We flew from Tokyo into Hanoi, Vietnam, a 5 hour 30 minute flight and arrived at 8.30 pm local time (10 pm Tokyo time). Immigration was swift but we had to wait over an hour for our luggage to come through. We were getting a little anxious as we being picked up outside the airport to transfer us to our overnight bus up to the mountain town of Sapa. Fortunately our luggage arrived and we were outside by 10 pm. The overnight bus is what they call a cabin bus (see photos) which would have been comfortable on a straight flat road, but not so much on a bumpy winding road up into the mountains. We both managed to sleep a little and arrived in Sapa at 5.30 am. A minivan dropped us at our hotel (see photo) where the solitary member of staff checked us in and we got a few hours sleep before breakfast.
Sapa, known as "the town in the clouds ", lived up to its name as the mist frequently rolled in from the mountains. There remain many French colonial buildings but there is also a mass of modern development. When we visited Vietnam 20 years ago Sapa was a small mountain town used mainly by trekkers whereas now it's a major tourist destination. It still remains a delightful place to visit and the people are incredibly friendly. We both felt more comfortable here compared with brash modern Tokyo, which had its own charm
As a gentle introduction to Sapa we had a wander around town and the lake.
Having had a recovery day on Tuesday, on Wednesday morning we went out to organize a tour. Sue had used a company called Sapa Nomad for our bus tickets and saw that they had an office in Sapa so with the aid of Google Maps we went in search. It sounds easy. However after walking up and down a steep hill several times (Sapa is called a hill town for a reason) and talking to many locals, we eventually ended up in a small alley and were directed into what looked like an empty office. Two females sat with laptops and said they could organize a tour for us. We handed over the equivalent of about £100 and came away with a hand-written note on a scrap of paper. We were due to be picked up the following morning by a local guide in a private car. Neither of us were convinced this would happen.
At 9 am the next morning a local woman from the Red Dzao hilltribe introduced herself, called a taxi and we were off.
After about 20 km from Sapa we stopped at the car park for Love Waterfall, so named as it was a hangout for young couples. Surrounded by forest the 3 km path took us down many steps for about half hour before arriving at the base of the waterfall. Several photos later we retraced our steps up to the waiting taxi and drove a few kilometres to a viewpoint down across the valley, with a solitary tree enhancing the view.
The last stop before lunch was The Glass Bridge, a relatively new tourist attraction in the area. An elevator (this photo is the elevator shaft) ascended 500 metres to an elevation of over 2000 metres where there was an extensive glass-bottomed walkway overlooking the valley below and to the mountains beyond.
We were then driven down into the valley for lunch at a Hmong (another hilltribe) village where we were surrounded by local tribeswomen selling their local handicrafts. After lunch our guide took us on a walking tour of the local villages accompanied by two persistent tribeswomen with their bags of wares. When it was time for us to leave, Sue felt she should reward their persistence and bought 2 scarves that she really didn't need. The younger of the two women said quietly "thank you so much for helping me today ".
On Friday we decided to make the journey up Mt Fansipan, the highest mountain in Indochina, at a height of 3143 metres. The trek from Sapa takes three days but we opted for the easier route via monorail to the cable car station, then finally a funicular which terminated close to the summit, leaving us a steep breathless climb up steps to reach the top.
Mt Fansipan, as well as being the highest mountain in Indochina, is a sacred site with several pagodas, temples and statues. As you can see from the photos, it's also very popular and was busy with people. There is a theory that the name came from the Hmong people as it means Azalea Mountain in their language, many of which were in bloom on the mountainside. Our friends in Nepal say that it's always winter over 3000 metres and we needed our warm clothes and a windproof layer for protection at the summit. We spent a couple of hours walking around the various temples before the journey back to Sapa.
On Saturday morning we got the daytime cabin bus back to Hanoi, and 30 degree heat.
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Looks a lovely place, and good photos too!
Wow! What a lot to catch up on. Very interesting reading thank you and once again, we are loving the wonderful photos!
So pleased you were out of the airport in time to be collected and made the overnight train. Sounds like you both had a vey long sleepless night! It is also lovely to see both of you in some of them. All our love and hugs. xx