Days 16,17,18 & 19 - Sapa.

Another long one here I'm afraid folks, grab a drink.

I have wanted to go to Sapa for so so long, I remember years ago when I first saw the rice terraces up there, I just couldn't believe how pretty it was, back then I never thought i'd get a chance to get up there. We booked a 2 night/3 day stay up there, just to get a bit more time to relax, I think most only do 1 night which ends up still being 3 with the overnight trains up and back from Hanoi.
The train didn't leave until 8pm that evening and we were still shagged from Ha Long Bay trip so we scored a late checkout and slept, the afternoon was spent writing blogs in the hotel foyer and nipping out for meals when needed. Once again the hotel shined, when the time came to go to the station they sent a bellboy to make sure we arrived, got our ticket and boarded the correct carriage (its alot more confusing then it sounds, their train station is just insane!).
Anywho, we sorted all that and boarded, we ended up buying a cabin with 2 bunks, so we had to share with another couple of people, it was fine heading up there though! We had a lovely couple from Darwin and got to know then, while another Aussie bloke came from his cabin to share his...well just god awful wine which he purchased for $3 AUD, that stuff was just down right nasty...probably why he was so eager to share it.
We settled in for the night, trying to adapt to the very thin mattress and the train rocking back and forth for the whole journey, safe to say not much sleep happened that night.

Hanoi Station waiting room.

Our 'Spacious' 4 bed cabin.

 We arrived in Lao Cai about 6.30am, about an hour late. Weary as hell we left the station and our guide, Tim was there waiting luckily, we all piled into a van, completely sardined for the hour ride from Lao Cai to Sapa. Being so early we couldn't check into our hotel till later so Tim let us use a room at the hotel he runs to freshen up before the hike, he even made us an awesome breakfast too!
Afterwards we headed across Sapa, through the markets and around some of the small streets, the town is amazing, feels like you are in a tiny town somewhere in the mountains in Europe. One of the biggest downsides we found were the Hmong women, let me say first, they are really nice, they are in their traditional clothing and I know they are just trying to earn a living but, they are CONSTANTLY hindering and pestering you to buy things from them. It was like this for the whole time we were there, it is just so intense, towards the end of the visit it was getting on my nerves quite a bit. They are really really nice though, helpful, just intense like follow you for kilometres to get a sale intense.
Anywho we headed down into the valley to Cat Cat village, this whole place is just amazing, the scenery, the buildings, the people and how they live, inside some of their homes and how they make their crafts. The kids are so friendly, they loved to give a high five and being a big westerner they love a great stare at you!

Two Hmong children play with their dog.

The village is great to explore and look around and meet some of the locals, having a private tour guide really helps in these situations, we bought a few local marble things for around the house at home. We went down even further to a waterfall at the bottom with a hall where local music and dance was being played. After a rest we had to make the long walk back up to Sapa town, it is quite steep in sections and there once you get up the stairs there are people offering a scooter ride the rest of the way for a fee. I don't like being beaten and have been exercising alot before this trip so I was determined to make it! Round trip was about 6 km's.
We checked into our hotel, had a rest for a while then met up with our guide again for a walk around Sapa showing us the sights, then moved onto dinner and turned in super early.

The next morning we demolished a buffet breakfast and Tim met us at our hotel. We had to be at it quite early as it was an 12km hike out to some villages and through rice terraces, once again the Hmong women were crowded around the front door of the hotel waiting for any tourists to come out so they can try to get them to buy things. We headed out, with 3 of them following us for 2/3 of the hike, apparently they follow you to your lunch location and then expect you to buy something when you arrive.
The walk was mostly down hill today luckily, we had ALOT of fog and cloud today, the day before was perfect and I even got sunburnt! Anyway, the clouds and fog provided a fantastic scenery with the tops of the mountains disappearing and us walking as the clouds were literally swirling around us, it was so surreal. Hiking down some small dirt trails with rice terraces and buffaloes around me, I was just speechless, it was so silent with just our footsteps and the occasional buffalo grunt, brilliant. 
After 7 km's we arrived at Lao Chai Village for lunch, this is wear we were swamped by the three women who followed us from Sapa plus about 15 others that wait for tourists at the town too! We bought a few trinkets and hand made goods then sat down for some more amazing Vietnamese food, with even more amazing view of rice terraces and mountains next to us!

After lunch we continued through the village and a couple of others for the last 5 km's, we stopped at one of the local schools and had a walk through too, luckily we didn't have to walk that whole way back to Sapa town! A van picked us up and took us back to freshen up, we met up with Tim for beers. He is such an amazing guide, we chatted about where he was from, his family, they make so little being a guide but do such an amazing job, its great to get some perspective on just how good we do have it in Australia, really makes you grateful for what we have.
That evening the fog/cloud came in thick, I've never seen anything like it in my life, we could open our hotel room balcony door and you could literally see the cloud coming inside. Out on the street visibility was down to, maybe a few metres, I tried to capture it in photos but they just don't give it justice! We went to have dinner with Tim again, I love some local Vietnamese cooking, we had a hotpot that night, with some foods I've never tried too....and some I'll gladly never try again! 

The weather was much cleared the next day, after breakfast and checking out of the hotel I met up with Tim and we headed out to climb to the highest point in Sapa town, it is quite high up and offers spectacular views of Sapa (Not as high as the mountains near by though, Mt Fansipan is right next to Sapa and is the highest point in Indochina at just over 10,300 feet). It took alot of sweating and squeezing through some small gaps for me to reach the top but I made it! In good time too, it's a fantastic vantage point, once again I had some more people wants photos with me....ohhhh big western man!
That afternoon we hung out with Tim, went for coffee and just relaxed before we had to catch the bus back to Lao Cai and the dreaded train back to Hanoi that evening. I was sad to say goodbye to Tim, he had been fantastic getting to know him and having him as our guide.
The train ride back was made a little annoying by some French girls who were in our cabin and tried to convince us that they wanted the two bottom bunks, even though we had paid extra when we booked them. Eventually they moved and actually swapped rooms with two other people...tsk tsk, some people.
We arrived back in Hanoi at 5 am the next morning, weary and just wanting some good sleep, we made our way to the hotel and slept most of the morning. It was our last day in Hanoi before flying to Da Nang, we spent it pretty much just relaxing & not doing a whole lot!

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