Day 1 – May 13
On Friday the 13th (eeeeeek), we flew an hour and twenty minutes from Da Nang to Hanoi on JetStar, although we vowed to never use that airline again. When you’re strapped for cash and they are offering the lowest priced ticket by at least $50, sometimes you have to go against your past experiences to help sweeten your future experiences. And since we learned from our mistakes, we didn’t get robbed on baggage fees this time around. However, something happened on this flight that has never ever happened to me before. Per usual, I tucked my backup in the overhead compartment, buckled my seat belt tight, turned my phone on airplane mode, popped in my headphones and began choosing the music I wanted to listen to. As we were cruising on the tarmac, the somewhat older Vietnamese woman sitting next to me slapped my wrist. Literally. She didn’t tap or brush or pet my wrist. She slapped it, pretty darn hard. When I abruptly looked over to see what that was for, she was aggressively pointing to my phone yelling at me to turn it off. I kindly explained that it was in airplane mode (which is basically off) but because she saw my music, she couldn’t understand what that meant. I tried to be as respectful as possible but eventually, after her touching me three times too many, I began to just ignore her. If this happened in America, I feel like I could have easily sued her for emotional disturbance and physical assault, hahaha.
When we landed in Hanoi around 4:30pm, we had about five hours to kill until our overnight train to Sapa departed, so we took an Uber to The Hanoi Social Club for some appetizers, dinner and WiFi access (TMobile doesn’t work here in Vietnam).
Now that our bellies were full and our eyes were tired, we took another Uber from The Hanoi Social Club to the Hanoi station, Ga Ha Noi. From here, we boarded our train at 10pm. Compared to our overnight experience in India, this was like staying at a 4 star hotel. Although it was an itsy bitty teenie weenie cabin, it still had four beds – two lower and two upper – all dressed up with a legit mattress, soft sheets, fluffy pillows and a cozy comforter. Plus, there were bottles of water, snacks, outlets to plug in your electronics, an actual toilet in the public area (not just a hole in the ground) and WiFi. We also got super duper lucky with our cabin mates as they were an awesome Italian couple (who now live in Australia, opening an Italian restaurant). Easy to talk to with very interesting stories. And the bonus was neither one of them snored. Phewwwwww.
Day 2 – May 14
After an 8.5 hour bumpy, shaky, not so restful train ride (although it could have been much worse), we arrived in Lao Cai around 6:30am. We arranged for someone from our hotel to pick us up as it was a windy 45 minute drive to the actual town of Sapa . In the past 19 hours, we’ve been on a plane, a train and various automobiles so by 7:45am when we finally stepped foot inside U Sapa, our hotel for the next three nights, we were ready for a shower and a nap. Unfortunately, we couldn’t check in yet so we decided to have breakfast in their lobby. Get this though. There was a family that had their own boombox blasting at their table as if this was their dining room. And because their music was so loud, everyone else was fighting real hard to talk over it. 8am felt more like a dance club in Las Vegas at 1am. Situations like this kind of annoy me at first (I truthfully think it would have annoyed any human being, especially after the long travel we just went through) but then after allowing it to soak in, I realized it’s just another hilarious cultural difference to add to my already extensive list. People are funny in their own ways and we need to learn how to embrace them, although it is quite difficult to do in the moment.
Later that afternoon, we walked around Sapa town, which is pretty small. It reminded me of a ski village for some reason. Maybe because the weather was much cooler, the sky was covered in fog and there were fake North Face products being sold in every shop. But it definitely had a quaint, local charm.
When you don’t have access to a gym and need to buy water wherever you go, might as well kill two birds with one stone…
When your oldest child carries your youngest child on their back…
We ended up at place called Little Sapa for lunch and had the best Pho since being in Vietnam. It was vegetarian, mouthwateringly and nose hair tingling spicy and ridiculously flavorful. I was one happy girl after this meal.
All throughout Sapa, it is impossible not to recognize people from the H’mong tribe, which is an ethnic minority group throughout the mountainous regions of China, Vietnam, Laos and Thailand. Besides having a very unique, distinct look to them, they are constantly trying to sell you stuff that they have handmade including purses, dresses, shirts, etc. They are an important member in the Vietnam community with about one million people, ranking 8th among 54 Vietnamese ethnicities. They usually wear their own self-woven clothes, decorated with detailed technique, large hoop earrings and carry a basket on their back. I have a lot of respect for these women because they walk a great distance every morning and every night from their village to the town in hopes of making as much Vietnamese Dong as possible. They definitely work hard for their money.
For dinner, we ventured off to Hill Station, which serves local dishes made only from local ingredients. We shared a banana flower salad (one of my new favorites) and Vinny got buffalo for his entree while I got a ginger chicken concoction. All was fresh, tasty and delicious. Not to mention the restaurant itself was surprisingly modern, cozy and contemporary for such an old-school town.
Day 3 – May 15
Today we went trekking. Yes, trekking. Well I guess it was more like intensive hiking but the locals refer to it as trekking so I will too. Sounds more adventurous. Our day started at 7:30am when May, a minority guide from the Ta Phin Village, met us at U Sapa. She is 26 years old, was married at 21 years old and has 2 kids – 5 years old and 4 years old. When she guessed how old I was she said 22. I mean, wow. She won me over instantly. May is the one with the umbrella and the others were just tagging along hoping we would eventually buy something from them. The definition of patient yet persistent.
I can try to explain what we saw on our 7 hour trek but I think pictures will make those visuals come alive more successfully. While viewing the various images (and there are a lot, so my apologies for the overload), just imagine seeing what we saw and hearing what we heard. Sounds of birds chirping, water flowing, children laughing, wind blowing, roosters crowing, butterflies soaring. We were one with nature today and if felt oh so good. We learned that buffalo are ridiculously expensive so only a handful of families can afford them. And when they do, they are used to plow the rice fields while alive and then their meat is sold when they die. We learned that H’Mong villagers tend to marry at 16 and have kids at 18. And that Indigo plants are grown throughout the valley which is used as the dye for their clothes. Everything we saw today was surreal in its beauty – so green, so alive, so beautiful. It all seemed fake because it was so far from what we are used to but just like I call Los Angeles home, about one hundred tribal families call this home.
Anyone hungry for some fresh butchered meat straight off the animals back?
As we enter one of the tiny villages within the valley…
This was a very local, pretty much homemade, vegetarian lunch that included an omelet, tofu, bamboo shoots, roasted peanuts and some purple sticky rice, which was as sweet as candy. And you all know how much I like candy. Yum yum. While we were sitting on the patio, there was a local man walking up and down the street with a snake on a stick. And yes, the snake was alive. Not your typical sighting but when we asked May what that was for, she said he was trying to sell it because Vietnamese eat snake. Not yum yum. Speaking of which, what is a snake’s favorite dance? The Mamba!!
Vietnam pride wherever you go…
More breathtaking views from the other side of the valley…
We walked through a bamboo forest, which provided much appreciated shade coverage…
The kids, specifically in the Sapa area, are just beyond adorable. They have the sweetest most innocent looking faces that will warm any bystanders heart with a simple smile or a kind wave. Some of them were innocently playing around (like kids do) while others were trying to sell us stuff. Although I wanted to give them everything I had, we were told not to buy anything because it then supports the idea of not going to school.
Throughout our 10 miles of walking, we visited the Lao Chai village (H’Mong tribe), the Ta Van village (Dzay tribe) and the Giang Ta Chai (Dzao tribe). The people were all vastly different (clothes, jewelry, etc.) however their lifestyles were very much the same. Simple. I am so happy we did this trek today and were able to see a whole new side of Vietnam, far away from the cities and far away from the crowds of people. Mother Nature sure did welcome us with open arms by allowing it not to rain.
Given we had such a rewarding workout today and our legs were extremely tired, we decided to order room service and watch our very first movie on Netflix since we left in January. In the theme of Vietnam, we chose Heavy Metal Jacket. It was a pretty intense movie from start to finish but since we are more educated on the Vietnam War, we were able to actually understand the inside jokes and dialogue. Still makes me sad that so many people died but I know I can’t turn back time. Even Cher tried once but wasn’t very successful (get it, her song Turn Back Time? okay, I’m stretching it there, I know).
Day 4 – May 16
Yesterday’s theme was trekking, villages and rice terraces. Today’s theme is chasing waterfalls. We hired a driver through our hotel to take us to some of the nearby highlights. First on our tour was Heaven’s Gate, which is the highest stretch of road in Vietnam and offers incredible panoramic views of the entire valley. On a clear day, you can see Fansipan, the highest mountain in Indochina (a historical name that refers to the continental portion of Southeast Asia lying east of India and roughly south or southwest of China) standing at 3,143 meters. We could barely see it due to the fog but that’s okay, it was still wonderful.
Next up was the Love Waterfall, which was impressive in nature as well as enduring given its legendary love story has been told from generation to generation (I’ll spare you the details, it is quite long). With a height of about 100m, it starts from the peak of Fansipan Mountain and rushes noisily into the Gold Stream like a never-ending song. In order to get to the waterfall, you must walk down a red dirt road running through the lush and vast bamboo forest. Then continue with the gentle beauty of rhododendron flowers radiating diverse colors such as red, white and yellow. Along with this, you will hear the soothing sound of the rustling of trees in the wind, birdsongs and eventually the harmony of the water spraying down like a fountain of youth. It was a neat waterfall, don’t get me wrong, but not one of the best I’ve seen. I think I’m just spoiled rotten though.
Last but not least, we visited the Silver Waterfall, which doesn’t really need any explanation. It was a long, skinny, flowing waterfall in between lush trees and mountains. There were steps that allowed you to get higher and a bridge that allowed you to walk across it. Can you spot us in the distance? There is something about waterfalls that is so soothing to the soul. The sound, the breeze, the beauty, the mist. It instantly relaxes me.
That pretty much wraps up our 2 days in Sapa. We walked a lot, saw a lot, drove a lot, ate a lot and enjoyed a lot. The town has a very laid back atmosphere, quite different than the other cities we’ve been to in Vietnam and as the sun sets, there really isn’t much to do. Most people go to bed early and wake up early, which is kind of the schedule we’ve been on so it’s a match made in heaven. If you are visiting Vietnam, Sapa is a great place to add to your list because it gives you that picture perfect postcard that you think of when Vietnam comes to mind. It truly is beautiful.
Tomorrow, May 17th, we will be taking a 9.5 hour day train back to Hanoi. Most people do overnight trains both ways to save time but we decided to try something a little different. Let’s see how this goes. Choo Choo!
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