Vietnam - this time we headed for Sapa  among the Hoang Lien Son Mountains near the Chinese border. Taking the train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, and then a minibus up to Sapa we found ourselves in a world of steep sided valleys with lush bamboo forests and

cultivated terraces. The Ethinic Minorities who live here include the Hmong and the Dao and the Red Zao. Each tribe has a distinctive costume - some of which are shown below. They are hardy mountain people and seem to think nothing of hauling a 25 kg load in their shoulder baskets. They originally came from China and only started cultivating rice 70 years ago.