DURING LATE DECEMBER John and I traveled to Sapa, Bac Ha and Lai Chau in the far north of Vietnam. We arrived in the soft light of late afternoon, after traveling in a mini van for eleven hours through varying terrain. The scenery was spectacular as we drove across the flat plains, climbing slowly up mountain gorges and navigating flooding rivers.
The style of bridges changed constantly, many built of local wood, while others were of European design constructed by joint ventures, to withstand the huge rains that flooded the valleys during the rainy season. The countryside blazed with life and the peasants worked tirelessly in the fields. I never became tired of watching the scene changing from the translucent green of paddy fields, to the somber green of bamboo. Before us the soft gray, blue mountains advanced and the terrain and trees changed to alpine species as we climbed higher.