Sapa was the third and last city I visited during my 8-days stay in northern Vietnam, and it's hands down, the most beautiful of all. I've never quite seen anything like it before, neither was I expecting it to be anything like that. I signed up for the 2 days and 1 night tour, which included a home-stay in one of the villages and free meals cooked by the locals.
The journey from Hanoi to Lao Cai by train, was around 8 hours long. I got myself a 4-bed cabin with A/C so getting a good night's sleep wasn't a problem. It was about 5am when we arrived at Lao Cai station, and that was when I encountered the first hiccup: I couldn't find the guy who was supposed to pick me up at the station! My initial thought was that either he hasn't arrived yet, or he was hidden amongst the other chaperones. I took repeated glances at the name list they were holding but none of which had my name on it. Frustrations were escalated by the language barrier and my early morning crankiness.
Thankfully, I have a very helpful friend back in Hanoi, and everything was settled after a few phone calls. Turned out that my guide had forgotten about me, and left with the rest of the group.
The car ride to Sapa town was around an hour long, which gave me ample time to rest and wrap my head around what had just happened. Upon arrival I was greeted by my very apologetic guide. Everything else just fell into place after.
As I was strolling along the small town while waiting for the whole tour group to be gathered, many of the natives, dressed in their ethnic outfit came up to me, and were touting their wares. I was actually surprised that they understood, and were able to speak English. They all looked so friendly and happy, that it made rejecting them feel like a crime, which I'd committed one too many times.
We trekked for about 10km, from the town to the village that we'll be putting up for the night. The long and arduous journey through rocky and precarious terrain wasn't child's play. A few of us, including myself, slipped and fell more than once. A little less lucky and we could have broken a limb.
Like the saying goes, 'you can't have a rainbow, without a little rain'. Along the way, we were treated to a visual feast - a vista of rice fields in terrace, lush meadows and the locals' way of life. It's like a real life example of a typical pastoral landscape picture on the internet.
The natives' attempt to tout and sell their goods didn't end when we left town. Throughout the whole journey, they were by our side, holding and helping us to traverse the difficult terrain. I couldn't be more thankful for their help. But their extremely generous act wasn't one without an agenda. At every pit stop, they'll come swarming around us with all kinds of merchandise, bugging us relentlessly to buy from them. Their repeated soft and sympathetic plead quickly sounded like chants.
As unsightly as it might seem, I felt that they really deserved our patronage and support. The thought of them trekking across the same passage and helping a new group of tourists every day is bewildering. This is what they have to do for a living. In
this case, money is the best form of gratitude.
This time, I was lucky to be in a group with people around my age. Everyone was nice and fun to be with. The entire trek would have been pretty dull if it weren't for the laughters and the interactions we all had. Our accommodation for that night was in a typical village home, and we all slept side by side, in an elongated cabin. Very homely indeed!
As mentioned before in the previous short entry of my Sapa stay, that night around the dinner table was absolute fun. The locals served not only their home-cooked dishes, but also a few shots of their traditional rice wine, which was good for making you delirious, but bad for satisfying the palate.
Awesome company, delicious meal and cheap beers - That's about as good as it is going to get.
The beauty of the country never ceases to amaze me. From the organized chaos of the streets of Hanoi, to the serenity-filled Halong Bay and the glimpse of heaven on earth that Sapa brings, it's comforting to know that all these are just the tip of the iceberg.
Wanting to visit the whole of Vietnam seems to be the scaled-down version of my dream to travel around the world. And there's every reason for me to explore the country or even revisit some of these places, especially Sapa, since it's the only city in Vietnam that snows during winter.
