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Published: January 23rd 2015
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My first trip of 2015 happened to fall on the very first day of the year. I spent it taking on the challenge of conquering Indochina's rooftop,
Mount Fansipan . I went with 2 other friends and the trip was put altogether by my friend at
Exotic Voyages, a well-known
tour company. On New Year's Eve, we were in the middle of the new Noi Bai - Lao Cai Highway,
en route to Sapa. There were not fireworks, but still flares, songs, guitar and some much-needed boiled eggs from the night vendors.
We arrived at Sapa at 5am, when the sun hasn't yet appeared on the horizon and the air is bitterly cold. Some breakfast, short rest and some photos was all we had before starting our journey. A short bus ride took us from the town to Tram Ton Pass, the entrance to Fansipan's easiest (or least-difficult) route. Though it was 9am then, the weather was still very cold and foggy. But whatever, off we went.
The route from
Tram Ton to Fansipan was can be divided into three small stages. The first one is from Tram Ton to the 2,200 meter mark (Tram Ton is 1,900 meters above sea level). This stage was the longest but
easiest as the vertical climb was only 300 meters. We passed through densely forested mountain slopes and streams and were able to share some talks and jokes while trekking. At noon, we reached and had lunch at 2,200m mark, an established camping area I should say. Rice, cucumber and lots of protein from pork and chicken were eaten to prepare for more challenges ahead.
Lunch break was brief, we continued southwards and headed for our next stop, the 2,800m mark. And this second stage was by far tougher. We started to have to use our own hands to get some grip off the tree's stems. Fatigues were getting more and more obvious from all of us and rests were taken more frequently. However, we were advised not to stop for too long, otherwise we would likely to get cold because of sweats from inside layers of clothes, plus we might tend to be sluggish. On the way, we also encountered some foreign trekkers, Westerners, Japanese and even a solo Thai guy. We all greeted them not with hello but Happy New Year which was much of a delight. I also doubted that some of them were about to complete
a one day trek to the mountain top which could be considered an astonishing accomplishment. Not many one can do that, well, except for the H'Mong people. They can put their hands in the pocket while still much faster than us. Anyway, back to the trip, after "grinding" our way through the forest, we entered a different area, which is more open to the wide and sunny sky, with plenty of bamboo on both sides of the narrow trekking path. We could even see the sun and the moon on the same blue sky. Just beautiful. When the sun approached the horizon and the sky gradually turned darker, we reached our second stop, also the final one of the day.
This 2,800m mark is also a fantastic spot for sky-gazing. After settling down for 30 minutes, I just wanted to pick a place of my own, sat down and enjoyed the sunset. Could the first sunset of 2015 turned out to be the best I get to see all year? I asked myself. It could be the best, but I hope it won't be. After the sun went down, it was all darkness and cold. Flashlight and basically anything to warm up became essential. That "anything" could be camp fire, some hot ginger tea, a thick set of sleeping bag or even a shot of rice wine. We went to sleep as soon as we finished dinner. Sleep was more comfortable than I expected, but still interrupted quite a few times due to low temperature and high humidity.
It was also a brief sleep as we all had to wake up at 3.30am in order to be in time for the sunrise at the peak. This time, only one hand was used for climbing, the other had to hold the flashlight at all times. This final stage turned out to be the most difficult one as well. And that's not just because of the darkness, but also the steep terrain. As a team, we all determined to overcome adversities, knowing what waiting for us just within sight. But things didn't work out perfectly as we wanted. The sun began to rise when we were still 200 meters to the top. That being said, the sunrise was absolutely magnificent, thus kept us stopping longer than we would have needed. With under 150 meters of vertical distance to go, we encountered a camp, for workers who are building the cable car project which is due to go into operation in April. So, 4 months to go, before Mount Fansipan became touristy. Will this project be beneficial to the locals as it should be? Only time can tell.
As we progress, the terrain became increasingly difficult. Rests are even more frequent as at some points, we had to climb almost vertically. Now it's mountain climbing rather than trekking I thought. But all fatigue diminished as we finally reached the mountain peak, the rooftop of all Indochina, after almost 24 hours of endurance, 20 kilometers of trekking, and more than 1,300 meters of vertical climbing. We all felt very much rewarded and a bit proud, as the national flag raising and flying next to the triangle mark on the very peak. After enjoying some "communal" time at the top, I decided to went down a bit, lying on a small grass field and just enjoyed the breathtaking view of rugged mountains of both Lao Cai and Lai Chau Province as well as the clear blue sky.
The descending part, as expected, was less demanding. However, muscular exhaustion started to take tolls. With 500 meters to Tram Ton, I had 3 cramps. Perhaps, I should have prepare more seriously prior to the trip. In fact, at the end of it, I thought I underestimate the difficulty of the conquest of Fansipan. In general, it did not require special techniques, just mere endurance, and some good companions.
Anyway, that's how I welcomed the year of 2015. An even more difficult and fascinating journey is waiting to be conquered.
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Shu nu
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Fantastic journey!
Long time no see! How awesom you are! Hope that you will have more and more intetesting story like this. Congratulation!!!