Sapa, Hanoi ,Vietnam

I was visiting a customer one day and I happened to see his wall paper on his desktop, something in my mind tell me to check out this place.
Few months later, I landed Hanoi with my then boyfriend who is now my hubby. We shall name him "bf" in this blog.

We took an overnight train from Hanoi train station to Lao Cai - pronounced as Lao Kai.
There is no train station up o the mountains of Sapa.
Bf was not comfort to share this cabin with strangers therefore we booked the whole cabin.

 

 

The distance between Lao Cai and Sapa is near 40km therefore you can book a jeep or taxi there.

For us, I had already pre-booked with a local travel agent. My guide , Vin spoke a good English and most important he is young, handsome, dark, strong and sweet.. hahhaha.. Vin is a professional Sapa mountain guide since he was 19. His mum worked for a British family thus he was able to converse in English. As he is a local resident in Lao Cai, going up to Sapa or mixing with Sapanians was common.. eventually due to circumtances from home, he became a non-licensed guide then as he was 15 (under-aged) and his boss enrolled him to class immediately he turned 18.
Okay, enough about him here, let me continue...



Lai Cai is a busy town, very near to Yunan's border. Surrouding Lao Cai station, there are shops and restaurant and motels. To me, this is a very simple place but act as an important transit point to many people.
As we came out to the public area, I saw Vin holding my name on a placard. He gave us a "sunshine" smile and shook our hands. I told him to bring us for some pho for breakfast first. It could be we were too hungry.. this simple pho tasted heavenly...

Sapa lies in the very north west of Vietnam near the Chinese border too.
Local residents from are several ethnic minority groups such as "Hmog", "Dao(pronounced as Yao),
"Giay", "Pho Lu" & "Tay". Apart from farming, these local people have also adapted to the increase of tourism and it is a common sight to see local women from the hill tribes chasing after foreigners down the main street trying to sell their handmade colourful clothing and souvenirs. We were been chased several times per day.. hahhaha..

The sun was strong when we reached the place after a narrow mountainous ride.
We checked into the tallest (8 stories) hotel in Sapa - Holiday Sapa Hotel.
Though we got a deluxe mountain view room, the interior of the room is very simple but the view from my balcony is speechless.

We decide to check out the Sapa town which is a very busy place.
Hmong and Dao people will head into the town’s market every day to trade their produce.
Tribesmen and women did not go through any formal education but the arrival of foreigners has made them aware of the value of money and many of the youngsters have picked up a basic level of English. They sell clothing and handicrafts which are popular with tourists.

 

Dinner was at one of the restaurant nearby before we grab some beer to chill at our balcony.
To our surprise, the temperature dropped a lot in the night, the air was cool, wind was chilly.
We found out that there are heaters under our mattress too.

The restaurant at the hotel was fantastic too.
Simple buffet breakfast was served and your table is by the balcony. Well.. what more can I ask for!

Trekking expeditions out to local villages and beyond are very popular among tourist.
Vin is already all geared when we meet him 0800hrs. His signature sunshine smile really made my day. We are going for half day trekking at Cat Cat village.

Though the surroundings was all corn fields and rice terraces, we are glad that the trekking path were not mudding or challenge to walk.
Vin was very attentive, not only he prepared 6 bottles of water in his bag, he also try his best to choose a better walking path for us. He was worry our Nike will get too soiled.
The scenery of the trek was awesome.. refer photos for million words.

This old lady is smoking their local pipe!

Lunch was at homestay of a local tribe house, the lunch was very simple dishes.

Overall the day was pretty physically demanding but worth it.
We were glad that we still have 1 more day in Sapa where we chilled the day away to recuperate from the trek.
5 days 4 nights end here.

Thanks for dropping by.