The Sapa Terraces in the Fog · The Second Footstep

Sapa stands on a mountain ridge in northern Vietnam, its terraces coiling up into the clouds. In the wet season the fog can wipe out the road fifty metres ahead.

The Hmong and Dao people here say that in the fog there is “a person who walks with you”, whose footsteps fall with yours and stop only when you stop. If you meet it, do not answer, and do not look back.

Walking guides therefore keep two rules: never walk alone at the back of the group, and never call a companion’s full name in the fog.

Natural Mysteries / Lao Cai · Vietnam / Modern day