Birds, Flowers, etc.

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blue jay, common grackle, cosmos, moth, photography, postaday, red-bellied woodpecker, rose-breasted grosbeak, Sa Pa

Like others on WordPress, I have been going through photos taken in 2016 to see whether some of them could be displayed here. Several are shown below, and others will probably follow in the last three days of this year. As you can tell, there is no rhyme or reason to the order of these images.

Cosmos.

Red-bellied Woodpecker.

Blue Jay trying to scare away other birds.

Sa Pa hill in the clouds.

Rose-breasted Grosbeak.

Goldfinch.

Moth on Black-eyed Susan.

Common Grackle.

Việt Nam Visit: Sa Pa – People

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h'mong, kinh, photography, postaday, Sa Pa

Vietnamese lowlanders (called người Kinh by ethnic minorities) number about 15 percent of the Sa Pa region population. However, they control much of the local economy by building hotels, the infrastructure, and the services needed to support the influx of tourists, both national and international. People from inside Việt Nam now go to Sa Pa on vacations, and they are the majority of the tourists seen there.

Lowlander Vietnamese in Sa Pa.

Lowlanders (người Kinh) in Sa Pa.

In talking to some H’Mong and Red Dao people, I sensed resentment that the lowlanders have taken a disproportionate share of the economy, monopolizing hotels and travel services.

H’Mong woman and daughter selling vegetables at outdoor Sa Pa market.

Lowlanders serving barbecue chicken at a stand in Hàm Rồng park.

Group of H’Mong women in front of a hotel in Sa Pa.

H’Mong girl walking downhill.

H’Mong woman and child.

Highlander and Lowlander.

Young and old.

Việt Nam Visit: Sa Pa – Ethnic Minorities

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h'mong, photography, postaday, Sa Pa

There are several ehtnic minorities living in the Sa Pa region. The most numerous are the H’Mong and they can be seen everywhere in Sa Pa. There are also Red Dao, Tay, Zay, Xa Fo, and perhaps others as well. I only met and spoke to H’Mong and Red Dao individuals.

These ethnic minorities inhabit the Northwest corner of Việt Nam, and parts of Laos, Thailand, and China. The H’Mong are said to come all the way from Northern China and migrated South as they revolted and were chased by imperial forces during the Ming dynasty. In recent history, H’Mong in Laos allied themselves with America in the fight against communism. At the end of the war some fled to Thailand and most were eventually resettled in the United States.

H’Mong craftsman carving marble.

H’Mong children at play.

Tourism in Sa Pa has brought many changes to the ethnic minorities’ way of life. Planting rice is still the main occupation for many, but the influx of tourism money and demands may have opened new horizons for some. Our guide was a H’Mong who spoke some English. As I walked around town I saw that the new way of life has begun to influence and shape the old way.

H’Mong children sharing a candy bar.

H’Mong woman braiding a hemp rope. They grow marijuana plants but only to get hemp, not to smoke.

H’Mong elderly woman doing embroidery.

H’Mong grandmother selling vegetables. Her granddaughter was eating a hot dog.

Three H’Mong women walking in front of some tourists.

H’Mong girl waiting by her family’s motorbike.

H’Mong woman checking her smartphone.

H’Mong family on motorbike. H’Mong marry very young, at 16, for both men and women.

H’Mong woman selling clothes and hats at Hàm Rồng park.

Two H’Mong women, one in high heels.

Water wheels in H’Mong village.

Việt Nam Visit: Sa Pa – Scenery

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Fan Si Pan, Hàm Rồng, photography, postaday, Sa Pa

The final destination of our Việt Nam visit is a resort town named Sa Pa in the Northwest corner, at the foot of the highest mountain in the country, Fan Si Pan (3,143 m or 10,312 ft). Nestled in the mountains at 1,500 m (4,500 ft), Sa Pa benefits from cooler temperatures than in most of the country. Toward the end of the 19th century, the French discovered it and soon began building villas for French colonials to use to escape from the heat and humidity of the Red River delta. Today, both lowlander Vietnamese and foreign tourists from around the world come to Sa Pa for its beautiful scenery and to see the way of life of the ethnic minorities that inhabit the area.

I took the photo below from the window of our hotel room which faced Fan Si Pan. Clouds descended from Fan Si Pan to regularly shroud Sa Pa and the hamlets around it with a thick and fast moving fog. The scenery could actually change within seconds, and on many occasions, by the time I got set up to take a shot, fog had covered and hidden what I was aiming for.

View from hotel window. Most of the time Fan Si Pan, the highest mountain in Việt Nam was covered by clouds and fog.

Rainbow at the feet of Fan Si Pan.

Part of Sa Pa in the clouds.

A favorite for many are the rice terraces built over many centuries on mountain slopes by the ethnic minorities living in the area. The rice had been harvested when we were there, so most of the fields were brown and fallow, except where vegetables were grown.

Rice terraces on mountain slopes near Sa Pa.

Another view of rice terraces.

Closer view of rice terraces.

The day before we left, the sun finally came out and illuminated the whole valley. Fortunately, we had climbed up to the top of Hàm Rồng mountain (1,800 m or 5,200 ft) which offered a clear view of the town of Sa Pa below it.

View of Sa Pa from Hàm Rồng mountain.

View of Sa Pa from Hàm Rồng mountain.

View of Sapa and its lake from Hàm Rồng mountain.