Blogs from Sapa, Lao Cai, Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 38

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Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa August 17th 2007

17-18 August 19 August back to Hanoi We booked a 3 night, 2 day tour up to Sa Pa from Hanoi. The night train was very comfortable, and we ended up going with two young girls from Denmark, Tina and Charlotte. We met up with our guide, Huy, did some sight seeing around the little mountain town of Sapa, and later started a very easy 'trek' down into the valley. Sa Pa was just beautiful - home to local hill tribes, mainly the black H'mong, Zhao and Dzay people. They do thrive off the tourism there, and the little girls are very tenacious trying to sell their handicrafts. When I think of Sapa, I hear their monotone voices incessantly repeating, 'Maybe you buy from meeee? You buy from her, maybe you buy from meeee?' They are ... read more
Rice Fields - Sa Pa
Sa Pa - Hmong girl
Hmong

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa August 15th 2007

Our next trip was an overnighter in sapa, which as it turns out is a phenominally beautiful; place up in the hills of Northern Vietnam. It started well... despite the negative reports from travellers about the night train up there, it seems they've ust had the cushiest holiday ever, as to us the beds on the rains were nothing short of luxury, and we had the best nights sleep we'd had in ages! Sweeeeeeet. Like all vietnamese it seems, the hill tribe folk have an astute business sense, and on our arrival a hoard of young girls were already waiting there, ready to learn our names for later use! Actually it was cool, they were well sweet, and chose to tag along on our trip, making us flower crowns, small dogs out of grass, and variety ... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa August 10th 2007

Surt at serveren gik ned. Vi har forsoegt at finde det tabte, men har maatte opgive, saa nu fortsaetter vi fra hvor vi slap. Sidst vi var paa var vi paa vej til Sapa. Efter en bumlende oplevelse paa nattoget til Cao Lai kom vi til Sapa. her var befriende koe;igere end Hanoi og meget mere stille. I alle de tre dage vi var i Sapa, befandt byen det meste af tiden sig i en sky, hvilket gjorde at luftfugtigheden var utrolig hoej og vi formaaede aldrig at se Fransipan, det hoejeste bjerg. Naar alt dette er sagt, var Sapa et fuldstaendig utrolig smukt sted. Groenne rismarker der laa i terrasser op af bjergene, Skoenne mennesker i farvestraelende toej og ikke mindst en oplevelse af opleve noget meget unikt. Overalt alt myldrede hunde og katte, gaes ... read more
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Saa skal der handles

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa July 27th 2007

es mag sich mancher wundern, wieso es auf dem gipfel des fansipan die moeglichkeit gibt, ins internet zu gehen. natuerlich ist dem nicht so, weil wir garnicht dort sind, dazu spaeter mehr. mir ist zu ohren gekommen, dass der blog so klaenge, als wuerden wir staendig und ohne ausnahme von irgendjemandem uebers ohr gehauen. zwar stimmt dies nicht immer, gestern dafuer wieder voll und ganz. das zugticket, angeblich soft sleeper (1. klasse, 4 leute im abteil) stellt sich als hard sleeper heraus (2. klasse, 6 leute im abteil). die anmerkung dieser tatsache gegenueber dem travelagentheinzen verursacht unverstaendnis. natuerlich, der hard sleeper hat auch eine matratze, zwar nur halb so dick wie die des soft sleeper aber wirklich hard ist es dann eben auch nicht, was der gute ausnuetzt um uns einzureden, hard sleeper sei es eben ... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa July 24th 2007

The Hard Sell in the Hill Country Asia » Vietnam » Sapa By HenryTJuly 24th 2007Henry Dunbar We rode an overnight train into the Hill Country of Vietnam and spent two days in the regional hub of Sapa. Like Sri Lanka, it was beautiful and lush, only with rice paddies instead of tea bushes. One negative aspect is that the place has become a Class A tourist trap. The local Hmong and Dao tribes descend on the village daily to meet the bus loads of tourists from Hanoi and persistently try to sell their wares. Their English is pretty good, but they don't know the phrase "No thank you, I don't want any." And while I can accept that this is price for being a realtively well-off traveler ... read more
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Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa July 21st 2007

I figured it was kind of rude of me to just stop sending messages out of nowhere. Just wanted to let everyone know I'm still alive and well. I'm in Sapa right now (as of this morning). It is beautiful here and the people are much nicer than in Hanoi. You haven't heard much in terms of stories over the past couple of weeks, but rest assured that I will have plenty to talk about when I get home. Unfortunately, this will most likely be the last posting as I have found it hard to keep this blog up-to-date during my travels. If anyone wants to send me messages/keep in touch with me I will be still looking on this site an will make sure I write you back. Or you can just reach me on ... read more

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa July 14th 2007

Oh my gosh! Sapa is beautiful! The weather is cool (bordering on cold in the morning and night.) It was such a relief when we found that we weren't sweating through our clothes anymore. Right as we got off the bus, some of the natives (they're like American Indians in the US) came right up and started talking to us. Their English is pretty good and I can't believe how friendly they are (although they might just have wanted us to buy some of their little knick-knacks.) In the morning, we explored the market, where we found everything from leechee to dolls to roasting pigs. Then we went on a hike through the mountains where we could see where the natives lived and how. They live in really poor conditions-small rooms but huge families. They ... read more
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Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa July 7th 2007

July 7, Saturday: Sa Pa town On Tuesday night I traveled to Hanoi with Chi Sen and four commune leaders from the buffer zone of Phong Nha Ke Bang. The train was booked solid, so we took a sleeper bus. There were three rows of bunks ingeniously designed so that the head of the person in front of you was above a compartment for your feet. However, it was made for the Vietnamese and my legs were just a little too long. My 4th of July holiday was spent attending a CBT network meeting, conducting a CBT study tour orientation for the commune leaders, and wandering Hanoi with Chi Sen and the men. Chi Sen told me later that the men wanted her to buy me flowers in honor of my country's holiday, but that ... read more
H'Mong Girls Swarming Tourists
H'Mong Women
Sa Pa Town Market

Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa July 3rd 2007

After all the annoyances with our tours in Ha Long Bay, Sapa was a welcomed change. Sapa may be one of our favorite places so far! The landscape may best be compared to the mountains in Switzerland and Austria. However, in Sapa the mountainsides are covered in rice paddy terraces. The Aussie guys we met in Ha Long Bay also booked a trip to Sapa and, ironically, ended up in our tour group too. When we arrived at our hotel in Sapa, several local village girls greeted us, asking us our names, where we were from, and how old we were. Whether we were 23 or 29 they all responded with "Very young!"...Why, thank you! The girls accompanied us along our trek into the local village for lunch and offered us little embroidered bracelets, similar ... read more
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Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa June 26th 2007

Ahhhh, finally cool weather! We took the over night sleeper train from Hanoi to Sapa - an eight hour ride with four bunks per cabin. The beds were comfortable and we felt relatively safe with locks on the doors and good companions in our cabin. You can travel for less money if you ditch the air-conditioning, sleep in a seat and even take away the cushion! But - we wanted to be rested and so top of the line it was! We arrived in the Lao Cai train station to a million drivers trying to get our business as it is a 60 minute drive to Sapa through the mountains. Upon arrival, we were surrounded by beautiful mountains whose sides were covered with rice paddies. The air up here is much cleaner than Hanoi and ... read more
Sapa town
Donna and Lorin in front of the small lake near Sapa
Donna and Lorin in front of beautiful mountain ranges




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