Sa Pa

After a 10 hours ride on the sleeper bus – a signature travelling style of Vietnam – I was finally at Sa Pa. The town of Sa Pa is a district in the northwestern province of Lao Cai, Vietnam and was indeed the awaited part of my journey of Southern China and Northern Vietnam.

Sa Pa is all about the warmth of people living in the cold weather, the minuscule human in the midst of nature’s vastness.

The town is awfully romantic and raw. It was filled with old buildings and local culture. Downtown area was landmarked with the old Sa Pa Church, only a few steps away from the town square. At the square, traditional Hmong tribes came in to the town from their nearby villages to conduct the morning market every day. Even when it drizzled with rain, they proceed their trade activity; selling crops, spices, and fresh roses. A traditional love market where boys and girls socialize in the pursue of love, took place every Saturday night.

Every morning, dew kissed the hotel’s window seal and mists fell on the top of Fan Si Pan. Even stormy days came with stories in their roar, about the war of the old warriors and the power of nature.

The yellow terrace rice fields that covered its valley gave sign of harvest season. In a month or two, winter would come. The soil would again be bare and vulnerable to the weather. Nature is taking its course. – Rassi Narika

Images were also taken by Dika Satya and Arif W. Brago. Thank you! xo, Rs.