11 August 2014

Lao Cai Province, Vietnam

With a week to spare, we decided to head up to Sa Pa for a few days and brave the dreaded ‘rainy season’ of the North, in hopes of a glimpse of that beautiful mountain, multi-coloured tiered rice paddies and the various and colourful mountain ethnic groups.

The train from Hanoi (overnight) arrived in Lao Cai at about 5a.m. (extremely close to the Chinese border).  We then settled on catching a shared taxi (a 16-seater van) and made the one hour trip through the winding mountain pass up to Sa Pa. The two local children in the back, along with their mother, were throwing up in bags the whole way, which was a great incentive for us to keep our eyes on the beautiful mountains outside (and close our ears!). The driver didn’t seem too phased and we were later told that local people are well-known for their tendency to motion sickness (a myth perhaps, but hey, we experienced it first-hand).

The town of Sa Pa was quite different from what we had expected, but it was a lively little place with so much to offer those who make the effort to wander off the beaten track.

There is a rapidly-developing tourism industry here, a result of local entrepreneurship since the country opened up to outsiders about 15 years ago.

There are trekking stores everywhere (clothing, backpacks, hiking boots etc), places to hire motorbikes, an abundance of western-style restaurants (like Italian, French, American and Vietnamese-Western fusion), bakeries, pharmacies, spas, a wide range of accommodation (high-end to backpackers to homestays), tour companies and tour agents, street vendors and small enterprises, local markets and of course, lots of tourists too.

Even in the rain, life in Sa Pa continues and tourists who go there for only one or two days seemed to brave the rain, trek and explore to make the most of the visit that everyone has to do by train or bus.  There are no planes in the mountains.

There are lots of things to see within short distances from the town, especially if you are into motorbikes, hiking and exploring. We thoroughly enjoyed the Muong Hoa Valley (straight down the road from our hotel) and had a couple of afternoons walking around the town itself too – shopping, monuments, museums, the lake, the street food and the many restaurants.

The natural beauty here is amazing and the ethnic groups that live in the surrounding mountains add the colour.  The rain is no deterrent to enjoying this peaceful mountain paradise.

One place absolutely worth seeing is the Muong Hoa Valley – we did this on motorbikes as R couldn’t hike – it is SO beautiful! I recommend looking at the Sapa O’Chau tour company for trekking (and their restaurant for delicious trout and chips), as Peter was great. He is knowledgeable about the area, honest and compassionate; and any money spent here all goes to the cause to further education and sustainable income for the local community.

Sapa Essence and Sapa Moment were our two favourite restaurants, just down the road from Four Seasons Hotel and on the way down the Muong Hoa Valley Road.

Hotel recommendation

We stayed at the ’Four Seasons Hotel’ (formerly ‘White Lotus’) and enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere and comfortable rooms. Only $16 – $20 per night (slightly less if you book online) and the rooms were clean with a view of the mountain. Breakfast was not bad – choice of eggs, bacon, bread, salad, coffee, orange juice and a few other local choices.

TIP

The street sellers (Mong women) are very persistent and always around. Get your game face on and just tell them you’re not interested. Try not to talk to them if you are not planning to buy anything. The city has signs up saying ‘do not buy from street sellers’, as they want to encourage support of small businesses and the mong girls to stay in school.

Favourite souvenir

Besides the lovely North Face backpack I picked up for $12.00, one of the most intriguing things I took away from this trip was being educated about the fact that “Hmong” is not the correct term for the mountain tribes in this area. This is the Vietnamese term imposed on the mountain people and is almost derogatory. The people refer to themselves simply as “mong” (and there are a few different branches within this term like Tao, Dzao etc.) – fascinating!  Also, “flower H’mong” is just a made up tourist label as this title is not acknowledged by the local community.

Next up…

From Sa Pa, we went east to Halong Bay and then on to Hue.