About 380 kilometers in the northwest of Hanoi, you can find a small beautifull and picturesque city located in a pretty valley edged of the mountains of Hoang Tie Sound close to the Chinese border .
The place has been discovered by Jesuit missionaries in 1918,
Built by the French during the colonial era in Vietnam, there is one century, the city was a shelter during the hot season for the soldiers. Situated here to 1650m altitude the town is surrounded of mountains wich the highest Fansipan culminates to 3143 m.
Nicknamed "Alpes Tonkinoises“,the area is covered often of mists and clouds giving a particular unreal atmosphere at this place.
During the colonial time a lot of house where built and a church. After the withdrawal of the French, most of these constructions have either been abandoned destroyed, however, there is still colonial influences remaining.
The period the more frequented by the tourists is March April May or October and November because it is the dry season .To avoid, months of June July and August for trekkers because rainy , Between January and February days often misty, very cold in the evening with from time to time fell of snow. -----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ACCESS: One can reaches it either by the road, or by the terminus train, the later station is the city of Lao Cai. This city is also the place or you can pass the border to reach China.
THE JOURNEY
For my journey my Hanoi‘s hotel proposed me the formula . train of night, first day in Sapa and visit of the surroundings, lodging in the city, the following day trekking and return the after noon on Lao Cai to take the return train of night to Hanoi. Price 80 Dollar US.
10h of journey from the departure of Hanoi till Lao Cai by the TULICO TRAIN. Departure Friday 20h30 from my room at the rear of a motorcycle and finish at the railway station of Hanoi. I got there of a rustic train with a nice Filipino journey mate, cabin of 4 hard berths, with if you take an extra for sleeping, a thin thickness rubber on the iron of the skiff.
We have nevertheless can sleep shortly after got a small bottle of water and a mini sandwich by the train service, awaked from time to time by the loud talkers screaming some announcements in Vietnamese or giving out a noisy music.
Arrived toward 7h00 in Lao Cai.
Here a big number of van are waiting for the passengers and after a lot of endless discussions on behalf of the drivers as for the sharing of the customers, departure on by one humid morning but sunny day.
After a distance of about 40 km Sapa appears in the clouds. Entered in the muddy main avenue and landing of the vehicles in search of our hotel in a fog to cut to knife. One can says san Sapa is said to have all four seasons in one single day.
The weather changes Indeed very quickly; the morning little clear and sunny and in some minutes, the clouds appear and rain begins to fall. You must always be prepared for all kind of time.
We have been accommodated in the Green Bamboo giving Hotel on the valley. Deposit of our luggage and visit of the Saturday market.
In Sapa we can encounter groups of women and children girls Hmong ethnic groups dressed mainly of black with their strips rolled up around the calves but also Dzao with their big red turban sewn with silver coins and trying to sold necklaces, clothes combs and other utensils to the tourist.. 54 ethnics groups in Vietnam.
In my opinion these ethnic groups are disdained and a little rejected by Vietnamese, they have their own language and habits .
The Hmong ethnic , major group was during long time of feudal standard, the polygamy was in use too, perhaps still now and when a baby borns if she is a female, the placenta is buried beneath the family bed, if he is a male beneath the ancestor altar.
The area of the market, is the main gathering place of ethnic coming from the hills of the surrounding villages.
This day they sale and purchase handicraft pieces, jewelry, orchids, mushrooms, and honey, and also create and tie some relations ship with other groups. . . In the market one finds the dog meat, fruits , big snails, water shellfish among local spices and vegetables, and the smells .
At noon meal in the hotel we made the knowledge of a very strange little Japanese of about sixty years, working in china like roadmender. I think he got some trouble in Japan because he said dislike his country and particular sign has a finger off at the left hand.
He was in transit in Vietnam in view to validate his passport in order to return then in China. Clothed like Hmongs, he was puzzling them who were looking at his clothes to exchange or buy.
Good talker, seated in a corner of the restaurant he gathered around him a group of girls of the area and told them the good adventure or rather what they wanted to hear. Big giggles from us , its benefit rewarded in return by one meal offered by the manager of the house. The after noon handled by a small Vietnamese guide and excursion in a village of a Hmong ethnic group at the foot of the city, and after we got, in the evening a light meal in the restaurant before going to the rooms.
Our room was no heated. Some of them are equipped with a hearth or in return for some dollars the occupants can buy some logs and heat a little thus the piece.
Not having had this luck we could recover supplementary covers to face a cold and humid night.
The following day a fantastic panorama appears to our eyes. The valley was filled in part of clouds and in others bathed in an unreal light. . Departure the morning toward the village Black Hmong of Cat Cat while doing a buckle of 20 km in the valley. I was not being equipped for the walk, so my shoes suffered a little. The Vietnameses also practice the Surbooking and propose to transport you by all lands a part of the journey to go and after to the return. Actually they don't have any enough vehicles.
Thus we went walking. . Fortunately good weather and magnificent landscape of rice fields in terraces, other fields of flowers and meetings of water buffalos. coming down of muddy slopes to wish or to midway and not knowing anymore how to manage because of the slips and a balance more that uncertain some children emerge by miracle and propose you some sticks to help you to progress, in return for a few thousands of dôngs (some pences).
Bordered of river and arrived in the Hmong village of Cat Cat after having crossed girls of 12 years about whom carried loads incredible of concret in hoods about 50 kg in a long distance for the construction of the road. Some jars filled of indigo are in the front the dwellings, this product is used to dye the clothes.
A dinner is offered to us, nice and cordial welcome in a dwelling of the ethnic group. Return exhausted then but happy of the day a part on foot, the rest by green Chinese jeeps as borrowing the road in construction or the workers like the convicts breaks the stones to spread them on the road before beings crushed by an old roadroller..
The after noon return on Lao Cai to take the train of night.
