Hanoi - Sapa - Lao Cai - Halong Bay - Hue - Hoi An - Da Nang
河内 - 沙坝 / 萨帕 - 老街 - 下龙湾 - 顺化 - 会安 - 岘港
15 October 2012 (Day Two - Sapa)
After a torturing vomiting night, the train finally arrive at Lao Cai Train Station at about 6am. We met up with our local guide Mr. Son outside the station before taking a private van to Sapa. The transfer took around one hour along 40km of hilly roads. We reached Sapa at 7am and managed to check-in at Elegance Hotel (pre-booked online). We even got a free room upgrade from superior to deluxe, most probably because of the low season. After a quick rest and shower, we followed Mr. Son to a local restaurant for light breakfast. Of course, we ordered rice noodle soup (Phở) and Vietnamese coffee! It costed us about USD5 per person.
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| Outside Lao Cai Train Station at 6am |
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| Sapa rice noodle soup |
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| The dripping cup of Vietnamese coffee |
After the energy recharge, we had to take a 2km short trekking to Cat Cat Village and Shin Chai Village, which are the home of the H’mong Ethnic group. Along the way, we saw many locals selling handicrafts and had the chance to meet and talk with them to learn more about their daily lives. According to Mr. Son, it was the first day of their new month and if we already walked into the shop, then buying something would bring good luck to the shop owner for the rest of the month?
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| Scenic view on the way to H'mong village |
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| Past time of the local children? |
We reached the village and had a short rest besides a small waterfall before watching a dancing performance by the locals. It was a love dance where boys were playing bamboo flute (pan-pipe) while girls were dancing with colourful paper umbrellas. We were told that the average marriage age for H'mong is between 15 to 17 years old. After that, we trekked back to our waiting van for the return trip to Sapa Town.
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| H'mong bamboo flute performance |
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| Spider spotted on our way back |
After having our lunch at Bamboo Hotel (spring roll!), we spent some free time dropping by the Sapa market square at centre of the town. Locals (mostly ladies) dressed in traditional costumes were seen selling handicrafts and local produces. We decided to have a quick rest before meeting up with Mr. Son again at around 2pm to visit Thac Bac Waterfall.
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| Surrounded by 'sales-women' at Sapa market square! |
Also known as Silver Falls, Thac Bac Waterfall is located at some distance away from Sapa. It is a very high waterfall and we had to climbed 10 minutes of staircase to reach the last viewing platform. The astonishing scenery was definitely worth the climb! We descended down with empty camera batteries and on our way back, took a detour to a small salmon farm. The water temperature is always kept around 7 to 9 degree.
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| The tall Thac Bac Waterfall |
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| Mr. Son posing besides the waterfall |
The drive back to Sapa was quite an experience as visibility was poor due to heavy mist during that late afternoon. We managed to catch a short nap before walking to the same Bamboo Hotel for dinner (spring roll!). It was also a good opportunity to experience the night life in Sapa. Despite the cold, there were still many bars and shops opening, mainly for tourists.
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