Sapa, Vietnam

Although our journey to Sapa was full of surprises: we started with a 10 hour train ride, a one hour minivan ride with the locals, and a stop over to grab dinner (a live chicken that was put into a plastic grocery bag with its head sticking out and the bag was tied to one of the seats, so the chicken was suspended in the air), it was well worth the journey!!! Out of the mist and foggy sky appeared Sapa. A city located in the north of Vietnam about 30Km from the border of China. Sapa was by far one of the most beautiful cities we have encountered. It is an old hill station that was settled by the French, but the majority of the hill tribes are from China. The city’s buildings are mostly of French architecture and are very skinny and usually four to five stories tall. There were numerous little bistros and cafes though-out the village, along with traditional Vietnamese cuisine. Surrounded by mountains, it is a little oasis in the middle of nowhere, with a cute little lake in the center. Our only distaste with Sapa was the freezing weather. After living is SE Asia for over a year now we were in no way prepared clothing-wise for such cold weather; we could see our breath.  In Asia there is a lack of heating, so even the restaurants and hotel rooms were not much warmer than outside.  Stacy broke down and bought two coats, discarding one to me.  For the rest of our stay she walked around in a fleece and I wore two coats. We also wore our matching shoes from Thailand with socks.  We were, to say the least, quite the fashionable sight. One other cure for the cold weather was the amazing tea (Friendly Tea), we found in Sapa.  We had 3 to 4 cups a day in our attempts to try and stay toasty warm. Our first full day was spent exploring the city and just enjoying the general splendor. We also did a little shopping at one of the night markets, where the hill people trek a good 6km up from their homes in the gorges to the village, to sell handmade jewelry, clothes, purses, etc. The hill people are also constantly walking around the village in traditional clothing (Black Skirts, Long Sleeve Tunics, Lag warmers, and black or red hats) each piece of clothing is edged in that specific tribes embroidery (using red, green, yellow, and blue thread). Most also wear only beige sandals, while those who can afford warmer items do wear boots; some are even lucky enough to have winter jackets. These women are very persistent in tracking down customers and so four to five would huddle outside many of the restaurants just waiting for potential customers. The windows don’t even stop them from trying to sell you things through the glass! They also follow you down the street uttering the same phrase “Buy from me?” over and over.

On our second day, we booked a trek before our night bus back to Hanoi. We ended up in a group of five of us total with a couple from Belgium and a gentleman from South Korea. As we began walking out of the village to our first tribe the Black H’Mong, we were followed by a number of the tribes’ people. Our first thought was that they were going to try and sell us stuff, but it then became apparent that they were going on the trek with us to their village. This was a blessing considering we trekked further and further down the mountains into the rice paddies, there were many tricky spots where without the helpful hands of the lovely Black H’Mong women it would have been very difficult. The scenery was breathtaking!!!! We were surrounded by all these tiered rice paddies peaking out through thick mist and fog. Unfortunately, our cameras could not do the landscape justice. As we trekked on we learned that many of the women travel to Sapa every day to sell things to make money for their families. The men of the tribes go out and work in the rice paddies. This is crucial, unlike many places in Asia where farmers are able to harvest rice two to three times a year, the cold climate in northern Vietnam only allows farmers one chance a year. We also learned that the Black H’Mong make up about 50% of the Sapa population. After a 6km walk we arrived at our lunch destination, where we were pressured into buying something from our personal Black H’Mong assistants. Considering these women held our hands and made sure we didn’t fall off the sides of cliffs, Stacy and I both purchased a souvenir. After lunch, we made our way to the Y Liah Ho village, about 4Km away. Along the way we visited a typical house of the tribes people complete with TV and DVD player. We then made our way back to the main road where a van was waiting to pick us up. After semi-warm showers we proceeded to our sleeper bus for the journey back to Hanoi. We were less than thrilled with our “accommodations” for the 12 hour journey. The “beds” were not very comfortable and with Vietnamese music blaring the whole way it was not the most pleasant night’s sleep. There was also a small collision with our bus and a small car that ended up blocking traffic for a good hour. The curvy roads where not the ideal place to not abide traffic laws and go tearing about at top speed in a bus! Ironically, we made good time and arrived in Hanoi at the appropriate time!

~ Randi