Tribasia Blog

At first sight, the namesake capital of Lang Son province (northeastern Vietnam) is not a pretty town. Many travellers only pass through it with a view of crossing the border into China, or vice-versa. However, if you linger long enough to discover its sights (beautiful caves), markets and meet the locals, you might feel drawn to linger a little more!

Historically, Lang Son and its region suffered a lot during the -last- Chinese offensive in 1979. Luckily for its inhabitants, relationships between Vietnam and its northern neighbour have much improved and trade boomed.

The main ethnic groups in this area are the Tho, Nung, Man and Dzao.
Intermarriage between ethnic groups, mass education and 'modern' lifestyle have eroded traditional ways and tribal cultures. As a result , we only witnessed older Nung women still dressed in traditional attire: long silky dark trousers worn with a long sleeve indigo Mao-style top and their hair tied in a crown shape. Younger generations all wear western-style clothing.

We left Lang Son after an overnight stay to go to Cao Bang province where we have just arrived today. The town is peaceful and its markets packed with local fruit and vegetable stalls. We bought 2 kilos of lychees to up ou Vitamin C intake, watch this space ;0).

We'll need all the vitamins we can get as we are off very early tomorrow, 6th June, to our first Montagnard market by riding out north!

Labels: China, Lang Son province, Markets, North Vietnam, Nung