Vietnam: Sapa

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Prior to the trip, my apprehension of the Sapa trip arose from the 8-9hr overnight train ride & trekking.

The train ride to Sapa turned out to be quite an uncomfortable experience because the upper bunk bed was just too close to the ceiling. The upper bunk on this train (SP4 to be specific) was definitely not meant for the claustrophobic, coz it was like a meter to the ceiling. Fortunately, on the return leg, the train (SP2) had much more comfortable space and softer mattress.

Our Sapa trip didn't turn out as well as I hoped for coz the trekking route changed and the 2nd day was very foggy. Our tour guide informed us that there was forest fire recently which resulted in closure of affected areas to tourist. Hence, this had prevented us from visiting some popular and scenic sites. The fog thickened tremendously on the 2nd day. It became a workout through walking than a scenery trek. Neverthless, we still got to see the vast padi fields and simple and rustic living space of ethinic minorities. And, experienced the picnic lunch in the wild and coldness.

There were also pleasant and not so pleasant encounters with the ethnic minorities. The ladies were trying hard to sell their handicrafts by tagging along the trek. They also tried to make small talks with us in English. Being the unfriendly one and feeling that the peacefulness of my trip had been disturbed, I had ignored them. Anyway, even if I didn't speak with them, my more friendly sis would. In the fields, we were even greeted by young kids - who shouted "Hello" "Bye Bye" across the vast area. To that I waved my hands (at least I was more amicable here).

The coldness of Sapa during this period was underestimated by me. Prior to the trip, I was told by the tour agent the lowest temperature of Sapa was likely to be ard 5 degree celsius. However, I reframed it and tot the average should be ard 10 degree and I had lost sense of how cold this was supposed to be. In actual fact, tt was so cold that there were rumous that it would snow the day after we left Sapa. According to a hotel staff, Sapa snows every 5 yrs or so. I wished it snowed while I was there. It would be a great surprise for the trip. After we left Sapa, we learnt that snow did not happen afterall.

I wonder if there was any correlation between the coldness and the slow working pace of the locals. Could it be the colder it is the slower one worked. Slower to reduce the rate of depletion of energy which kept ppl warm? City dwellers, like me, really got to set the right expectation that it was not a norm for things to move quickly in less hectic places and appreciate life moving at slower pace. Well, we had a really long 5-course dinner which stretched over two hours as it took the cook a really long time to just prepare simple cooked meal for ONE table of guests. And, just before the overnight train back to Hanoi from Lao Cai, we had about an hour to have dinner, which was a very long & unfulfilling wait for just a few bowls of instant noodles.

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Photos

Church (Day 1)
significant landmark there

Interior of the train.
This is SP2 which has more comfortable space on upper bunk.