Adventures in Sapa

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Made it to Sa Pa.
A little disorganized
Went for a small trek.

Since I had the whole day to myself in the almost empty (except for tourists) town of Sa Pa I decided to take a little walk south to see what I'd find. It was stinking hot out but I continued walking for about an hour and saw some of the amazing terraced landscapes that Sa Pa is known for. Just a little teaser before my two days of trekking through the villages...

I probably would have continued walking for longer than an hour but realized that my walk was mostly downhill so decided to turn around and head back, plus, did I mention it was stinking hot? lol

After lunch I rested up a bit in my nice hotel room and ended up sleeping for at least 2 hours! I guess the combination of sleeping on the train the night before and getting lots of fresh air just plum tuckered me out! After my nice little nap I decided to hit the town and check out what Sa Pa had to offer. Being Tet, there really wasn't much happening in the Town square and the Market was closed. But some women and children from the tribes were still out trying to sell me some of their wares like their blankets, necklaces, earrings, bracelets, pillowcases, bags...you name it and they'd put everything they had on them on display. If you show the slightest bit of interest with one person they all crowd around you saying, "Buy one from me." All I can say is that they should get the "most persistent" salesperson of the year award..

The rest of my day was pretty relaxing. I basically did some reading and watched endless hours of CNN since all of the other channels were either in Vietnamese or fuzzy. Too bad there wasn't a movie channel. Or perhaps that was a good thing! lol All I can say is that I can tell you all about the news in Asia as of Wednesday. haha

Thursday I was all refreshed for my first day of trekking in the hot, hot sun pouring down on Sa Pa.

Two left feet Bonnie
First day trekking: 16K
Up and Down for hours.

I was in a small tour group. Our tour guide Toan, myself and two Swedes Sara and Cecelia set off mid-morning for our trekking adventures through some of the villages of the Sa Pa area. First stop was to Cat Cat Village. Then we head downhill down a bajillion steps (all the while I'm thinking..hmm, if we're going down all this way we'll be going up shortly...) At the bottom there is a little shaded area for us tourists to rest, perhaps buy some handicrafts. Then it turns out we went down all that way to check out some hydro station that was built by the French some 50 odd years ago (or something like that). Well, if I had known the only reason we went down that way only to come ALL the way back up I would have stayed up at the top. LOL But I guess it was a good way to warm up..

Feel like a hobbit.
Walking the hills of Sapa.
Billbo is that you?

Some parts of our trek were pretty steep both going up and down. As you may have picked up, it got pretty hot! Thank goodness I had a small pack with me..nice and light. We had a small picnic lunch the first day before continuing our trekking through Lao Chai Village and then Tavan Village around 3PM where we spent the night with a family of four generations. The Great Grandfather is 95 years old! Along the way we encountered a lot of women and kids trying to sell us their wares. I wasn't bothered by them as much as Sara and Cecelia were and I didn't mind what so ever!

The hills of Sa Pa
Terraced Hills are dry as bone
April rains come soon.

The house we stayed at is quite large and can best be described as being like a giant barn. We are staying in the upstairs portion of the house which has nine spots for guests and the whole house seems a bit "western" compared to other homes in the Village. After settling in a bit we headed down to the river to take a dip in the river. Hmm, taking such a small pack wasn't the best idea because that meant I didn't pack my swim suit. That's okay though because it was nice to sit on the rocks and catch the last few warm rays of the sun.
Toan headed back to the house before us so when it started to cool down a bit we packed up our stuff and started to head back to where we thought was our house...Hmm, it looks a bit different than I remember. Hmm, why are there so many "new" people sitting around the table? Wait a sec, we're at the wrong house! We just turned in one house too early. LOL

Dinner with the family was delish. It was too funny when they served up some starters…French Fries. I asked if they were the traditional Vietnamese kind..sorry can't keep my smartass comments to myself sometimes. 😊 At dinner time, being Tet and all they served up ultra potent Rice Wine. I mean ultra potent, burn all your taste buds potent! Thing is, the Vietnamese sure like to make toasts! And you're supposed to drink up all of your Rice Wine otherwise it is not lucky! So I nursed that little glass of Rice Wine for the longest time because I sure didn't want a refill. lol

There's not much to do in Sa Pa after dark. I thought Tam Ky was quiet but Sa Pa was even quieter. lol So after a bit of chatting round the dinner table and then settling in upstairs the three of us were ready for bed by 7:30...no joke. With the warm heavy blanket wrapped around me I was out in 6 minutes flat once the talking stopped..guess I wasn't as tired as I usually am. haha

I woke up to the sound of the Rooster and lots of banging and other commotion happening downstairs. A big feast for the third day of New Year's was under way. Lots of fried foods being prepared...

Throughout the night I swear I heard the rain just pouring down...unfortunately I was correct this time. We awoke to lots of mist and wet grounds. Lovely day for a trek...

Slippery when wet
Only one slip down the hill
Trekking is complete!

It was pretty muddy out there and a trek in slippery conditions would not be complete without me landing on my butt at least once. Not quite as muddy as in Ha Long Bay but I had the hills of Sa Pa on my boots (aka ice skates). We stopped off at a couple of more villages before heading off for lunch and then one last trek up to the "highway". That's where we met up with a jeep that took us back to the hotel. Man that was one bumpy ride. I was joking that they should have fed us lunch AFTER the ride to the hotel.

I was pretty muddy so I asked if I could take a shower before waiting for the bus back to Lao Cai train station. Thankfully they let me use one of their rooms and I was able to "freshen up" a bit. Then more waiting for the bus to come...it was only about an hour late. But I wasn't in a super rush/panic since my train wasn't set to depart until after 9PM..Wait, wait, wait. Thankfully I had the company of Anni. She's Vietnamese and is an accountant working in Ha Noi. She's actually friend's with my tour guide Toan. She was also on tour but with a different company…although she spent more time with "our family" eating dinner and breakfast with us instead of with "her family".

The time passed by quickly and before we knew it, it was time to board the train. This time I shared a cabin with two gentlemen from Singapore on a short "vacation" to Sa Pa and another unknown guy that seemed to come into the cabin one hour after the train departed and then left in the morning before we all got up. He was a bit weird. I heard him go into his briefcase several times. Perhaps he's a spy? haha

The train ride was pretty uneventful. I basically read a bit before bed, slept, got up, got off the train, caught a motobike taxi to the hostel and here I am…gosh, I've been online for more than four hours now. Good to be able to catch up on some email, chat with Jax, then Vic, then Laura then Lainie! Okay, maybe I should go offline soon.

But first I should fill you in that the blog entries will be bare until I reach Sai Gon early next week. Yuppers, I will be catching the train that leaves for Sai Gon this evening. I couldn't get a ticket on the "fast" 30 hour train and will have to enjoy 39 hours of fun. At least I'm not in a rush and will be able to get lots of reading (if not napping!) in those 39 hours. haha

I look forward to the warmth of the South although I'm thinking that it might be a touch too hot for me. I hope it doesn't sound like I'm always complaining! I can't believe that in one more week I'll be heading off for Thailand!

Take care. Hugs and stuff 'til you hear from me again.
Bonz

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Photos

Breakfast with our host family.
Sarah, Bonnie, Cecelia, Toan, ?, Host (not sure of his name!), Anni.