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Hill tribes
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Since India all of my travel has been by bus, so I was really excited about the train journey to Sapa. But it didn't live up to my expectations. Craig, Steve and I had left booking our tickets to last minute and the sleeper train had sold out. All that was available was "hard seats"...they lived up to their name. The 10 hour journey was possibly one of the most uncomfortable journeys I have ever experienced. The pain started after 2 minutes of sitting on the hard wooden benches and it just got worse and worse as the night went on. I tried sitting in every position possible, but couldn't get rid of the excruciating pain and ended up with a bruised bum and dead legs.
The train took us to Lao Cai and from here we had to get a mini bus or taxi to Sapa. As we got off the train it was raining, we were aching from head to toe and exhausted after a night of no sleep. A group of Vietnamese students asked us if we'd like to share a mini bus taxi with them. We asked no questions and just tagged along, although I was wondering what the catch would be, because it all seemed too easy. But there wasn't one, we arrived in Sapa safely without being overcharged (a rarity).
Our first day in Sapa it was misty and very damp. Thick fog obscured the mountain view from our hotel. We spent 2 nights there, giving us one full day to go on a trek to a couple of the nearby minority villages. Luckily the weather cleared a little, so we could actually appreciate the scenery. We wanted to do a trek without a guide, so we chose one tht we were guaranteed we couldn't get lost on...but we did! Findingour way to Cat Cat village was easy, we just had to follow the road and tourists. But we wanted to continue to the next village. It should have been just as easy to get to Sin Chai, but instead of following the road we took a little path that ended after about 2km. But we still continued in the same (wrong) direction, by following an animal track up the side of a muddy mountain. We decided to turn back when we realised the chances of us slipping and falling were pretty high. We finally made it to Sin Chai. Like Cat Cat the village was a tiny cluster of wooden huts, but it was different...there were very few tourists. The locals weren't trying to sell us things and the kids hadn't quite mastered the art of begging, although it seems imminent. It was nice to see village life still largely unaffected by us...western tourists...but I doubt it'll last. The countryside is beautiful, with brilliant views of the mountains and terraced fields.
Sapa is full of women and young girls from surrounding villages selling their handicrafts. As soon as I arrived here I knew my backpack would double in size...I loved everything they were selling and couldn't stop myself. The girls were really friendly (if they thought you might buy) and they spoke surprisingly good English. The pestering from them could be a little overwhelming and annoying, but it didn't bother me because I was interested in buying. As soon as I showed an interest I would be swamped by girls all trying to get my attention. At one point I couldn't move or get away, because I was surrounded by about 20 girls all waving blankets at me...walking away from this empty handed would have been a challenge. But I wanted to buy, in fact I wanted to buy everything they had...if only I had more room in my backpack. I did try and make room by giving away a pair of shoes, which I've carried around for 11 weeks and haven't worn once. It was difficult finding someone with big enough feet...the girl who took them was very happy, but they didn't fit her. The girls were so desperate to sell, that when I told them I liked their clothes, they started undressing and wrapping me up in them. I did feel guilty when I bought a girls belt (the one she'd been wearing), because she started to cry when she gave it to me. She was worried her Mum would be mad at her for selling it. I felt awful and said I wouldn't take it, but she and all her friends her insisted I have it. I still feel a little guilty, but I have to admit, I also now own a necklace that one of the hill tribe girls had been wearing for the last 3 years.
On our last night in Sapa we played pool with 3 local girls. One of them, Mia, had taken a fancy to Steve (aka "Monkey boy" because of his chest hair!). So that's how we ended up playing pool with them...a very funny game. There were no rules, apart from Mia must win!
Where I stayed:
Pinochios
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