Tavan - Catcat, Vietnam

Just a few kilometers from Sapa (hill station in North Vietnam), the indigenous villages of Tavan and Catcat can be visited by foot. The inhabitants are mostly Black Hmong people, which came from the South China mountains a few hundred years ago. The are very friendly to the tourist and try to have a small chat in English or French wherever there is a possibility. The woman are preparing handycrafts whereas the men work in the fields or in the forest. The small villages are busy with children, though they have got electrity only recently. Tavan provides a guesthouse for trekking tourism.

 
small village near Tavan 

small village life near Tavan

Tavan guest house

guest house at Tavan


After 8pm this village gets quiet and peaceful, except for some barking dogs everyone prepares for sleeping. Often electricity is switched off as well.
 
Tavan sales woman  

Tavan sales woman

Martin Tavan

Martin near Tavan

 
bridge

bridge over troubled water
dyeing cotton

cotton is dyed using homegrown indigo

 
Godzilla

friendly needlewoman
kitchen

Hmong kitchen tour

 
Chinese sayings

old Chinese sayings decorating the wall

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Vietnamese village school

Next day I did a walk on my own to the village Catcat near Sapa. The stairs go down crossing fields until they met the village above the river. The clouds are changing fast so I can be cool and hot within minutes.
 
Catcat stairs

stairs down to Catcat
working woman

working Hmong woman
 
Shinjuku

getting ready for tourist trade
village pig

black village pig

handicraft

colourful handicrafts
river gorge

river gorge


 
back to Sapa

go to Hue