Photos by Susanne

Halong Bay is just absolutely stunningly beautiful, especially if you go there in a non-tourist season. We took an overnight cruise on the bay and got to enjoy the beautiful sunset, sunrise, and the tranquil evening.

We visited an ethnic market in Sapa in the northwest part of Vietnam. It was really a colorful scene! Our local guide told us that traditionally, ethnic minorities dressed up for the market, because it was a good place for young people to find their future husbands and wifes. Unfortunately, there are too many tourists visiting the markets these days, so the young people have to find other places to meet. However, they still wear their colorful clothes to the markets.

We were in the northwest of Vietnam where many ethnic minorities live. For the locals, they can easily tell other's ethnicity by their clothings. According to our local guide, this lady in the photo is a Black Hmong. (There are many types of Hmong people. This one is called Black Hmong, because their clothing is usually in black.)