Hours after we returned to Hanoi from Halong Bay, we boarded an 8.5hr overnight train to Lao Cai. The soft-sleeper cabins with only 4 beds were booked up, so we got a hard-sleeper cabin with 6 beds, 3 on each side. I was a bit anxious about the 3-bed on each side thing, but it turned out fine. Apparently, even the train station sells the to private companies for a profit before the general public can buy them, so you have to go through a tourist agency to get them at an inflated price. Once in Lao Cai, we boarded a bus for a scenic ride further north in to the mountains to reach Sa Pa.
Sa Pa is a small touristy mountain town near the Chinese border popular for trekking. Its mountain range includes Vietnam's highest mountain Fansipan, the last major peak in the Himalayan chain (Feather for Lee and Kiima). But clearly, what makes this place unique is the beautifully terraced rice paddy fields that carpet the rolling mountains. It is truly remarkable. I thought it unique when I first saw terracing in Peru, but this is much more expansive. It's even more impressive now that it is rice growing season. The other thing I have royally enjoyed about Sa Pa is the weather. Oh my...it's a much needed break from the stifling heat and humidity further south. But like Hanoi, it is still rainy season here.
Fortunately, the rain turned out to be OK Wednesday when we took our first trek tour to a local waterfall. It made the steep trails down more like a muddy standing slip'n'slide. Although a bit scary, it was good fun. I haven't slid like that in years. I'm proud to admit that I went down twice, once almost into a soaking rice paddy field. I'm not normally one for getting dirty, but this was genuinely fun. Sadly, Lee's Chaco's gave out at the most wrong time, forcing him to exit early and take the road south (we've since bought new knock-offs for 10USD). After lunch at a local village, we hiked to a waterfall where we all got into freezing water. Good times!
We hadn't intended on doing a trek directly after the train ride, but we met an enthusiastic Vermont family of four (First east coast Americans we've met in SE Asia) at our Hotel, Sa Pa Rooms (A,new place,good location, expensive but very friendly and knowledgeable owner), and decided to tag along. We had such a good time on the first trek, that we scheduled another one a day later. The second was a more popular route, down through the valley visiting two local ethnic minority villages. The area is home to the H'mong, Dao and Tay peoples.
To my surprise, the village visits were not horrible at all. Yes, we were asked by some small children "you buy from me?" and yes, we walked by now-common tourist shops in the villages. But thankfully, it was not the trap I was dreading. All the local women we've met have only ever asked us to buy something politely with a smile. Sometimes twice in a row, but generally leaving you after you say no (the Vietnamese are worse...persistently nudging you or getting in your face if you ignore them).
Something cool to see was the unique outfits from each ethnic minority group, each having their own clothing and hair designs. And they each have their own language. You tend to see more local women than men, as they tend to work the field. The women are generally in town sewing and selling embroidered somethings or trekking alongside tourists (local and westerners) with young babies on their back and walking only in jelly shoes. They're happy lend you a hand through slippery patches. Of course, there's the unwritten rule of buying their embroidered item later.
But the scariest crap was our motorbike ride back up the mountain to Sa Pa in the rain. Lee tried to get us a ride in a jeep cause it was raining, but no, I was insistent on going on motorbike. Well, my motorbike went down only meters after I got on. No, I wasn't hurt, but holy crap! The craziest part is,I got back on (Thanks, Dad).
Thankfully, the rocky muddy road only continued for a short while longer before it turned into pavement. Yet, just as I was starting to relax, we came up on our first waterway...a waterfall that flows like a current over a paved road, often down a steep drop. Made it. We crossed 3 more, one quite deep, before arriving back in Sa Pa. Whew! I think I prayed the whole way up.
All in all, Sa Pa has been great. I'm glad we came. It's my favorite place so far in Vietnam. Yes, it's touristy, but the surrounding scenery is incredible.
Sa Pa is a small touristy mountain town near the Chinese border popular for trekking. Its mountain range includes Vietnam's highest mountain Fansipan, the last major peak in the Himalayan chain (Feather for Lee and Kiima). But clearly, what makes this place unique is the beautifully terraced rice paddy fields that carpet the rolling mountains. It is truly remarkable. I thought it unique when I first saw terracing in Peru, but this is much more expansive. It's even more impressive now that it is rice growing season. The other thing I have royally enjoyed about Sa Pa is the weather. Oh my...it's a much needed break from the stifling heat and humidity further south. But like Hanoi, it is still rainy season here.
Fortunately, the rain turned out to be OK Wednesday when we took our first trek tour to a local waterfall. It made the steep trails down more like a muddy standing slip'n'slide. Although a bit scary, it was good fun. I haven't slid like that in years. I'm proud to admit that I went down twice, once almost into a soaking rice paddy field. I'm not normally one for getting dirty, but this was genuinely fun. Sadly, Lee's Chaco's gave out at the most wrong time, forcing him to exit early and take the road south (we've since bought new knock-offs for 10USD). After lunch at a local village, we hiked to a waterfall where we all got into freezing water. Good times!
We hadn't intended on doing a trek directly after the train ride, but we met an enthusiastic Vermont family of four (First east coast Americans we've met in SE Asia) at our Hotel, Sa Pa Rooms (A,new place,good location, expensive but very friendly and knowledgeable owner), and decided to tag along. We had such a good time on the first trek, that we scheduled another one a day later. The second was a more popular route, down through the valley visiting two local ethnic minority villages. The area is home to the H'mong, Dao and Tay peoples.
To my surprise, the village visits were not horrible at all. Yes, we were asked by some small children "you buy from me?" and yes, we walked by now-common tourist shops in the villages. But thankfully, it was not the trap I was dreading. All the local women we've met have only ever asked us to buy something politely with a smile. Sometimes twice in a row, but generally leaving you after you say no (the Vietnamese are worse...persistently nudging you or getting in your face if you ignore them).
Something cool to see was the unique outfits from each ethnic minority group, each having their own clothing and hair designs. And they each have their own language. You tend to see more local women than men, as they tend to work the field. The women are generally in town sewing and selling embroidered somethings or trekking alongside tourists (local and westerners) with young babies on their back and walking only in jelly shoes. They're happy lend you a hand through slippery patches. Of course, there's the unwritten rule of buying their embroidered item later.
But the scariest crap was our motorbike ride back up the mountain to Sa Pa in the rain. Lee tried to get us a ride in a jeep cause it was raining, but no, I was insistent on going on motorbike. Well, my motorbike went down only meters after I got on. No, I wasn't hurt, but holy crap! The craziest part is,I got back on (Thanks, Dad).
Thankfully, the rocky muddy road only continued for a short while longer before it turned into pavement. Yet, just as I was starting to relax, we came up on our first waterway...a waterfall that flows like a current over a paved road, often down a steep drop. Made it. We crossed 3 more, one quite deep, before arriving back in Sa Pa. Whew! I think I prayed the whole way up.
All in all, Sa Pa has been great. I'm glad we came. It's my favorite place so far in Vietnam. Yes, it's touristy, but the surrounding scenery is incredible.
1 comments:
Kiima and Lee,
I haven't checked out your blog since May. The pics are great. They've always been good, but I think the pictures have improved as far as composition. Keep it up. Stay safe. - Peter
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