Lao Cai province
If travellers are headed anywhere north of Hanoi in Vietnam, it's likely to be Lao Cai province and the hilltribe town of Sapa. The province is geographically diverse, bordered to the east by Hoang Lien Son mountain range, part of which is Hoang Lien national park, which includes Mount Fansipan (Phanxipan), Vietnam's highest peak, at 3,143m above sea level.
Choice views of Fansipan are the prime commodity on sale in Lao Cai's signature destination, Sapa, a hill station high in the mountains which is a vestige of the French colonial era. Before the French came, it was home to several ethnic minorities, and now that the French are gone -- they're still there. Dzao, Red H'mong, and particularly Black H'mong have adapted to the tourist trade with considerable zeal, and their notoriously aggressive sales techniques should probably be attributed to how poor the region is, and how hard it is to eke out any kind of a living.
Sapa ranks along Ha Long Bay and Hoi An in terms of attracting tourists solely on the merit of its natural beauty and surrounding attractions. It's particularly rich in opportunities for treks, homestays, and (on clear days) the kinds of panoramic views that leave travel writers searching for fresh adjectives.
As high up as Sapa is -- 1,650m above sea level -- it's striking to notice that Fansipan, along with its fellow mountain peaks, tower above it. But Sapa is still high enough to be chilly in winter, often dipping into single digits (Celsius) and leaving unprepared travellers shivering under their quilts. Along with the cold comes rain and mist -- or rather, Sapa finds itself sitting in the middle of a bank of clouds, and visibility can be reduced to 10m. So those famous views don't come with a money-back guarantee, though even in winter clear days will roll around sooner or later.
It's 38km to Lao Cai, the sea-level provincial capital lying to the northeast along a winding mountain road. Located on the Hong River, it's typically quite a few degrees warmer than Sapa, and less beset by mist and rain. Lao Cai is a stone's throw from the Chinese town of Hekou, and the crossing here is the westernmost option open to foreigners crossing in and out of China. The town also serves as the terminus for the rail line connecting the province to Hanoi, making it the so-called gateway to Sapa.
If Sapa didn't exist, Lao Cai might still be known as a bustling little city, with leafy streets, lots of local food, decent accommodation, and good transportation options. It would be seen as an ideal staging area for treks and daytrips all over the province. But as Sapa does exist, the vast majority of travellers stay in Lao Cai only long enough to hop on the next minibus west to that alluring hill station in the mist.
It's something of a shame, because to the east of Lao Cai city lies the other half of the province. The ground soars upwards again, to the peaks of the Chay River Massif, where the town of Bac Ha is to be found, 66km by road, at 700m above sea level. Bac Ha is a 'little Sapa', and while it's much less developed for tourism, it's in an ideal location for off-the-beaten-track treks to visit colourful weekly markets. The Can Cau and Bac Ha markets, in particular, feature local scenes that have been going on every week for generations, where cattle, horses, goats and dogs are bought and sold, as well as many traditional goods like saddles and plowshares, along with elaborate textiles, handbags and other trinkets made by the local tribespeople, the Flower Hmong. Their intricately woven daily costume is one of the main drawing points in itself. This is an incredibly beautiful part of Vietnam.
