Looking across the market area of Xín Mần Town as the morning mist lifts
from the surrounding hills
The camera (honestly unaided) turning the
rising sun into a star This page has photographs from the town of Xín Mần. It is the capital of the district with that name. However, as is common, particularly in the northern regions of Vietnam, there is an alternative name, Cốc Pài, which can be seen on the overhead sign shown lower down the page. The Chinese border lies just 15 kilometres to the north, but there are no surfaced roads in that direction. When some of these photos were taken, the town still felt remarkably remote, cut off from the outside world; the few roads linking to provincial cities were poor at best and often quite disintegrated. The town is small, so a few minutes wandering takes the visitor to the surrounding country offering views to the hills - below, these are shown swathed in morning mists; and, as so often, there are market scenes that attract any camera. These photographs offer a visitor's eye view of a place in which one could never be more than a visitor.
Above, the singular hill which sits above Xín Mần as the morning mist clears, and again (above, right) in the full sun. Right, the cracking mud wall of a house on the hillside.
Below, the kind of wooden structures that accompany such mud walls. Among these the most important roof that shelters the otherwise easily water eroded mud. Another necessity here, but also everywhere in Vietnam - a motorbike. Below right, The state of roads, even in the town, tells you something of what to expect further out.
The sun, prising the mist from the hills, as it gains power...
...In the town below, the mist still hangs among the trees, with an early riser watching from his house
A house below the patterning of mist on the Xín Mần hills, seems in keeping...
...but, drawing back a bit, shows that not all is
aesthetically pleasing
Across the town, the market place with its
complex of roofs
Vietnam has surprisingly few small creatures that might give unease. But I appreciated this chap being outside and not in my bedroom - its legs would easily span a dinner plate. Go to other pages with photos of beasties:
a scorpion, or to an ant
The recently improved hotel courtyard, but the sign over the door has the meaningless 'Lia Lung Huill'
The entrance to the main hotel in the town. Gia Long was the ruler who gave Vietnam its present name
At the hotel's gate, that most essential Karaoke sign
Tree lined streets (above and right) always beat drab normality (far right)
The overhead sign: 'Chợ Đêm Cốc Pài' - Cốc Pài (Xín Mần) Night Market
The tourist map and information signs indicate government buildings
Seeking breakfast outside a hotel is always wise. One year we came to this good breakfast cafe
The cafe's chef serving our phở
Our
phở
arrives
And the irresistible market shots. These are taken from...
...above and some distance away, outside the market
Small towns, in northern Vietnam, attract shoppers from their hinterlands who often belong to the H'mong ethnic group - such are the brightly dressed women seen in these photographs
An armful of vegetables already - maybe more? Go to a page of photos stating with these ones on sales from the
ground
But this woman seems less interested in buying -
she has a purpose in life
The shadows are still long, a comfort which does not last in Vietnam's tropical climate. And that is the same reason for the popularity of
'Night Markets'
when temperatures may lower -
although all too slightly!
Trailers...
The next Picture Posting
page takes you to the west of Xín Mần Town, to Nàn Mạ Commune.
The next page
of the Ruminations Section is headed 'Tree Bridge'.
Or go to the contents of the Ruminations Section.
The last page's photos were from near Xín Mần's 'rock art'
To a page of photos of Vietnamese cooking
To more hills with mist - in north-west Scotland
...guide to this site