly in tact before the tourism boom of the past decade.

It's very interesting to see the amount of interaction now between the Hmong people, especially the young ones and travellers. While selling traditional fabrics and jewellery is still the main driver of interaction, it is not unusual to see travellers dining out or socialising with Hmong women (the travellers I saw were families or groups of men and women wanting to engage the locals - I didn't note anything more sinister). The commercial contact has created an explosion in English competency amongst young Hmong women that has a much wider cultural implication. They really want to talk.

While there are plenty of disturbing development sites in Sapa town and there is plenty about the whole dynamic of travel and minority cultures to keep us all thinking, so far at least, Sapa still has a good feel - especially once you get out of the main town.

Yesterday was a near perfect day. Have a look at the slide show here to see more.