The Friendly Sapa
Trip Start
Nov 29, 2008
1
9
10
Trip End
Jan 27, 2008
Sapa, Vietnam
Friday, December 19, 2008
Arrived in Sapa at around 7am where we were bombarded by a friendly entearage of women rangi9ng from 10 yrs old to 90 yrs old offering us sales of jewelry, colourful traditional dress, beautiful hand made bags, etc.
We pushed our way through to our hotel and checked in to find our rooms provided the most spectacular view of Sapa, the surrounding mountains and beautiful lush valleys. The crisp fresh air was a constant reminder of our elevation above sea level. It was a great break from the poluted atmosphere in Hanoi City.
Today we made the most of having a few days in one place nd decided to get as much washing done in our bath tub as possible then we proceeded to dry it on the small balcony of the room.
We roamed the town and made it to the town square before we found ourselves completely surrounded by friendly Red Zao, Red Zai and other ethnic minority tribes people, dressed head to toe in vibrant, colouful traditional dress with hair styles to match. Everyone seemed to have perfect English (even the young 10 yr old girls) despite having never attended school.
Jack, Jess and Tom started up a small game of Hackey Sack in the middle of the swuare which rapidly expanded to a group of 15 people of both genders and all ages, some who were pros! It was a gret way to meak friends and to share interests with the locals. There were a few men playing with a new born bub strapped to their backs with a sarong. Jess was very interested to talk to the local girls and hear all about their traditions and customs when it comes to marriage. Many of the young girls mary at fifteen and have a few kids before they are 20 - It's just the way things are done.
While we played hackey with the locals and chatted with the girls Mum was making acquintances with a young 18 year old girl called Su and her husband and was organising to do a two day treeck with her and to stay with her Husbands family up in a village in ther mountains for night. This great opurtunity was available at all the local travel agents but for twice the price and with a lot less authenticity. Everyone is also anticipating tommorow when Jess' OP results will become available online - everyone is very excited.
The next morning we awoke to find that the wholke town was in a complete black out and Jess Jack and Tome were not able to find a single place in the whole town with a genertor and internet connection to find out Jess OP score which the family seemed to be more intertested in than her. We went back top the hotel for a very anxios breakfact. Eventually the wait became all too much and a phone call was made to Nanna back at home to find out Jess' OP result. Jess was very happy to discover she got a 3 and that was enough to ensure she was in an exttic mood for the rest of the day.
Tibby took herself off for a hike up Ram Rong mountain by herself where she saw traditional dancing, ostriches, and much more - a great start to a day in a beautiful place for everybody I think. After lunch we headed off to Cat Cat village. The very steep walk down to the billage and the spectacular waterfalls below took us past kids playing brutally with spinn ing tops, water powered rice grinders and many more interesting activitees. We were able to gain a great insight into the lifestyle in the villages. Was an extra special experience because you really didn't feel that it was done up for tourists - very genuinely authentic. The steep ascent back up to the town seemed to be all too much for us to we caught motor bikes back up to the top. By now we keep bumping into the same girls around town and are becoming very farmiliar and quite friendly with some of them and the little sleeping babies they all carry on their backs. We enjoyed a nice dinner in one of the many spectacular places to dine around town and headed off for bed. The next day we packed up and checked out and met Su (our personal tour guide) in town. After a bit of grocery shopping we headed off on our treck. The steep descents and unbearable vertical ascents took their toll by lunch time and we gretefully sat down to a beautiful lunch and a plate of some refreshing oranges. Our walk, although strenuous, was an experience of a lifetime. We had some of the most spectacular scenery in the world around us and our superb guide explained how different plants were used for everything from making to dying material in the villages.
We eventually arrived and Su's parents-in-law's house where we would be spending the night. Although the language barrier was prevelent we managed to play with the village kids (reckless as hell), enjoy a bit of hackey and just generlly enjoy the surrounding village hustle bustle while looking out over the spectacular mountain below with its rice paddies and fields cut into its surface.
Very long story of beautiful Sapa... my apoligies. To be continued in the very, very near future....
