Duncan and I have discovered that we are not big city people. Hanoi is great, exciting and a flurry of colour and craziness but we instantly feel better as soon as we leave the big smoke.
Sapa gave us the most memorable and remarkable experience on our trip yet.
Sapa is an old French holiday resort up in the mountains 8 hours north of Hanoi. To get there we had to take on over night train which we found quite a lovely and comfortable experience with the clacky-de-clack of the train the slow rocking, lulling you to sleep. As Sapa is a tourist town, our tour included travel in the tourist ‘soft sleeper’ cabin which gives you a surprisingly comfortable bed and little cabin between 4 people.
6am the next morning we met up with our small group and local guide for our 2 day trekking experience through the mountains, rice fields, bamboo forests of Sapa. We would also have the unique experience of staying overnight with one of the local families deep in the Sapa countryside.
As an aside – had they told me at the beginning how far I would walk in the next two days I would have demanded that they take straight back to the soft sleeper. 26km in all – but oh, boy was it worth it!
Duncan and I were warned that Sapa was quite touristy and that the local people hassle you quite persistently to buy stuff as soon as you arrive. For us, this was not the case at all. The first day of trekking, we did have a few locals follow us the entire 16 km. However, their help was greatly needed in some of the muddier and more precarious areas – i.e Picture us tip-toeing along the edge of the rice paddy – one slip to the left or right, and we would end up in 1 meter of thick clay mud. The locals are like little mountain goats and were sure footed even in the little plastic sandals.
The trek was simply jaw dropping for so many reasons. The scenery was simply spectacular with high mountains either side of you. The fact that we could walk through the little villages and their farms to see their life up close and personal was educational, confronting and also inspiring. The rice paddies that carved out the steep mountain sides were so picturesque that Duncan and I went a little snap happy.
Then the highlight, trekking up to a remote village on the side of one of the mountains to meet our home stay host. It was such a lovely little wooden house, set on top of a hill, beside a little creek. Our sleeping quarters were upstairs and were wonderfully rustic and very comfortable. Out little group of trekkers eased our backpack off our sweaty backs and we thankfully accepted a soothing cup of tea from our host. Amazingly the house had a pool table out on the porch. Not in the best shape, but gave for some entertaining games of pool and a great bonding experience between our little group of trekkers. How on earth they got the table up the little dirt track we will never know!!
The dinner that our host and guide cooked up for us was simply divine and we were all shocked that so much amazing food could be created from the simple fire pit. There was about 20 plates fo food between 8 people, CRAZY!
After a few shots of home brew rice wine (or as our host called it, “Happy Water”), and a good old drinking game, we all welcomed sleep like an old friend.
Day two was only 10 km, but extremely challenging having to pick our way through a dense bamboo forest which had mud up to your knees in some places. Luckily none of us fell in (except for me who fell over outside of the forest on smooth dry terrain – go figure!) and we all managed to stay remarkably clean.
A good end to a great two days of trekking. For anyone heading to northern Vietnam we would absolutely recommend a trek through the Sapa countryside, and most definitely a home-stay for your accommodation.
