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Published: April 22nd 2006
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Red Zao People
The family we stayed with on our first night. 4th - 7th April
Having arrived in Lao Cai train station we got a bus to Sapa and found a bargain of a room. They dropped us off at a new hotel and because they were so desperate for customers they halved the price of the room. We got a brand new, really nice room in a hotel with an amazing view overlooking the valley for $6! Sweet. Today was really just about getting to know Sapa and finding the right trek. We wanted to find a trek that would take us to the middle of no where and we explained that we didn't want to see another tourist for 3 days. We eventually found a place offering this and took it. After which we climbed this rather large hill that looks over the valley to take some photos. Sapa is stunning. It looks exactly like an idyllic little French mountain town, which makes sense as the French built it. You are surrounded by mountains and a huge valley which runs right through the region which is interspersed with small villages of ethnic minority groups like the Black Hmong people and the Red Zao people. Small rucksacks were
Hmong People
in traditional clothing not provided for the trek so at the end of the day Pete bought a genuine '’South Face’ bag from a local shop. We got an early night in preparation for hardcore trekking the next day.
We met our guide Tuyen early the next morning and got in a Jeep to take us to our start point. Then we set off and trekked for most of the day in blistering heat. The scenery was stunning. We stopped at a few houses and schools of the minority groups to meet the tribes people. Unlike our trek in Chang Mai it was 100% authentic, none of it being put on for tourism. The trekking was really tough, but thoroughly enjoyable and well worth the effort and extraordinary amounts of sweat oozing from every pore in our bodies. We stop for lunch and then pushed through to our home stay which was in a Red Zao village in the mountains. Our guide said that so rarely does anyone ask to go off the beaten track that these people hadn't seen a tourist for about four months. Some of the children having never seen a westerner before. This was an amazing feeling. We
Sapa
view from the big hill played with the local children and watched in amazement as they whittled ridiculously big swords out of bits of wood with massive knifes! One kid must have been about 6 or 7 and was wielding a knife bigger than my arm! Ridiculous! That night our guide cooked up an amazing feast. He cooked for about three hours on an open fire. It was really good to watch and tasted bloody good too! He even managed to fill Pete up. A task very few have succeeded in before!!! We had an early night as we had more trekking the next day.
The next morning's trek was hardcore. We trekked up a massive hill all morning. We thought it was never going to end but after a few hours it did... and then we had to come all the way down the other side! Just after the peak Pete's genuine 'South Face' bag failed and one of the straps came clean off. We are disgusted with the poor qulaity of this reputable brand! On route we meet a guy with a massive gun (see pic) who was out hunting. Eventually we reached our next home stay at Ban Ho Village of
Sunset
Over Sapa the Tay people. Both days we had finished our trek about to hours ahead of schedule. It was just the three of us which did help but we were proud of our trekking skills. We went swimming near a waterfall for a few hours and went fishing with some local kids.
During the trek our guide asked us if we wanted to eat fresh duck that night. We agreed. In the evening Martin saw the family kill one of their own ducks. While it was still alive they put a huge hole in its chest and drained all of its blood into a bowl. They cooked a huge banquet for the family and the two of us. It was amazing to be accepted by these people and eat with the family. Half way through the meal the one woman left the table and the evening took a very male orientated atmosphere. This is typical Vietnam. The women do the hard work and the blokes get pissed. We drank so much rice wine (this is like a cross between vodka and cheap whiskey and many families make it themselves). As soon as you have downed your shot, they fill your
Mountain
a very big hill glass up. Eat for a few more minutes and then toast and drink again. This pattern was repeated through out the night. After two bottles of rice wine had disappeared they brought out the speciality for the evening. Ducks blood soup! This is a delicacy only for the men which is supposed to make them strong and fit. We felt obliged to eat it and be respectful to our hosts. They cook the blood with some spices and herbs and then leave it for a few hours. Being blood it coagulates until it becomes the same consistency as jelly. Both dead set on mind over matter we managed to finish half of it. We were both open to discovering new foods but it really tasted like shit and blood. Not so good but an experience nonetheless. The drinking continued and we eventually all crashed out.
Having had brilliant weather for the last two days today the heavens opened and it pissed it down. A thick fog set in and as we were climbing another ridiculously steep hill, the ground like clay, slipping around all over the place in the pouring rain. It was so much fun. We eventually got
Rice Paddys
its the staple diet to the top of the hill and got a jeep ride back to Sapa. We grabbed a shower and some food and got a bus to the train station where we witnessed some more classic Vietnam trading. The bus dropped us on the other side of the road to the train station at lots of noodle bars serving food and drink. When we got off the bus they have people outside saying that the train station isn't open yet, come and have a drink. Absolute load of bollocks. The train station was open as we went and sat in it until we got the night train back to Hanoi. Classic.
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