Perhaps it was the mild hangover, but our next day in Hanoi wasn't a very successful one. We started with a trip to the West Lake (somewhat underwhelming), followed by an ill-fated mission to find a certain café we'd read about (incorrectly marked on the map, took us about two hours to finally find it and when we did it was also underwhelming) and then another very long walk (complete with a few wrong turns) to get to the Temple of Literature, which we then couldn't enter as we were not appropriately dressed! And did I mention it was hot?! It was clearly time to escape to cooler climes: the hill station of Sapa, in remote North-Western Vietnam.
It was a really fantastic day. We started by descending into a valley where we passed through the village of Suoi Ho, home to H'mong minority people. We were actually walking along the dikes in between the rice paddies.
It was in the middle of rice-planting season, so there were many people working in the fields. Some were using water buffalo to turn the soil; others transported rice seedlings on long poles on their shoulders.
I mentioned this before in relation to my Nepal trek, but I seem to have an issue with... er...balance (I blame it on my spazzy right leg, but that's another story). Anyway after teetering along for a while, way behind Annick and Mr Pay, I finally succumbed to fate and plunged my left foot off the bank and into the mud, which was fluid, and came up well over my hiking boot. I also got sort-of stuck on a stone while crossing a stream, much to the amusement of both Annick and the tribal woman on the other side!
Without further mishap we made it to the minority village of Matra and then finally to the village of Ta Phin, where we had lunch.
I have to say that the landscapes we passed through were just spectacular. These were easily the most stunning terraces I'd ever seen, carved into the hills in concentric arcs, a mix of green and brown, many glistening with water.
Again, it also felt like a genuine slice of local life and we encountered few other tourists. In the last village, the whole community was out in the fields for the final day of planting. My Pay told us that there was to be a huge party that night!
Getting there involved a nine-hour overnight train journey followed by an hour on a minibus. We weren't too sure what to expect from the sleeper train but were pleasantly surprised by the relatively luxurious-looking compartment. However the smiles were soon wiped from our faces when our two room-mates arrived WITH THEIR ONE-YEAR-OLD CHILD. In the end the little one didn't make a sound all night but nevertheless we both had trouble sleeping and were feeling pretty tired when we finally arrived in Lao Cai, to take the minibus up to Sapa. This resulted in a bit of a wasted day as when we could finally check in to our hotel, we needed a nap... which lasted for most of the afternoon!
Most of the people in the Sapa region are from ethnic minority groups, including colourful hill tribes such as the H'mong and Red Dao. The landscape here is spectacular - beautiful green rolling hills and rice terraces - however we didn't think much of the town itself. The streets were lined with Italian, Indian and Thai restaurants and happy hour bars and we were constantly followed around by tribal women trying to sell us jewellery or bags, which was a little wearing when we hadn't really slept properly!
The next day we visited Bac Ha market, where tribal women from surrounding villages come to do their weekly shop. As well as all sorts of vegetables, meat parts and traditional clothing you could buy buffaloes, horses and birds in cages! (We managed to resist!). I'd been worried that this place would also be overly touristy but it wasn't too bad - it still felt like a genuine insight into local life.
On the way back to Sapa we visited a village where the Flower H'mong people live, and also stopped at the China-Vietnam border to have a look over the river into China.
The following day we'd arranged a one-day trek (13km), through Sapa O'Chau: an NGO which provides tourism work for people from ethnic minorities. Our guide was called Mr Pay. Most days he worked on his family farm, in a nearby village, but clearly being a guide was more lucrative as he'd left the farming work to his brothers and sisters that day!
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| On the sleeper train |
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| The view from Sapa |
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| Checking out the bananas |
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| Brooms for sale! |
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| Clothes shopping |
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| Birds in cages are bought and sold |
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| Water buffalo for sale |
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| Hello China! |
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| Down into the valley we go... |
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| In the rice fields! |
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| What are you looking at? |
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| Stuck! |
I have to say that the landscapes we passed through were just spectacular. These were easily the most stunning terraces I'd ever seen, carved into the hills in concentric arcs, a mix of green and brown, many glistening with water.
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| Rice terraces |
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| More rice terraces |
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| Oh, and here are some more |
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| Planting the rice |
After lunch we drove up into the mountains to visit two waterfalls - the Love Waterfall and the Silver Waterfall, which were also beautiful.
Back in Sapa, we had just enough time for a quick glass of wine before we headed back to Lao Cai for the sleeper train to Hanoi.
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| Silver waterfall |
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| An excellent weekend in Sapa! |
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