Bac Ha Market

Bright Colors and PETA's Nightmare

16.09.2012 - 16.09.2012

The next day, I headed to the Sunday market in Bac Ha, about 2 hours away from Sapa. The market was so colorful, and very overwhelming.

Everywhere, there were tapestries, purses, and scarves to buy.

Local people at the market

There were also live animals for sale.

In fact, it was particularly disturbing the locals were putting live pigs into plastic bags with just an opening for their snout and then tying the bags to their motorbikes. The sound of the squeals was made me sick to my stomach. As I said, PETA would have had nothing short of a shit fit. Pigs weren’t the only animals being sold there at the market.

They had chickens, lots of water buffalo, miniature horses, and puppies.

In the market, they also had freshly cut pork. And when I mean fresh, I do mean fresh....

What’s more is that they had the head of the pig sitting there on the table, as if to say, “This meat came from this pig.” It was an interesting way of displaying the meat, especially with the hair still attached to the skin of the animal. All in all, I’m glad I got to check it out. While the market may not have made me hungry, it certainly did satisfy my appetite visually.

Granny wants a Popsicle