Sapa Vietnam Series This body of work inspired by my trips back to Vietnam. I fell in love with this particular location because of its beautiful rice terraces and the Hmong people. Sapa is located in a very mountainous region of North Vietnam which gives it breath taking scenery and a harsh climate, it sometimes snows there. My mother was born and raised on a farm in this area. Like most people in the area, she grew up very poor and never attended school or learned to read. Everyone (including children) were expected to work on the farm to support the family . In 1954, when Vietnam split in half, my mother left her family behind at age 16 and traveled south to Saigon. She did not see her family again until Vietnam became united after the war in 1975.