November 13 In Sapa, 5,000 feet elevation in northern Vietnam

We rose early, had a great breakfast at the hotel, and walked out to the nearby market, taking pictures of the colorful hill tribe people, mostly Red Yao (Dzao) and Black Hmong, but with other groups as well, some of which we were not sure of.  Many of the men and women were in full costume.  The market is interesting because it is a mixture of items for the native hill tribes, but also caters to the many tourists.  Tourists vary from young backpackers to retired people.  The largest single group were French, who tend to travel in tour groups, but also a number of Germans, Danes, and a few Spanish-speakers. we did hear a few older people speaking either English or American English.

Giay women beautifully dressed in market having lunch

We did manage to get pictures of men with a mouth harp, and some Giay women in full costume, in addition to the more common groups.  One other aspect of Sapa was that there were many ladies with full tribal costume who were actively trying to sell local handicrafts to tourists, often following western tourists down the street and asking them to buy something they had. We had not seen this type of commercialism before on our trip.

We then visited the nearby Ethnology Museum to get a better handle on the hill tribes in the region, here called minority groups.  We still had some doubts, and at dinner in another Italian restaurant, were advised by the owner, who was a guide as well, but on reviewing our pictures and online sources, we were still not sure about several.

After organizing our boots and hiking gear for the next morning, we went to bed early.

Love the detail in the pants

Back of the Red Dzao costume but you can't see the bottom of the coat

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