Sapa part II

For Part 1 on Sapa, click here

For the book entry on Sapa, click here

07-APR-2018

Ultimately it was going to be hard following up the previous Sapa post. Between all the dancing, drinking and stargazing, I thought I had had my fill of adventure. But that said, the following day also featured its share of walking and stunning views.

I had woken up fairly early, with my hips aching from sleeping both in a colder climate and with a hard mattress. I needed to stretch my legs a bit to get some more warmth in them. Fortunately, after slowly coming downstairs from the attic, there was quite a wonderful sunrise to behold. It was a few hours after the sun came up and the hills were illuminated. The scenery was vibrant once more, with the foliage and rice fields really showing off.

By this point in the morning there wasn’t much in the way of the whole group being together. Andy was on the rock we had been stargazing on the previous night, Abi and Sarah were sitting on the concrete path looking at the views, and Niamh was fending off the kids that were testing their martial arts on her. The rest were just in bed chilling out or letting their phones charge. It was a pleasantly slow start, where you could take in the surroundings and wander around the patios.

Eventually people did wake up. At this point I was dying for some more water, but all that was around was sparkling. It was disappointing but necessary. At least some green tea came out quickly after. The food was just what was needed though. Banana and honey pancakes. Really tasty, unsurprisingly fresh, and likely picked from down the road. The pancakes were more like crepes, but wasn’t sugar coated or sweet. Combined with a few berries and everyone’s electronics charged up and we were ready to begin our hike.

The day was clearer than yesterday, which never seemed to escape the mountain mist. Those who brought suncream applied it to their faces and we were off. The sun was gorgeous, reminiscent of Spanish hillside towns in the mountains. The key difference between yesterdays hike and todays was the terrain. The walk back to Sa Pa had far more concrete road than the grassy and rugged paths of the previous day. There were even road marker stones to give an idea of where we were heading. This did make the walking a bit easier than the mountain hikes, but it also showed us how far away we were from the town. Even so, a little girl seemed to have no trouble walking the long distances with us. When she wasn’t, she would get on Mao’s shoulders and she would carry her most of the way.

After quite a few kilometers of walking we made it to the valley bed. A river was flowing through, and we crossed a rickety iron bridge to get to the other side. We took a good few photos here, with the bridge making for a change to the usual rice fields and road. A few kids were playing in the river bed too, but with water being a brownish colour, we wouldn’t have dared to try! It was no Wicklow stream, and with the rocks and grit surrounding it we wouldn’t have given it a go.

Another few crossings later and we made it to a small village, with an uphill main path through the huts and stalls. We settled into a dining spot, where we were served some rice and got to rest our legs for a while. The little girl was excited to see the photos we had taken, as well as some of the apps you could play on them. I really enjoyed having time to chill, take in the atmosphere of the restaurant, and reflect on the walking through the tropical valley.

To our surprise, once we headed to the end of the village, a minibus was ready to pick us up and bring us back to the town center. This was a relief, as by then my feet were in pain from the new hiking boots. At least after 2 days of wearing them, they were getting worn in and helpful for future hikes. We all got in and did a Far Cry 4 into, as the van rocked wildly at speed through the valley with a high chance of bumping off the roadside into the valley. It was a narrow dirt track, but we got to the town and civilization promptly.

The final hour in Sapa was nice, but I did wish I did more. I spent a bit of time in the market with Andy, and then had a good look around the town streets, but I missed out on the sun plaza station and the central lake. Still, getting back on the sleeper bus, I reflected on my time with fondness. As the bus winded through the hills back to Hanoi, I checked the photos, wrote down a few things, and listened to a few tunes on the MP3 player, ready for another week…

For travellers wishing to try a tour like this, the website to visit is below. Here, you can see photos, and a description of weekend tours on offer. On top of this, I would also like to give a shoutout to Dom and his tour company, Tour with Dom. He takes tourists across North Vietnam, from Hanoi to Halong. He would also be knowledgeable of Sapa if you contact him about it, and I would highly recommend his tours.

http://www.lilystravelagency.com/project/sapa-trekking-with-mao/?fbclid=IwAR1S8PdFTUIlYM0AkciPwYKLfcAuYQSlYHr6Jhyz2eh5qM1p-icvmI11m10