Last Stop Vietnam, Sapa
Tuesday, May 2nd, 2006Fast and furious is the best way to describe the end of our travels in Vietnam. Time is creeping up on us now; we are flying back to France from Hong Kong in just 3 weeks, and if you pull out a map, you’ll see we still have a bit of distance to cover.
Our last trip in Vietnam, and our first experience on the train. We took an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, and then took a bus 1 1/2 hours straight uphill to get to the little lovely French-built hill station of Sapa. Literally a breath of fresh air; we arrived in Sapa about 7:30 in the morning and found a room with an incredible view of the valley. 30 minutes later we were engulfed in a fog. The temperature was about 15F (65F). After an excellent breakfast, I was bouncing off the walls with energy, in spite of having woken up at 5AM. Must have been the cool, fresh air. Our timing was not entirely perfect, as May 1st is a big holiday in Vietnam, and the town was packed with Vietnamese tourists on vacation. Our first big walk of the day, up to the radio tower to see the incredible views, was a bit impeded by the hundreds of others who had the same idea. But it wasn’t too difficult to find a little privacy, most of the other tourists were gathered around the cafes and giftshops; we just kept climbing until we were practically alone.
Sapa is at about 2000m altitude (6000ft.) The highest peak of Vietnam, Fansipan (3143m), is easily visible on a clear day from Sapa. The surrounding mountains are green and lush, covered in forest where the land hasn’t been cultivated for agriculture. The main attraction of the area is the numerous hill tribes, whose main occupation is rice cultivation. The Hmongs, donned in their traditional costume make there way to Sapa everyday to sell their fruits and vegetables in the market or to sell locally-made handicrafts to the tourists.
After a lunch of Sapa Pine Soup and spring rolls (and a dessert of apple fritters, and lemon crepe- it’s amazing how a little altitude stimulates the appetite), we decided to visit the nearby Cat Cat village. The hike started quite easily, as we had to descend a few kilometers to the village. The views were stunning, men and women working in the rice fields with beautiful mountains in the background. We eventually reached a pretty waterfall at the junction of two rivers. We took a path that followed one of the rivers (the path was up and down the whole way), but the river was amazing. After about 40 minutes, we came to a break in the path that would require a pretty serious river crossing. As it was getting late, we decided to turn back. The return was not so easy, all uphill. By the time we reached Sapa, both of us were dripping in sweat; it was starting to get cold (the sun had dropped behind the mountains.) We were ready for a good hot meal and a long, uninterrupted night of sleep.
The next morning the sunshine streamed in through the windows, when we opened the curtains we were greeted with a spectacular view of the mountains. (It actually reminds me of the view I had from my apartment in Santiago.) It was barely 7 o’clock. I rolled over and went back to sleep, around 8, our growling stomachs got us out of bed. 8 o’clock is sleeping in late for us now. So we went downstairs for another excellent breakfast, and then pondered how we should spend our day. The trekking area and villages are all regulated; and we were told that to go anywhere we have to take a guide. For a six hour walk, the guide (with lunch) would cost $17 each. Huh? Considering that’s 2/3 our total daily budget, it seemed a little bit extreme. So we decided to take our chances and set off on our own. We were rewarded. We started with the road to Lao Cai; after about 2km, we found a path that descended through the rice fields to the valley below. After about an hour we reached the river, where we had a little picnic lunch. Then we continued walking through the muddy rice fields until we came to the Lao Cai village. We crossed numerous groups of trekkers along the way, ranging from a group of 2 plus a guide, to about 15 plus a guide. From Lao Cai, we continued to Ta Van, another small village before crossing the river by bridge and climbing back up to the main road. We were cooled off with a sun shower (it was quite warm as we were walking back.) Then we walked along the road uphill about 6km before coming back to Sapa. The trek was beautiful, rice fields with mountains in the backgrounds, a pretty river, locals working in the fields. We managed to do the whole day for about $6 including lunch and drinks. We treated ourselves again to apple fritters and then tried a beef hot pot for dinner. This is a sort of Vietnamese fondue, where we cooked our own beef and noodles in a pot of boiling stew. Another good day in the mountains.
Now we are waiting for the bus which will take us to the border of China. In a few hours we’ll be entering the last country of our incredible journey.
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