Sapa

Hanoi to Sapa

I had already booked my 3 night, 2 day tour to Sapa before I left for Halong. It is a small town in the mountains, where more adventurous people like to go trekking. The trip began with a night train at 21.50, so I used my time in Hanoi to book an open bus ticket down the country and to buy some food for the journey. I had fun bartering in the busy market for fruit and then spotted a little supermarket where I purchased some chocolate and biscuits.

At the hostel I met an English couple from Hemel Hempstead joining me on the tour. Stuart (a carpenter) and Chrissy (a financial planner), together making their way to Oz, where they plan to emmigrate. We were picked up and taken to the station more than an hour early. Thinking we had plenty of time, we bought a few beers, but then were ushered quickly onto the platform. At this point we parted, as I was going hard sleeper and they soft.

The hard sleeper cabin had 6 beds rather than the 4 I was accustomed to. This meant that there was less head room, in fact you couldnt not sit up properly unless the middle bunk was tipped up. There was room for luggage under the bottom bed (mine), but instead of having to lift the bed to drop it in, the side was open and you just slid the bags under. Easier for sure, but not secure at all. I was sharing with a middle aged German couple, who were somewhat grumpy, and very cheekily took the middle bunks even though their tickets were for the top. When the vietnamese people who actually had those tickets complained, there was so much commotion that eventually the Germans kept their beds! The other bottom bed was taken by a vietnamese couple!! They began head to head, but finished head to toe. The beds themselves were as named....hard.

Sapa Day 1

The train arrived at 6.00. Ug! I had gotten up at 4.00 to use the loo, and didnt get much more sleep afterwards. I met the others on the platform and, after finding our man (with a board), hopped into a minibus. It was a long and windy road up the mountain, and we seemed to be in the slowest bus. This would have been more than fine if only it were not so misty. I could still appreciate some of the drive and could make out little villages below the rice terraces, and little schools by the side of the road. The children were making the long walk up already.

Once in Sapa itself, we were dumped, rather than dropped off. The guy just pointed and said 'Mimosa'. It was hardly obvious, but we found it. Already the local women, notorious for hounding you to buy things, were upon us, chasing us in.

(New Stuff)

After checking into our spacious but damp rooms, we had breakfast and were met by our tour guide, a 16yr old local girl called Mee. We were joined by a German girl with an American accent, by the name of Sina? Sena?. The guide took us for a walk through a local village called Cat Cat. I dont know if it was the rubbish weather, but the walk was pretty dull. The highlight was probably visiting a little house where Mee showed us a simple and very manual grain grinding machine. You had to push and pull a long handle in a circular motion to turn the stones. She made it look easy, but I couldnt do it at all!

We stopped at several other places, including a waterfall, but mostly little shops or cafes where we might possibly spend some money. We returned to the town by 12.00 and were given the afternoon to explore. It would have been fun, but for the increasingly damp weather and poor visability. I wandered around with Sena for a couple of hours and then pulled into a resteraunt for a coffee by the fire (Sapa was surprisingly cold).

Later we had dinner included at the hotel, which was really rather good. Lots of Vietnamese dishes scattered about the table so we could pick frpm each plate and combine with a bowl of rice. Me and Stuart went out for a few drinks in the evening before bed.

Sapa Day 2

When we got up it was still drizzling, but it soon cleared up at bit and thankfully stayed dry all day. Our guide came to pick us up at 9.00 and we set of walking down the hill. Amazingly, there are huge green bushes of Marijuana growing by the side of the road. The locals claim not to smoke them but to use them for hemp. We stopped at a hut and were soon joined by several other groups. Each group was accompanied by a number of the local old ladies, dressed in their colourful minority attire. When we set off again, we headed down a dirt track, which very soon became muddy and steep. The local soil was heavy in clay and before long our shoes were orange. Rather that than the rest of me turn orange though, and it was easier said than done to stay on my feet. One chap pulled of a miraculous snowboaring esque manouver and stayed upright. Others were not so adept and there were many orange bottoms!

The old ladies seemed not to have any problems at all and even offered arms for support.Of course when we eventually made it to the valley floor for lunch, the ladies took the opportunity to ask for help in return. 'You buy from me', 'I help you, you help me'. Luckily I had been stubornly independent, so I avoided too much hounding.

After lunch by the river, we proceded along the flat to look around some of the villages. These were far more interesting than Cat Cat, with complex irrigation systems and lots of animals around. The views of the rice terraces and the nearby mountains made for wonderful pictures (see the flickr account www.flickr.com/photos/lp123/). I really enjoyed the walk and the views and the guide was very good humoured. A good tour.

That evening we had to get the night train again, but before we left the hotel I got a call from my hostel in Hanoi to tell me that they had closed due to unforseen circumstances. I wasnt too worried about finding somehere else, but arriving in Hanoi at 5am with nowhere to stay was not hardly ideal. However, once we got there, Stuart found us a room in a hotel near the tour office for just $5 each. Of more interest is what actually happened to my hostel, and that I will explain in the next blog.