Sapa in the Clouds

The heat of south and central Vietnam is oppressive, only the cool of an air-conditioned room can assuage it but what then of seeing the country and the sights you have travelled thousands of miles to see? Well, one has to suck it up and sweat like the rest of them and the best of them.

Enticing smells entrance you from the food stalls at the markets in Sapa

There is however relief to be found in the mountains of North Vietnam.  The citizens of Hanoi regularly travel up to the former hill stations in search of a cooler alpine style break from the pressures and sultriness of the capital.

My visit to Sapa coincided with the Independence Day celebrations and the birthday of Hanoi so it was holiday season all around. Getting a berth on a sleeper train out of Hanoi to Sapa was almost impossible but my trusty travel agent came through and I was booked into a lower berth for the eight hour journey north.

Hanoi’s B station, around the back of the main “Ga Hanoi” was like something out of an old nineteen forties war movie. Hundreds of people milled around clutching cases and hunting down their agents for tickets. Fireworks exploded above, the sleeper trains whistled and cluncked, vendors were shouting their wares and the atmosphere was becoming quite fun. Anticipation hung in the dimly lit air as if the whole city were trying to escape.

Arriving at 6am on the night train from Hanoi

My tired old train pulled away dead on time and trundled happily along the banks of the Red River climbing steadily through the night to Lao Cai, the closest town to our destination Sapa and a border town to the Chinese frontier. Bleary eyed we arrived at a little past six in the morning as the refugees from the city spilled out of the trains into the hoards of taxi and buses, their drivers ready to take us up the mountains.
Cleverly, I thought, I had booked a hotel in Sapa that offered a pickup from the station. This proved to be a good move as the scrum for transport was like leaving a soccer match. Upward we went twisting and turning along the winding roads leading to Sapa. We passed many local villagers in traditional dress, plenty of buffalo assuming the road was theirs and layer upon layer of clouds drifting in like poured cream into the valleys.

Glimpses of Mount Fansipan towering over Sapa

Arrival at Sapa was greeted with the clouds parting and a fantastic view of the mountains surrounding the town with majestically towering above. I am glad that I got to see the peaks as it was the last time during my stay that they were not obscured by clouds.
Sapa is a little like being in the Lake District in England with hikers striding the streets looking for a trek to bother. If you have forgotten your boots or waterproofs plenty of North Face goods are on sale although I am not so certain about their provenance.
Tourists, the western kind, were in short supply as this is a big Vietnamese holiday destination and transportation to the region is limited.  The stores and restaurants however were doing great business with the Hanoi trippers and didn’t seem to care.

A game of Chinese chess played out on a field near the markets

One aspect here that is a bit of a pain is the constant sales pitch by the Black Hmong tribe women, threatening to follow you for days unless you buy something. They can be intimidating to the shy however they soon tire of you if you hold your ground, moving on to an easier mark.
After you have exhausted the offerings of the town and have tired of chasing goats up mountains a great diversion is a trip to the weekly Bac Ha market and an ethnic village. The market is only on a Sunday so planning is needed ahead of time.
I headed out early on the Sunday, the downside being that Bac Ha was on another range altogether so entailed coming down the mountain to the valley floor for a while before climbing once again, although the scenery was stunning in all directions.

Children act as hosts in local village set in the rolling hills above Bac HaHmong villagers were relaxed and friendly

It could have been a bit of a tourist trap apart from the fact that almost no one cared that you were there. Villagers went about their business, buying goods they needed for the week and selling the wares they had brought from their outlying villages.
The women of the different villages mixed together at the stalls, the men folk headed to the food tables and the corn wine to gossip, drink and play music with their friends. Buffalo traders on the hill worked the livestock market while at the far side haircuts and a Sunday shave were going for a dollar.
I sat down for a coffee and tried to absorb the atmosphere; all around me people were amiable, laughing and joking, haggling over prices, back slapping and thoroughly enjoying themselves. The tourists, myself included, wandering around the market taking pictures and videos should have been construed as interlopers but the spirit here seemed to be one of acceptance and even indifference...a very refreshing change.
After a little lunch the small tour group that I had travelled up with piled back onto the minibus for a short trip to a local village set in the rolling hills above Bac Ha.

Children act as hosts in local village set in the rolling hills above Bac Ha

The women, and most of the men, were still at the market so it was a little strange to be wandering around an almost empty village being shown into people’s homes and lives without any context. Most of the cast left were the children, they were happy to play host and run around screaming and having fun, like kids everywhere.
Returning to Sapa it was time to sit out on a terrace with a beer and watch the world go by. The city visitors had gone back to Hanoi and now the streets were turned over once again to North Face clad westerners, Lonely Planet books in hand looking to chase goats up a mountain.

Comments

• Teake van der Meer says:

  I never heard of Sapa before.
  Except for the heat it looks beautiful. Great pictures.
  I would love to experience the atmosphere in Bac Ha. Nice for a change that locals are indifferent about foreigners.

  6 months ago

• says:

  This exquisite place of Vietnam is famous for adventurous sports like: Hiking and as well as very famous traditional embroidery of Tribal people.

  11 months ago

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