Sapa, Northwest of Hanoi (Day 5)

Arriving from Ninh Binh to Hanoi yesterday evening, we were off to Sapa on a night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, the town just before Sapa. We bought berth train tickets and managed to get a few winks on the way there. The rooms are not huge, but comfortably spacious with two double decks on each side. We had a Scottish lady and an Aussie bloke as bunk mates. 

Playing a game of scrabble to kill of time

We arrived in Lao Cai at about 6am and had to weave our way through the swarm of touts to get a reasonable ticket to get from Lao Cai to Sapa. We ended up in a 12 seater van that eventually took more than 14 people! 

Sapa to our delight is a very gorgeous region. Mountainous in terrain, the little town serves as the foothill to Vietnam’s highest peak – Fansipan. Fog was thick today and visibility was not at it’s optimum – even then the views were breathtaking. We checked into our “boutique” hotel – Baguette and Chocolat. At USD18 per night we were treated to a large room with cozy interior. The tiny hotel has only 4 guestrooms and on the ground floor, as the name suggest, it’s a really nice bakery. All their desserts and pastries are tainted with French flavor. 

After a long shower and a short nap, we headed to the town square where tiny stalls were set up. Sapa is also home to the Black Hmong and Red Dzao minority groups. The markets are where they sell their handmade embroidery, bags, belts and such. Even the Black Hmongs have caught onto the bad habit of Vietnamese touting. They will approach you from all sides asking us to “buy something from me please”. 

After a few turns and block turns around the town, we figured that the only thing these minority groups are taught to remember in English are “buy something from me”, “money money”, “where you from?”. Even children as young as 3 or 4 would repeat the same phrases! 

2km from Sapa is the Cat Cat Village where most of the Black Hmongs live. The walk down was mostly downhill (piece of cake), but wherever there is a downhill, there is also an uphill! The walk into the village was worth every penny spent – oh yes, they also charge an entrance fee of 15,000d (about RM5). 

We saw how these village people lived – just bare necessities. Some huts had electricity, some didn’t. Children were running around in dirty clothing many times filled with tatters. Their faces often smudged with mud and dirt. They are also left to play on their own while their mothers walked around selling handmade products and then settling down chatting with other women. Men are rarely seen doing any work, perhaps they play different roles in this culture. Animals like dogs, pigs, ducks and chicken roam freely around the village. Aside from selling handmade products, the Black Hmongs sold fresh produce to make a living. Paddy fields and veggie plots are seen all around the village. They have ingenious water systems to keep the plants well watered. Amazing I tell you! 

Settling for an early dinner, we filled our stomachs once again with hot steaming Pho. It was one of the best we’ve had so far here in Vietnam. As sides we had street barbeque meat on skewers. After what we discovered in the Ninh Binh market, this time we were sure to ask what meat it was before ordering! I wasn’t ready to try any dog meat after the haunting sight of two dog skulls at the market!