DAY 1 : Hanoi

Welcome at the airport, transfer to the center of the Vietnam capital, Hanoï, settling at hotel'... ( or the like ). Hanoï, built on that site in the Neolithic times, after having changed names several times during its long history, became the official capital of the country in 1954. We take a first glimpse at that deeply Asian city, as elegant as a Western capital, by having a cycle rickshaw ride through the centre. The ancient town is swarming with life and we are enthralled for quite a while by the district of the 36 trades, with its lacquer-ware, paintings, embroidery, funeral-ware and silk goods ! We also visit the Vietnam Ethnologic museum, a compulsory introduction to our mountain tour. That museum was founded with the help of the Museum of mankind in Paris. We walk through a number of rooms where all the daily life objects used by the different ethnic groups living in Vietnam are gathered. Outside, we walk along the typical houses of several ethnic groups. In the evening, we attend the superb 'Puppets on water' show, originating from the North of the country.
Diner is taken in town in a typical restaurant, night spent at the hotel.

DAY 2 ; From Dien Bien Phu to Lai Chau

After breakfast we drive to the airport to catch a plane and have a one's hour domestic flight which takes us to Dien Bien Phu where we stop to have lunch and also recall to our minds a tragic page of the French colonial history. Then we head Northward towards Lai Chau. On our way, we stop at several villages. We stagger a little along the suspension footbridge spanning the river to reach a village whose houses on tilts were built by the Black Thaï, in the 14th century, when they arrived in Vietnam. Their language has but a remote link with the Thaï spoken in the Kingdom of Siam.
Wearing the traditional knot of hair, a woman warmly welcomes us and takes us inside her large dwelling : a stirring visit making us aware of the actual daily life in that part of the world. Outside we find her eldest son who practices shooting with his ancestral bow. We saunter a little while along the beaten earth lanes, we pass the school where a few children supervised by their teacher are busy maintaining their playground in good condition. After over one hour's drive, we stop in the village of another colourful group : the Red Hmong. We stroll through the village and we also enter a dwelling here too.

In the evening, we arrive at Lai Chau, a small village nestled at the bottom of the valley of the river Song Da, surrounded by beautiful mountains. Here, life is difficult, their only income is drawn from timber trade and some food farming. Soon, perhaps within ten years, that small town will have disappeared, as the government is planning to build of a huge dam which will lead to the flooding of that valley.
At the Lan Anh Hotel, apparently kept by White Thaïs, we are greeted with an extremely warm welcome. It is a very simple hotel, quite comfortable with refrigerator, air-conditioning, mosquito-net and hot-water. We have dinner and spend the night in that delightful place.

DAY 3 : From Lai Chau to Sapa

After breakfast, we drive again on the narrow main road along several roaring rivers often at the bottom of deep valleys. This road runs first near the Lao border, then along the Chinese border. The landscapes are startling. A few kilometres off Lai Chau, we spot gold-finders dredging the river from their specially equipped boats. We are trying to study that work by going on to those very odd boats. Dredgers are quite numerous in that area.

A few miles away, we visit Chan Nua, the White Thaï village. We stroll along the alleys eager to catch a glimpse of the daily life of that community who came from China a few centuries ago. Driving by the river Nam Nam we go through several similar villages, but also villages of White Hmongs who are also inhabit those mountains. We ask our driver to stop to visit a brick factory built near the road. We have a good picnic (with French baguette !) on the river side and we resume our drive to Tham Dong, a new town, without any point of interest.

We drive on up the mountain along a winding road staring at a more and more magnificent landscape as far as the pass of Tramton, 2047 metres high, then we go down to Sapa, the halting place of the day. We settle in a comfortable mountain hotel for two nights and have dinner in town.

DAY 4 ; SAPA

This is a former health resort founded in 1922, which resumed its touristic activity only a few years ago. The small town stands on the slope of a hill overhanging a superb valley. Surrounded by mountains, it is often wrapped in clouds and a little chilly.
When we get up, the whole town is shrouded in mist, but during breakfast the top of the mountains gradually clears up. We can undertake our mountain climb to meet the different ethnic groups who inhabit that border of China.
A Black Hmong woman, playing a small metal instrument called the Jew's harp, attracts our attention for a while. We admire the terraced rice-fields, walk through villages and observe numerous different ethnic groups on our way

(Hmong, Dao, Thaï, Day ) wearing their colourful traditional costumes. We even enter a school to come upon the pupils during their lessons.

If you are sportsminded, you'll choose a whole day outing with a picnic lunch, but if you prefer, a shorter excursion will be organized for you. In that case lunch will be provided at a restaurant in Sapa and you'll be able to enjoy a quiet afternoon.

DAY 5 : Saturday market in Lao Cai.

Departure early in the morning just after breakfast. We drive to Lao Cai, a town on the border of the big Chinese neighbour. It will be a short stop before before our drive to Cancau, a town in the mountains, less than 10 kms from China. We arrive late in the morning, when the weekly open air market presents an extraordinary colourful show. All the different ethnic groups in the area come down, wearing their traditional costumes. We notice the Hmong Flower women with their many-coloured splendid clothes, embroidered with flowers. The trade of animals is thriving. We wander among the different stalls and of course you will be offered the local drink. Refusing to have a sip of that corn liquor will be a hard task.

After that mountain appetizer we drive down a winding road to Bac Ha, to settle at the Sao Mai Hotel, of medium standard, but the best in that town. We have lunch and a short rest at a local restaurant.

hen we start for a two hours? walk around Bac Ha and its mountain housing in the neighbourhood. We have the opportunity to watch those communities tilling the rice-fields and farming. The Hmong Flowers are the more numerous here. Coming from the South of China only 300 years ago they have settled in the heights where land was available. The poorest ones are still living in dried mud huts, while other ones are better off have built wooden bungalows. We notice that corn or soja beans are grown here.

We pass the houses of Nung community members who, being better off, own their own horse. Dinner and sleep at the hotel.

DAY 6 : Sunday market in Bac Ha.

After breakfast comes the time to go and call on another market just as colourful as the other ones where the Hmong, Nung, Dao and Han mix and trade together. Here vegetables as well as animals ( horses, dogs, cats, pigs or chickens ) are sold and bought. After that early market, we are driven as far as a footpath where we'll walk to the Tay village, an ethnic group who has been settled in that area for almost 2.000 years ! Their standard of living is higher than the Hmong's we met on the previous day : their houses are larger and more comfortable, they even have satellite T.V. Outside the village, we catch a boat and sail for two hours on the river Chay, through magnificent landscapes made of steep cliffs and their caves.

We have lunch in a private house converted into a restaurant before resuming our journey to Lao Cai. On our way, we get off the car to admire the tea-plantations.
We soon reach Lao Cai, which has been lately rebuilt after the short Chinese invasion in 1979. We go round the town and stop a short while on the border to catch a glimpse of the Chinese town, Hekou, on the opposite side.
We have dinner in town before catching the night train to Hanoï. We travel in an air-conditioned sleeper.

DAY 7 : HANOI

After breakfast, we can stroll again along the old streets in Hanoï or buy a few more souvenirs before flying back.