When we hear about the Bac Ha market, we think of this joyful and colorful meeting place teeming with people, animals and goods of all kinds, a place where all these things cross paths. ethnic minorities of northern Vietnam who come to trade there, among whom are the Flowery Hmong.
This is the very reason why Bac Ha has become a must-see place in recent years, but is the market becoming overwhelmed by its success? Ambiance and feeling.
Bac Ha, a colorful market, or not?
The market being at the end of the street from our hotel, we arrived there shortly after 6:30 on this Sunday morning. But very quickly, I am already disappointed by the atmosphere there.
The reason? When looking for images of the market (on Google Image), what we see is rather tempting and above all… different from reality. “Beginner” mistake? If you like, maybe I shouldn’t have “spoiled” the places in advance, but generally, I still like to have an idea of where I’m going to set foot.
And in these images seen on the net, the market shown by typing this search does not only concern Bac Ha itself, but all the small local markets found in this area.
We will make up for it by going to see one of these other markets later, Lung Phin's, much closer to what I expected as an atmosphere in Bac Ha. I think if I have to summarize that the atmosphere was somewhere too "urban", I would have liked something more "country".
We stayed there for a little over an hour before deciding to try our luck elsewhere, going around to be sure not to miss a more particular spot.
So we would go to the clothing “section”, each one more colorful than the other, the all-purpose bazaar “section”, or more classically, the fresh vegetables and other local produce, including the “pet shop” section.
It all happened without really coming across any tourists, most of them disembarking from Sapa for a day trip and only arriving from 8am.
If the colours and minorities are there, I think that this city market atmosphere displeased us, probably also because of travelling and living in Asia (and we have seen many markets), that of Bac Ha seen as such seemed almost too “ordinary” to us in the end, lacking a certain something that we could define ourselves by, except that we were in agreement, it was not what we were hoping for.
But if we were disappointed, that does not prevent us from seeing a small anthology of ethnic groups, mainly these women of the Hmong Fleuris ethnic group with the characteristic traditional costumes, the men being more “soberly” dressed in black.
The easy-to-spot "ordinary" Vietnamese mix into this active crowd to give a more cosmopolitan feel to the whole scene.
Can you tell the difference? Not me...
Visit the Palace of King Meo
And what's there outside the market? A legitimate question, you might ask. And there is still an interesting building to visit, located at the end of the city; if you continue on the main road to go back up north.
It is, as the title suggests, a palace. Although Bac Ha is dominated by the Flower Hmong, almost 100 years ago, a person of the Thay ethnic group named Hoang Yen Chao, was named "Vua Meo" or "King of the Hmong"(which, by the way, is spelled H'Mong and not all attached) from the time of the French administration. A puppet title, of course.
The French had built this palace around 1920 in a Spanish/French style with the help of a French and Chinese architect, what a mix!
Since the rooms are emptied of their furniture, it is especially the architecture in general that we appreciate there, and its terrace.
The terrace offers a beautiful view on the surrounding mountains and an artificial lake that was installed just for the king and his three wives. The location of the site was chosen to optimize feng-shui.
Where to eat in Bac Ha
After our visit to Lung Phin Market, we were going back to Bac Ha first. We could have left straight after since it was on the road to the next stage, but I wanted to enjoy a motorbike ride without the bags.
Once ready to leave, we sat down on the terrace of a restaurant for our lunch, just so we could leave with a full stomach.
And to answer "Where to eat", going up the streets coming from the market, you will come across a square, which is probably where you will pass anyway to get to the market.
Most of the restaurants are located around this square, although I readily admit that they are more what we would call "tourist" restaurants, but given the limited choice you will have after going into the mountains, it is not a luxury to treat yourself to a good sandwich.
If you know the Bac Ha market, did you have a similar feeling or were you more “won over”?
8 Comments
In fact, if I understand correctly... to satisfy the myth of the noble savage and satisfy our curiosity as Westerners in need of rurality, we must condemn the Vietnamese to not evolving, progressing, modernizing? Does a good market necessarily have to take place in the mud?
Hello,
I would like to say that no, you do not understand. Did I write that a market in the mud is better? Did I criticize the "modern" aspect of the market as such? Especially not since I basically have the same point of view as the one you are pointing out.
I explain it clearly in the article. We were just disappointed without necessarily formulating what we didn't like, the "city" atmosphere? Not as many "colors" as hoped? It's imprecise, but it's a feeling, biased among other things by the photos of this place that I had looked at before, as also explained in the article.
It's strange, because a few rare Westerners told me that they were also disappointed by the more agitated, more modern side of the market. They also felt like ghosts…:) I loved this market. Speaking Hmong, I enjoyed talking to them. And they were very surprised 'kov niau flanky té lau?' to know that I was a Hmong from the West. Several families invited me to eat in their house. It was unforgettable…
If you speak the language, I suspect the experience must be quite different, but yes, as such, I found the market too "modern" and in the end there are many other markets in the region that I prefer because they have a more rural side and less of a city atmosphere.
Hello Romain. My feeling is totally different. Maybe it's because I arrived later in the morning. It was teeming with people of different ethnic groups and I didn't feel left out at all. On the contrary, while looking for a guesthouse, a nice family called out to me and they were absolutely adorable. In the afternoon, I hiked for a long time in the surrounding area and I really enjoyed myself. Bac Ha was really one of my favorite stops with the North East. Instead of the website, I put the address of my article on Bac Ha. All the photos were taken only in Bac Ha (the link to the full album is in the article).
Hello Stephanie,
I don't think I mentioned "feeling left out" in the article, but it's more the fact of being in a too "urban" atmosphere, I preferred the small Lung Phin market not far from there, wait for the next article you'll understand why 😉 But the main thing is that you had fun and enjoyed your stay in Bac Ha!
Hello, like you, I visited the north of Vietnam, especially Bac Ha. And like you, I was quite disappointed with the market. We didn't stay there for very long. It's hard to express a feeling in writing, but I think it's the lack of interaction and dialogue with the Hmong that disappointed me. We had exchanges only related to haggling and soliciting to buy souvenirs. Maybe it's because few people speak English. I felt like an "outsider" to all this excitement. I much preferred a market far from Bac Ha, the Can Cau market. Your photos are very beautiful. Good luck!
Thanks for the compliment! Your photos are not bad either 😉
It's actually not easy to describe the feeling, even if in our case, it wasn't necessarily the lack of interaction that bothered us. I've heard a lot of good things about the Can Cau market, but our schedule didn't allow us to go there... you have to make choices.