Sa Pa

We got the overnight sleeper train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, paying for a soft sleeper rather than a hard sleeper.  The soft sleeper was pretty hard some I dread to think what the hard sleeper would have been like, but it did save us an overnight stop in a hotel.  We shared the cabin with an Aussie/Irish couple from Melbourne and so had quite a laugh.  To be fair the cabins were clean and very good but I don’t think any of us slept much that night.

Lao Cai is only a few mile from the border with China – if we get here again I’d like to try and cross the border into China but apparently its frequently closed to westerners.

We got in to Loa Cai about 0630 and picked up a bus to the Sa Pa.  We’d sorted out a guide but the first days walk was bit of a morning amble around the valley through a village, Cat Cat, to some waterfalls and then a moped ride back. Stunning scenary though.

We managed to get to see inside a Black Hmong house; amazing, 11 people and 4 generations live here.  The dark blue tubs are full of indigo which is the traditional dye they use for their clothes.

I tried the street food from a stall by the path – grilled pork and the local Sa Pa mushrooms – tasted good but I’ll wait and see what the old stomach thinks! Managed to avoid the Immodium so far but it been a close run thing!! The tubes are bamboo stuffed with sticky rice and then sealed and cooked over the BBQ – that was excellent, served with sesame seeds

The market was fascinating, as ever, the range of local food huge, the dog meat stall was a step to far for us squeamish Brits though.

The various local minorities have different dress and dialects but all come to Sa Pa to sell their handwork to the tourists and local alike. The dark clothing is of the Black Hmong minority and the red head dress is of the Red Dhao group.

The locals must think the tourists are very strange but, as everywhere else in Vietnam, they have been very welcoming and helpful.  They love to practise their English, they see English as a way to improve their lot in life.  They have a real sense of humour and burst out laughing at the hint of a joke.

The guide said that a waiter with a little English will earn about $60/month whereas a guide with good English will earn about $10/day but working about 6 days a week in the high season.

I just hope they don’t ruin the place with too many foreigners;  you all need to get here before its spoilt - is that an oxymoron?

Sa Pa is a strange place, it was developed by the French as a hill station in the early 1900s and they built a lake and colonial villas around the area.  Most were destroyed in the various wars but recently the Vietnamese have built large houses/hotels in a similar style.  It makes Sa Pa look almost like a European ski resort in some areas but then you turn the other way and it is definitely a Vietnamese hill town.

These picture were taken 100yards apart, one facing north, the other south.

View from the hotel