April 15: Arrived in Meo Vac in the afternoon…We are very close to the China border. The mountains are magnificent! The most beautiful, most vast, almost hallucinating natural wonder I have ever seen. 

 The people are so beautiful. 

In the evening , new friends from Plan International took me on motorbike to the "Loving Market." 

This festival is a one of the very few traditions of the tribal people here that are still in practice. The tradition began with a story about two lovers who were not able to be married to each other. The young man were killed by the girl's family, and the girl cried herself to death, or killed herself.( I got several versions). So the "Loving Market" is for people who could not marry those they loved to have a chance to see each other at that market once a year and their spouse would not be jealous...

About 9pm, in the dark, on motorcycles to the market, we wove our ways on a narrow path snake around the mountain with 200 meter drop on one side, among cars, motorbikes, bikes, pedestrians, and even a Hmong grandmother coaxing her little black pig to walk ahead of her. Her little grandchild follow close behind. Maybe, they just bought the pig at the market, and on their way home.

Almost certain that I would not be able to get to Hop Tien this time as I would need more time to schedule to visit this village. So bummed! and began to think I should leave this beautiful place sooner than I had planned.