Week 2: The North – Sapa Crepes and Sunrise

Children "snugged up" as they
watch passing tourists

A plane took us to Hanoi but to get to Sapa we had to brave an overnight train to Lao Cai. For those who have no idea where Sapa - all I know is that is is very close China and you may have seen pictures of it in calendars and what not :)

So much for "mind the gap" on Vietnam trains, there are no platforms and people just leap onto trains both while they are stationary and when they start to move!
The race to the trains are REAL!!!! Women ran through the closing doors with their rods and hanging baskets of produce as though they spontaneously leapt from their place by the street mind bent to catching the departing train home - and I thought I did well timing myself to catch the trains at home!

I was the only one who had a rather uneasy sleep, lurching slightly in my bunk as the train made its stopped and dragged itself from station to station. You may enjoy the train trip more than I did but if you are slightly tall like me, your legs were screaming by the end for a good ol' stretch!!

In my random bouts of consciousness I would hear voices right outside our window belonging to locals walking home along the tracks. Who knows how long they had been walking!! We had come prepared with our train snacks bought from Hanoi- grapefruit, cashews mandarins and sweet breads after a filling ourselves with the “Hanoi take” on traditional Pho soup (very different to the Southern style we were accustomed to).  The mist that swirled beyond the window reminded us that the weather of the North was not as welcoming to the shirt and shorts clad tourist.

Despite being geographically within Vietnam, Sapa felt different – the faraway mountains gave it an serene sense of isolation, the people looked ethically different and the streets themselves appeared a blend of European cobble stone dotted with women and children lying in wait of a tourist. The scenery was a nice change from the Vietnam streets making me feel like I had visited another country in bonus to Vietnam. We didn't manage to catch Sapa at its prime of flourishing, green rice fields but the sun still shone nicely when we walked the circuits that lead around the villages and hills.
Children were often nudged towards tourists in a bid to sell crafts. We witnessed a a group of women chattering to themselves before erupting in remarkably good English as they tail a unsuspecting tourist waving their goods. As we walked up and down the landscape, locals heaved passed us with baskets of wood (it was as heavy as it looked) and little furry pups played at the thresholds of their homes. The local children would pluck the long grasses along the way and fashion them into miniature llama shaped to gift to the tourists. One even stole an ice cream right from the grasp of our tour guide (half eaten!!). 

View of the greenery (or yellow-ry) from the village walking tract

 We weren’t very adventurous on the food front. Although the marketplace exhibited jars of insect-infused liquors/wines we opted for some banana fritters cooked by a local lady on the stairs leading from souvenir tables. Even for breakfast they made the best banana crepes with hot chocolate which I couldn’t pass. Lunch and dinner were an array of dishes served with rice just like we had in Saigon and Hanoi. 

So here are a few tips for Sapa:
1. Wake up early to catch the Sapa sunrise
2. Try said crepes and hot chocolate (delicious and available at most eateries)
3. Spend a few hours with a leisurely stroll of the village circuits (may not be as leisurely when constantly tailed by locals forcing their crafts on you)
4. Don’t give money directly to the children and women selling on the streets (apparently it creates a culture where tourists may get pushed into buying the offered goods- eeep)
5. Get a fire built in your lodging (and – if your back can manage it – try heaving the basket on your back so you can feel a little for the locals you see in the village)
5. Have a walk around the marketplace (avoiding the dog meat section...)
6. Buy a traditional dyed scarf straight from the shop of a local seller in the village (your friends back home will love you for it :P)
7. Pack/buy a warm beanie and gloves for walking  and exploring (we didn't catch Sapa when it snowed though)
8. Don’t try and have a hot bath because the cold air cools the water again right away *sigh*
9. See the traditional dancing at the small theatre room near the waterfall
10.Stock up on snacks for the train trip and a good book (for those who don’t have motion sickness J)

Some close animal encounters as we walked the track