Sapa, Vietnam--another very special experience

We took an overnight train to Sapa and shared it with two others. We had relied on the staff at Hotel Charming II in Hanoi to get the tickets for us (there are at least 3 different companies that go to Sapa overnight daily.)   and they also arranged for a cab to take us to the station late at night with a staffer going along on motorcycle.   The staffer waited with us to boarding and also took our suitcases to our train car. 

 On the way up we were with a a father and daughter.  The daughter worked in Hong Kong and the father came from Great Britain to visit.  On the way back we were with two young women from New Zealand who had just finished high school who had been volunteering in an orphanage.  They told us some sad but amazing stories of their experiences.  The cabin was small with a bathroom down the hall, but met our needs.

We each had a free bottle of water, and at the start of the trip, a woman came down the hall with a cart with packaged snacks to sell.   It is a good thing we ate dinner before our ride!

In the very early morning, we saw a lot of small villages and rice paddies along the way.

We got off the train at Lao Cai (population 100,000+) which is a bustling cross-border business town very close to the border with China.  The town was pretty much destroyed during an invasion with China in 1979, and the border stayed closed until 1993.   It has been a trading town since ancient times.

 After getting off,  we found the van that we had ordered in advance through Sapa Sisters.  We could have found one on our own, but we were tired, and this was expedient.  The road to Sapa was VERY windy for the 38 kilometers (22 miles) and the ride took over an hour uphill.  The van driver eventually got us to the Family Guest House (Luong Thuy Family Guest House, a clean simple hostel/hotel around the corner a bit from the bustling area of Sapa.  I found out a few days later that the shops across the street were simpler and a bit less expensive than other parts of town.

In addition to the ride to Sapa, the $10 fee entitled us to a meal at the hotel where the Sapa Sisters work out of, so we took adavantage of it.

My meal

Marcy's meal--an omelet, etc.

Cute dining area

Decorations on wall of eating area

 We met our guide, Little Chi, explained our change of plans for health reasons to go on a 2 day one night trek instead of 3 day two nights.  I felt another days rest would really  help me, and it did.

We got a cab to our hotel, the Sapa House, a new hotel a few blocks uphill from the main part of town. We asked for a room with a mountain view, which we would have had if the fog and clouds had lifted, but we were out of luck.  However, our room was huge and lovely.  The screen to the left was actually a shade which retracted, dividing the main room from the bathroom.  What a lovely touch! Note the lovely tapestries and pillows  on the bedwith Hmong embroideries on them.

 The view through the window on a foggy evening.  It looked like a silk screen!

I rested while Marcy went out to explore the town a bit.  I was fascinated by a group of men, given orders by an older woman, who were taking down a bamboo forest across the street, possibly to make room for another vegetable garden.

First trimming and topping the bamboo

Hauling some away

Throwing some down to the ravine behind the stand of bamboo

The boss?

 

Beautiful pillow cover--yes, I bought it

Woman selling hats along side of the road

Selling items along street down the hill from our hotel

Market entrance area--after going down a flight of steps

Food for sale

Little girl in traditional clothing

Spices for sale, but no details in English

Off to the right side of the main street of the market, we discovered a whole area of cloth items, etc.

 The little girl below was in a shop with her mother.  The Mom left her with us while she went to another shop to find something and Marcy really enjoyed playing with her.

Surrounding a tourist(not a lot in town)

Dad carrying couple's daughter on HIS back

Town center

Typical narrow, hilly tourist street in Sapa

Fire for heating water and getting rid of some garbage

We were in Sapa in a very foggy time.  The evening we got there, the fog kept on going in and out, very quickly.

Tourist boat on artificial (?) lake

 It was cool but not too cold.  I was wearing a fleece.

One of my favorite shots. 

Everyone has a cell phone!

In addition to items made by Hmong and (in some cases) finished to make "fancier" pillow cases, wall hangings, etc., a lot of North Face clothing items were also for sale as well as items from other countries that have factories in Vietnam.  We were not sure if they were seconds, last year's stock, or ripoffs.  I did get a Kipling brand nylon multi-pocket fanny pack for about $10 that fit me much better than any ones (other brands) that I had seen in Seattle. (Kipling brand began in 1987 in Belgium).   
There were not a lot of tourists in town when we were there, and the only other Americans we ran into happened to be from a suburb of Seattle!  Although it was definitely a tourist town, it had a special atmosphere, and the people there were extremely nice and friendly. 


Next, on to the final blog from this trip...our 2 day trek outside of Sapa.