A trip to the Northern highland
of Vietnam could not be perfect without a visit to its local markets, typical
of which are Bac Ha, Sapa and Dong Van markets, opening every Sunday. They are
the places where tourists can find all the best of cuisine and agriculture
products. With the exclusiveness of the mountainous border areas, these
highland markets will surely amaze you any time of year.
Colorful and crowded Bac Ha
market on Sundays
Being listed as one of the ten
most attractive markets in the Southeast Asia, the Bac Ha Market is best-visit
in the early morning of Sundays, when tourists can see a lot of ethnic women in
colorful skirts and carrying their products and cattle to market. Visiting the
market, you will fell lost in the colorful picture of the variety of products,
from a golden patch of peas to giant cucumbers, fresh green mustard patches and
brightly red chilies.
A famous dish that you should not
miss when visiting Bac Ha market is “thang co”. It is a kind of hot pot
including innards, bones, fat and meat from a cow, buffalo or horse. Moreover,
you can also try some wine made from the fermentation of a local leaf named
“hong my”, together with a special dish of bean soup served with corn flour.
Walking to the end of the market,
tourists will be impressed by a group of ethnic men playing a trumpet made from
bronze and dry paddy plant, called “pi le”; as well as various booths of pork
vendors and those selling local rice and corn cakes.
Dong Van Market
The market is frequently
organized at the center of an ancient town up on Dong Van Plateau on Sundays.
It is where locals come to exchange their products that they grow and produce
at home.
In order to join the Dong Van
market from the early morning, locals need to prepare from midnight. When the
market opens, you can feel as soaking into a colorful festival with many people
of different ethnic tribes including Mong, Dao, Nung, Lo Lo and Pa Then. They
come to the market not only for shopping but also for seeking a chance to meet
and talk to each other about their life and daily work. While men usually come
to the market for purchasing cattle and farming tool and for tasting some wine
and “thang co”, children are in for eating some ice-cream, a “luxury” dish in
the highland that they cannot ask for on normal day.
For tourists, they are attracted
by the beauty in the simple routine, which has been a party of the hard life on
the plateau for generations, whenever they take a visit to Dong Van market.
The romantic Sapa market
Lying at the foot of the roof
Indochina Fansipan, Sapa is a poetic destination endowed with pure and cool
weather. However, apart from its beauty, tourists come to Sapa for its weekly
market, which is regarded as an important element that pins its name on tourism
map.
Visiting the love market in Sapa
center, besides a lot of natural products from Hoang Lien Son Mountain Range,
including wild mushrooms, plums, hawthorn berries and orchids; as well as
peaches, pears and other fruits from O Quy Ho Rock Mountain, tourists are able
to buy herbal products to bring home as gifts for friends and family. In
addition, you can observe local ethnic women weaving and sewing bags and
pillows at the cloth booths inside the market.
Especially, joining the market on
Saturday night, you will have a chance to listen to the love story tunes from
the bamboo trumpet “khen”, performed by an ethnic man.
Whatever, do not forget combining
a visit these special highland markets to gain many worthwhile and memorable
experiences when coming to Sapa - one of the most outstanding destinations in
Southeast Asia.
Contact us:
info@asiacharmtours.com
Tel: (+844) 3929 0712 - Fax:
(+844) 3929 0713
Mob/WhatsAp/Viber/Wechat:
(+84)906.288.138 (Ms. Linda)
Please kindly contact us for the
detail:
Asia Charm Tours
Head office: 20 Dao Duy Tu,
Hanoi, Vietnam.
Tel: (+844) 3929 0712 - Fax:
(+8424) 3929 0713
Hotline: (+84)906.288.138
Email: info@asiacharmtours.com
Sapa is a famous place for the
majestic scenery with lots of marvelous paddy rice fields and valleys run
across the area. Known as favorite destination is not only interesting by the
magnificent landscape, but also the unique culture as well as the hospitable people
and their fascinating lifestyle.
