Splendid Sapa

Hi Kids! We arrived in Sapa on the Orient Express (or something similar) at 6am this morning. It felt slightly Agatha Christie until you visited the loo, and then all those memories of Em in India came flooding back. The 'Delux' sleeping carriage meant that you got a pre-wrapped bread roll and a manky cushion (se opposite). Still, it was cosy enough and we shared our bunk area with a very friendly Canadian-Vietnamese guy who gave us lots of oranges. After a fitful night's sleep (although Andy would surmise I slept like a log), we arrived in the mountains. A short busride up, put us 1500m above sea level and in our new abode - The Mountain View hotel. As a treat, Andy suggested we go posh and get a delux room (this is becoming a bit of a habit) as this promised to afford fabulous views of the mountains (I guess that's where the name comes in). However, the whole place was entirely shrouded in a big duvet of mist - and I mean a real pea-souper!

We can't actually see anything out of our window, but that's O.K. Feeling like there must be a way out of the situation, we took a jeep a bit further up the road and within about three minutes, it was a beautiful, sunny day. The spectacular mountains and winding roads were revealed. Thank goodness - I'd almost taken a hill tribes person back to the hotel instead of Andy, the visibilty was so bad. We have made friends already - there are many women and girls wanting to sell their handicrafts to you. The young girls speak very good English and already know everything about me. It can be a bit waring after a while though, fighting your way through a sea of silver and cushion covers. And you should see the hats they're trying to get Andy to buy - it's a look that would just never work.

The next day...Today was a BRILLIANT day! We did a 15km guided trek through the mountains. Along the way we passed through three different hill tribes and met with many women and children selling their handicrafts. The most beautiful children with the most stunning mountain scenery as a backdrop - we went photo crazy. The first village we passed though was Lao Chai which is inhabited by the H'Mong people. We then went on to Ta Van, where the Zay tribe live. After stopping for lunch with Sho, our trusty guide, we headed for the final village, Giang Ta Chai, where the Red Zao tribe really laid on the hard sell. It's very difficult saying "No" all the time - occasionally I will buy something small if I take a photo or something, and I did end up with a rather hideous bag I would never have bought at home. The old emotional blackmail was brought into play as the woman selling it reminded me we had just been shown around her home! Still, I managed to keep Andy away from those hats! When is he going to grow his beard and put beads in it, I wonder?

Sapa is a former hill station close to the Chinese border. Although the official language is Vietnamese, children still learn their local languages. Some children go to school, but many remain illiterate. Despite this, it seemed all of the children we met were equipped with a good command of conversational English and French (even the tiny ones). They have learnt these languages from travellers and shows one of the benefits gained from the ever-increasing levels of tourism in Vietnam. Sho, our guide is only 19 years old. She never went to school, but is clearly very intelligent and her English very good. She earns about $60 per month, doing around three treks per week in the quiet season (every day in the summer) yet we paid the hotel $40 for our trek...so I wonder who is benefiting here?

The Red Zao women are easily recognizable by their elaborate clothing, with its intricate embroidery and silver jewellery. They shave their eyebrows and half of their hair and wear a red turban.

The H'Mong are one of the largest ethnic groups in Vietnam. They worships spirits and make their living by cultivating rice and opium. There are several groups within the H'Mong, to include Black, White, Green, Red and Flower and each has its own dress code. The Black H'Mong, some of whom we met along the way are characterised by their indigo-dyed clothing consisting of aprons, skirts and leggings. The leggings are actually long lengths of black velvet wrapped round the legs - something I know I'd be able to carry off nicely.

We visited a school and saw the outside of the hospital - not quite the Royal Sussex County. There were lots of water buffalo along the way and some very cute black piglets, not to mention the dreaded chickens. Still, they didn't appear to have dribbly beaks but we kept our distance! I tried to order eggs for breakfast, but they too are off the menu to us.

After all that activity, we went out for dinner with our new friends - Michael & Karen. We had some splendid sizzling beef and pork with rice and beensprouts, washed down with some Hanoi beer.
We are going to leave this misty place later tonight, as we are freezing and our rooms had no heating. We are heading for Halong Bay, where I will sit and await my 30th Birthday with an air of anxious intrepidation. Surely, being that age will mean I deserve to stay in a 5 star establishment with the luxury of hot water and a clean bed. It troubles me to note that it will set you back 7 quid for a glass of the old vino in this town. So, it's back to the Tiger for me (and I'm not referring to Andrew there). I can't wait to get on that overnight train again. At each jostle I'm convinced we are de-railing, which sort of disrupts my sleeping (don't listen to Em & Andy about my ability to sleep anywhere). So long beautiful (but weird) Sapa.

Please be enjoying our Sapa slideshow.
Please to be enjoying our final Japan slideshow :)