Published:  11:34 Friday - December 17, 2010

Bac Ha is famous for its Sunday market, it is a trading centre and meeting place for couples, friends, and relatives every Sunday.

Location: Bac Ha Market is in Bac Ha District, Lao Cai Province; about 80km from downtown Sapa.

Characteristics: It is a trading centre and meeting place for couples, friends, and relatives every Sunday.

Every Sunday, Bac Ha hosts the biggest fair near the mountainous highlands and the Chinese border.

The market was very crowded, local products for sale or barter are carried on horseback. Besides the usual items like pigs, cows, chickens, and ducks, the Bac Ha market sold dogs. As dogs were available as cuts of meat, they were also available live, right next to the live pigs, chickens, and other livestock.

Rounding the corner and pungent fumes of alcohol accosted our senses of smell, from corn whiskey, a Bac Ha specialty. The potent moonshine is decanted by vendors from large white plastic jugs to used bottled water containers. If you doubt the ability of a vendor's hooch to peel paint or light your senses on fire, you can try a shot for free.

At the fair, adventurous gastronomes can try thang co blood porridge, a popular dish of the H’Mong and other local people.