Don’t be late for Sapa!

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The impetus for my sudden decision to take off on a brief trip around Vietnam and Laos was a ‘promotional’ air fare from Air Asia, which allowed me to get there and back for an amazing AUD400. And by flying out on a Saturday and returning on a Wednesday, I was able to get in a 10 day visit while only needing cover for 1 week of my Thursday/Friday teaching. While each flight certainly fell into the ‘no frills’ category, and the need to transit each way via KL was a bit of a pain, in general all flights were relatively painless.

While I had been to Hanoi a couple of times previously, and had done the Halong Bay bit, I had never been to Sapa and had always had a desire to do so, so this was that opportunity. And it didn’t disappoint! The trip started with an overnighter on Vietnam Railways from Hanoi to a place called Lao Cai, which is right on the Vietnam-Chinese border. The 8 hour rail trip, sharing a sleeper with 3 others, was remarkably comfortable, and I had an uninterrupted night’s sleep with the assistance of a couple of Normison and my CPAP machine, which operated well in the carriage. Despite arriving there at 5am, I found Lao Cai had quite an attractive town centre, and found out later it has been virtually rebuilt after being razed in the Chinese invasion of 1979.

The final ‘ascent ‘ to Sapa was a further hour’s uphill drive in a minibus to this former hill station that was built high in the mountains just under a hundred years ago. The town is nestled in a beautiful valley, and the surrounding scenery comprises mainly cascading rice terraces hugging the sides of the various hills and mountains, many of which house small hill-tribe villages, primarily Hmong (both the ‘Black’ and more colourful ‘Flower’ tribes) and Dzao, with their characteristic red head dress. I was advised that many visitors to Sapa are disappointed to find an ongoing series of mist and clouds ruin views of the valley, but I was fortunate enough to get clear weather during my visit.

My first full day started with my renting a motor-bike for the princely sum of 5 bucks for the day. I tend to favour independent travel into the countryside these days, rather than taking the standard package tours with a guide. Just as I was about to take off, I was approached by a Hmong lady enquiring if I wanted a guide for the day. Having negotiated her fee of 20 bucks and ascertained that that would get me access to “villages and schools the other tourists won’t get to see”, Chu hopped on the back of the bike and we took off. True to her word, she took me around a variety of villages that were clearly not set up in the very commercial manner of most of the villages that host the tourist mini-buses, and we even had the opportunity during a couple of heavy rain bursts to shelter in local homes and taste some hospitality from the locals.

Just after a visit to one local primary school, at which the teacher broke up the class to allow me to chat to the kids (via Chu as interpreter), which made me feel just like Julia Gillard, my worst nightmare occurred and I came a cropper on the bike. Fortunately, Chu had decided the pathway was too treacherous for me to ‘dub’ her on the back and she had just got off to walk that particular track when I came down. My first instinct was that my right ankle, which had been bent under the bike, was broken, and I was trying to work out how a guy with a broken leg gets lifted out of a remote hill-tribe village high up on the Chinese border. But fortunately after a short rest, during which Chu rubbed some ‘magic leaves’ over my various abrasions to stop the bleeding, I realised that I had just damaged some ligaments, and I was able to ride on, albeit with considerable discomfort. I was able to complete the day, with the assistance of a superbly crafted hiking/walking stick, which I was able to buy for a steal of 4 bucks, and get back to the hotel late in the day without further incident.

On my return to my hotel, I was fascinated to reread the narrative that I had earlier downloaded on Sapa from TripAdvisor, which recommended ‘riding the hills on a scooter’ and ‘choosing your own hills-tribe guide’, for which they said “one of the best available is Chu”! Of interest, Chu (aged 44) advised that she had 13 siblings, 8 children and 6 grandchildren, and while she had never had any formal schooling, and as such could neither read nor write, she spoke 3 languages as a result of 30 years of acting as guide and “talking to people like you every day”.

The remainder of my stay in Sapa was a little quieter, as my ankle gradually stiffened up, but not without interest. I rented a bike again the second day, but ensured that I stayed on roads and paths that were reasonably accessible. Furthermore, news of my accident seemed to get around, and sitting out the front of hotel, I had no shortage of conversation with the passing parade of fellow-tourists. So, all in all, it was a successful trip, and despite the hassles to get there, I thoroughly recommend a side visit to Sapa to any Hanoi visitors.

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