Sapa, Vietnam

Coming back from Ha long, we spent a few hours at our hotel in Hanoi before next setting off on the Oriental Express night train to Sapa, Vietnam. The nicest train we traveled on, we had our own private four bed cabin, equipped with a TV, nice and dare I say fancy beds and linens, and even some complimentary water and moist hand wipes. It was nice to relax, be comfortable and wake up at our destination after sleeping all night and not wasting a day to travel.

Sapa was cold, the air seemed clean and the mountain scape was worth the trip alone. However, this stop in Vietnam also had some of the best food options, friendly and compassionate guides and great accommodation. We stayed in an awesome small hotel looking out over the city booked through the tour company, with a room nicer than any we had stayed in so far on our travels. The whole Sapa visit package was a great deal in comparison to Ha Long, the included meals at the hotel's restaurant were great and we even got to stay with one guide and fellow tourists the entire time. Joining us for the visit was an Australian couple, Nick and Julia, who had also recently graduated from college and were on vacation from Sydney. We all got along great and did things together all day, whether or not they were with the guide or on our own time.

The first day we made a visit to the local market, got an up close and personal viewing of dog on the butcher table, horse and cow heads were also there too. All strange things aside, one vendor was actually selling live rainbow trout in a tank, he called them salmon though. Next we were off to hike down the valley through the terraced hillsides. Unfortunately we were not visiting during the growing season, the fields were muddy and wet, some being prepared for the next season this winter. Sapa has two growing seasons and supplies most of Vietnam with rice. During these seasons the scenery is either a vibrant green or a golden yellow, all set below the towering peaks above. It still was a beautiful place, and many of the people whom live in the valley are part of various local tribes. The river flowing through the bottom of the valley was grand, carving its way through boulder fields and running a translucent emerald color. Unfortunately a hydroelectric dam was in the process of being built, good for the local people, not so great for the future health of the river.

On day two we took another trip into the gorge, this time heading north to the head of the valley. We visited several villages, schools and tourist spots along the way before backtracking out and having Pho Ga (chicken soup) for lunch at a restaurant that featured a fresh litter of puppies that were scurrying around. There was also a litter born recently in a storage section next to our hotel, so we spent a lot of time watching and playing with the little guys in both locations.

That night we were taken back to train station, boarded the Oriental Express once more and said goodbye to our young, friendly, talkative and helpful guide. By far the best of the trip. At 5am we arrived in Hanoi, our friend from the Rising Dragon Hotel already outside our window as the train lurched to a stop. It was nice to not have to think about how to get back to our hotel without being ripped off at that time of the morning.

Vietnam photo album