Day 7 - Sapa

11th March 2011
From Hanoi, I took the night train to the mountain town of Sapa, on Vietnam's north-western frontier near China. It is way, way out there- far away from bustling Hanoi (372km north of the city). Sapa is known for its breathtaking beauty. There are many hill tribe people and their villages in this region. And rice terraces and lush vegetation can be seen including Mt Fansipan, the highest peak in Vietnam. It's a perfect place to get away from it all and sample rural mountain life.

The overnight sleeper train I booked with was called Hara Express which costed $52. I had low expectations going in but the train ended up being surprisingly decent – it was clean and comfortable. It was also great that I shared the cabin with 3 others from Singapore who were very nice and hospitable. The train left Hanoi station at 9pm for Lao Cai. I was able to sleep quite well for most of the 9 hour journey.

When I got to Lao Cai at 5:30am, I had to transfer to a bus to get to Sapa. The bus driver ploughed through the mountain and thick fog at breakneck speed and after about an hour, I finally arrived at my destination. Having been on a train for 9 hours and not showered since the morning before, I wanted to get a hotel room so I can rest and have a shower to refresh. I was walking around the town searching for a room when one of the colourful ethnic hill tribes came up to me. She introduced herself as Shua, from the Black Hmong tribe and she offered to take me on a trek to her village. There I would experience the isolated mountain life, meet her family, have dinner and do a home stay for the night all for $20. Because I had nothing planned and no rooms booked I decided to take her up on the offer.

We started the trek from the main street of Sapa. Soon I was joined by at least 5 other Black Hmong women who said they were coming with us for the walk. They seemed very interested in 'where I was from’ and ' What is my name' etc. Later I discovered it was not that they were interested in making new friends they simply wanted to sell stuff to me. We walked away from the main town, away from all tourist and to a place where the locals shopped. Shua told me to wait for her as she needed to stock up on supplies to carry back home to her village. While waiting outside I saw a man burning a decapitated cow’s head on the streets. It was very random.

After Shua got what she wanted, we started ascending up the mountains. The trek was the real deal. It was a very off beaten track. Throughout my entire trek, I did not see any tourist at all. There were no footpath, just dirt or muddy tracks from the recent rain. The weather on the day was cold, damp and misty. At times, our vision was reduced to 5 meters by the deep fog. Whilst I couldn’t see the famous steeped rice paddies of Sapa, the misty view provided a ‘mystery’ to the beautiful walk. I can imagine if it was a sunny day, the place would be very pictorial. Throughout most of the trek, it was just so quiet and serene. We would occasionally encounter very remote mountain villages, see some wild pigs and buffalos or farmers and kids working the fields. 

About half way into the trek I start feeling unwell. I was suffering from altitude sickness and my head was feeling a bit dizzy. My back was hurting from carrying my heavy backpack. I was feeling weak and actually got Shua to carry my backpack for me as seen in the photo above =) My stomach was also not feeling so well from the street food I ate on the previous night in Hanoi. I just wasn't enjoying the trek anymore. So while it was an awesome experience going to the village for a homestay, I admit the whole trekking thing sucked. OK, maybe not all of it. But I did learn a few things in this adventure:

• Don't go on trekking immediately after a 10 hour train ride - within 2 hours into the trek, I was already exhausted.
• Don’t bring your entire gear with you - carrying my entire luggage and backpack (all up 20kg), it was a hard slog all the way up the mountain and it wasn't helped by the very slippery, rocky and muddy terrain which was very uncomfortable to walk in. Which leads to the next point...
• Bring the right equipment – especially shoes, water proof clothing and maybe walking stick. There was so many times when I was about to slip. The shoes that I wore was just not suitable for trekking, it had no grip.
• Bring more water - I didn't have enough drinking water with me.
• And finally go to the bathroom before attempting the trek– during the trek, I had a slight case of gastro. And the worst part...the homestay had no toilet!

After 4 hours of trekking, we finally arrived at the village. Shua and her family lived in a very remote area high up in the hills. The area around it was used for farming and raising livestock. It was surrounded by mist which added to the surrealistic feel of the area. The house they were living in was a traditional wooden hut with thatched roofs. Inside was just one big room with hard dirt floor separated by a few walls. They even had animals in there (chickens, a dog and piglets). I could see Shua's family were living an impoverished life (by our standard) but this was the authentic traditional way of life and they did seem happy. I was introduced to her family - her husband, three kids, cousin and her grandmother. None of them spoke English so it was hard to communicate with them. They all were friendly though and the kids were very happy to pose for photos.

Soon it was dinner and I was hoping to try traditional Hmong tribe food. What I got instead was very much like my mum's cooking - scrambled chicken eggs, noodles and tofu soup. Due to my slight gastro, my hunger and interest in food had immensely diminished and I ate a few bites before I was full. Shortly after eating, I was feeling so tired, I had to go to bed early. My bed was just wood with a blanket over it. So you can imagine, it was very hard and uncomfortable. I did not sleep much during that night.

Regardless of all the things I've just written - walking in mud all day, being in the cold and gasping for breath in thin air, altitude sickness, endless fog and mist, lack of appetite, lack of sleep - I mostly look back on the homestay as a great experience, one that remain etched in my memory. It wasn't all fun - was tortuous but the hardships just add to the adventure. It was certainly one of the highlights of the trip.