Pictures of Sa Pa, Viet Nam
Well, we had a 4 day holiday here at the same time as Easter but celebrating different stuff which I do not intend to elaborate on as I am not sure quite what they were about. No, we did not paint eggs or give out chocolate or share cuddly bunnies......just what precisely does all that have to do with Easter anyway??????..........
So. back to Sa Pa.
My friend Sarah came up from Hue on the Thursday night. We spent all of Friday doing not a great deal other than eating and chatting. We met some friends downtown for drinks and dinner and then headed out for the overnight train to Sa Pa.
Sa Pa was developed by the French when they governed the country as a mountain retreat for the summer months when it gets very hot in Ha Noi. It's a 9 hour journey to the nearest train station then an hour on a bus trundling up the mountain side to finally arrive in the town itself nestling into the mountainside. We were taken for breakfast during which we met out guide, a lovely local lady called Ban.
Breakfast over, we set off with Ban and our driver in a battered old jeep to the start of our trek. Driving through Sa Pa was great.......really got me looking forward to exploring more. One surprising factor was the number of women (and a few men) who were wearing their ethnic garmets. There are 52 ethnic minority groups living in Viet Nam and they appear to live remarkably harmoniously together. Anyway, they wear the most amazing outfits....the largest group in Sa Pa are the Black Humongs, so called because they wear black clothes.. I asked Ban about the traditional clothing and she said that some young people don't wear the outfits but if a girl wants to marry, then she has little choice as she will not find a husband if she goes outside tradition. They make and dye their own clothes from Hessian and cotton and natural dyes.
Anyway, back to the trek.
We spent about 3 hours walking. It was easy walking in general and we went to the more touristy village that is the nearest to Sa Pa town. It was all great fun. We saw a waterfall. Sarah was interviewed for Sa Pa television, we saw a goat game (I checked first that the goat did not get harmed.....it did get a few kicks but nothing more so I was OK with that) and we watched the drama of stopping a mini bus disappear over the edge of the mountainside. The problem here is the roads are very narrow and especially on a busy weekend like it was when we were there, there are just too many vehicles and not enough road.
After a great walk and a lot of laughs, we got back to the hotel for lunch. Actually I say hotel but it wasn't actually OUR hotel, it was simply the place where we left out bags and had breakfast and lunch. Out hotel was just down the road and was not ready for us yet. After a surprisingly good lunch, we went for a coffee and re connected with a group of French people who were in our carriage of the train.
Didn't mention the train journey did I! Well, it was Ok really. A four berth sleeper with mattresses that did a good job of mimicking the hardness of an average floor. But the toilet was working, western and surprisingly clean. We even had toilet paper left by the time we arrived which is unkown. Anyway, the French people were very nice. I was chatting to a Vietnamese man who had gone to France to study but then when the wars broke out, he could not get home so he just decided to stay. He taught English in France, is now retired and organises trips to his homeland....a charming man.
Anyway, when we went for a coffee while waiting for our room to be ready and the French group were just finishing a very long liquid lunch. Their English was astonishingly better than it had been on the train......interesting what alcohol does for language learning...maybe that's where i am going wrong with my Vietnamese.....I just need to drink more wine!!!
We finally got into our hotel in time for us to collapse in an exhausted heap for a couple of hours.
The next adventure was Sa Pa itself and especially the market which I loved. Everyone wants to sell you something but it was all fun. That led into dinner and an early night.
They say that in Sa Pa you can go through the 4 seasons in one day. We woke up to heavy clouds and mist. It did not look too good but it was not raining so it was OK. We had breakfast and by the time Ban arrived, the clouds and mist had cleared and it was just perfect. 10.oo and we set off for our longer trek....around 4 hours. Again, our driver took us to the starting point and would be waiting for us at the end point.
The countryside is just lovely...just like on the postcards. The walk was downhill all the way. I had not heard a thing but apparently there had been a heavy storm over night and it was very slippy underfoot. No problem for my walking boots that are nicely stored away back home but not so good for my trainers. So it was tricky though fun. We did have a couple of women along with us who insisted on grabbing hold of me. In truth, I wasn't sure whether they helped or hindered and, of course, at the end of the walk over lunch, it became clear that their 'help' was not altruistic......they though it would be a great idea for me to buy their goods. I did buy one thing as I did like it and thought it was well made but was not going to be badgered into getting stuff I did not want.
Lunch was pleasant enough then we walked through a few villages all giving us ample opportunities to be parted with our money although, I have to say, there was little nagging from most of the locals. One woman decided that a constant stream of 'you will buy from me' was a good tactic as she walked with me for about 15 minutes. How wrong she was. I simply smiled and replied 'no thank you' to each of her statements. Eventually she got the message and left me to my walk.
The last part of the walk was probably my favourite part of the whole trip into the countryside. By now it was easy walking and it was really lovely and there was no-one around other than Sarah, Ban and myself. We got to the cafe where our driver was waiting, drove back into Sa Pa and sadly parted company with Ban before having a shower, changing and going for dinner.
Just a little about Ban. She is of undetermined age. Neither of us got around to asking her. She got married young (whatever that means) and has a 6 year old and a 1 year old. Her husband works the land around 3 days a week and helps with the children while she earns the money as a guide. She does not read or write but speaks about the best English I had heard since being in Vietnam. She also speaks fluent Vietnamese. her own language, 2 other ethnic languages. Spanish, Japanese and French. Although her Spanish, Japanese and French are not good enough for her to be a guide. She has a charming sense of humour. We call each other on the phone and have a little chat about what we are doing and I have given her number to some people who are going to Sa Pa. I will certainly arrange to see her next time I go.
Six o clock, the bus took us back down the mountainside where we had time for a drink and a chill before boarding our train. The less said about that train the better. The only good thing was that the mattress was actually quite comfortable...and that is the ONLY good thing that I can say.
We got back to Ha Noi treated ourselves to a disgustingly expensive and indulgent breakfast (by Vietnam standards) and then arranged for a taxi to take Sarah to the airport to get her flight back to Hue.
So all in all, a great trip. My only comment was that it was not long enough. I would have loved an extra day to do more walking and more chance to explore Sa Pa without needing to dash to the next meal or to collapse in an exhausted heap.....next time!!!
