Grand Excursion - Sapa

View from our hotel in Sapa.

 The night train to Sapa was an adventure by itself.  None of us got much sleep since the train was really loud and very bumpy so the next morning we were all pretty exhausted. We left around 8:30 p.m. and arrived around 6 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 3.  Following the train ride, we had an hour-long bus ride into Sapa along a very windy path.  Luckily, we were able to pile into two hotel rooms and nap for an hour before hiking through the neighboring villages.

Sapa is located in northwestern Vietnam, close to the border with China.  Most of the people who live in Sapa are from four ethnic minority groups of Vietnam: Hmong, Dao, Pho Lu, and Tay.  There are 54 total ethnic minority groups in Vietnam.  Each group has a very distinctive style of dress and specific cultural traditions. 

After our nap, we explored the market then hiked for four hours to reach a small village where we all stayed in a home stay together for the night.  We walked on dirt roads, through rice paddies, above waterfalls, and through a bamboo forest so the scenary was spectacular!  Sapa is definitely one of the most beautiful places I have ever been! Our home stay was basically a large building with twelve mattresses and mosquito nets on the second floor.  We were all really tired and actually had one of our best nights sleep in Vietnam.   The next morning we trekked back to the main city in Sapa, stopping along the way to have lunch with a shaman and his family.

The following day, Nov. 5, we hiked for an hour to reach an elementary school where we passed out sweatshirts and pants to the kids.  Many of the kids did not have shoes and they were really excited to get their new clothes. The classrooms looked similar to those in the US.  They were covered in colorful posters and each student had their own desk, which was surprising to me since it is a really poor area.  Some of the students were practicing their penmanship and their handwriting definitely put mine to shame.  Vietnam has a staggeringly high percentage of the population that is literate, the number is somewhere around 95%.  But, the school only went up to the fifth grade and still did not have a sanitary toilet.  Buying and constructing the toilet costs about $1,000, which is most people's yearly salary in Vietnam.  Some of the students from the school we visited will continue their education in neighboring towns, but many will just start working after they finish.  A few students from Sapa go to Hanoi for university, but it is very rare.  

In the afternoon, we explored more of the markets in Sapa before heading back to Hanoi on the night train. 

A quick note about the weather, it was wonderful.  On average, it has been 90 degrees Fahrenheit with about 100% humidity everywhere we have traveled: hot, hot, hot.  In Sapa it was 57 degrees at night, which at first was a shock.  People were buying scarves, hats, and North Face gear to stay warm, but I thought it finally felt like it was fall.  It was a tease though because Hanoi was boiling when we returned.  (My season's are really going to feel messed up when I return home on Christmas Eve in Northern NY to (hopefully) tons of snow.)

Enjoy the pics below:

Market in Sapa.

Mother and daughter.

This little girl is sewing!

Anna looks truly scared, but I think she was just about to sneeze.  Trying to bargain in the market was chaotic to say the least...

This woman was 21 years old and had a one year old little boy. She was a tour guide, but also made and sold handicrafts at the market.

Dying fabric.

Our hiking companions.

Rice paddies.

Eliza on our hike.

Mother and child.

Tom, me, Libie, and Ethan

Passing by a small village. To the left you can see a child sitting in the front of a motorbike.  That is how everyone rides with their kids.  Sometimes, if the vehicle has space in front of the seat, there will be a plastic seat for a baby to sit on while they are riding.

The guys with traditional hats.

Libie, Eliza, Molly, and me on top of a waterfall.

Lunch at a shaman's house. The purple and yellow food in the lower right corner is sticky rice. The purple potatoes are yams and the meat in the middle is pork with lemongrass.

This woman is 22 and wearing her wedding outfit.  She was engaged to be married. Most of the women marry between the ages of 17-22, which is a lot older than in the past. 

Outside of the shaman's house.

The guys casually trying to touch a water buffalo that was walking down the street.