On 2nd August, 2013, we took a night soft-sleeper train to Lao Cai at 10pm. It was my first time sleeping in a train. The three of us shared a cabin with a Vietnamese guy. We could not sleep well for the first time and kept on awake because we were not sure when and where the station is. Luckily we met a Malaysian uncle who was in the next cabin that told us we will reach around 6am.
 |
| The bunk in the train. Coffee and chocolates drink were served, but not for free. |
When we reached Lao Cai, people from Auberge Hotel picked us up. Then, we were on our way to Sapa by van. The journey was 40 minutes long along the mountain road and I felt car sick for it. Along the way, we saw nice scenery in Sapa and the natives walking by the roadside. When we reached the hotel, we can felt the cold and fresh air. We had our breakfast in the hotel and were introduced to our little tour guide, Na.
 |
| Na, our little tour guide. |
We had to trek 12km to Ta Van village and our home stay that morning in a group of eight. We made some new friends during the trek and got to know our group members during lunch. They were Carolyn (Canada), Murphy (England), three Switzerland guys and three of us from Malaysia.
 |
| Scenery of Sapa. |
 |
| We're in the same group. |
 |
| Nice valley. |
 |
| We had another local beer during our lunch. |
 |
| Our lunch. Simple dish, but tasted good! |
 |
| Paddy field in the village. |
We reached our home stay around 4pm. The weather was very cold since it was raining when we were on our way to the home stay. There was another group of people staying in the same home stay. Six French and four Canadians. We took a shower before we get ready for dinner. Besides, it was a very nice experience to learn how to make spring roll, a Vietnamese dish. We had some rice wine for dinner too! After dinner, we played some games and socializing with the other tourists in the home stay before sleep.
 |
| Our home stay. |
 |
| Making spring roll for dinner. |
 |
| Rice wine. |
 |
| Some games after dinner. |
 |
| Had a short break from the games and tried on the native's costumes. |
We had lots of rice wine the night before and had a very good sleep. Plus, the weather was very cold and comfortable. We woke up early in the morning around 9am to have breakfast and continue our journey. That morning, we had to trek for another 6km to the waterfall. The road to waterfall was less tiring as we took the easy way, but it was tiring on our way back because we were going uphill. We had our last lunch in the village before heading back to Sapa by van.
 |
| Early morning in village after long night rain. |
 |
| Waterfall. |
We had an early dinner at around 4pm before we were ready to get back to Lao Cai. Unfortunately, the van that has to send us to the train station had flat tire and we had to wait for another half an hour. We took the same train back to Hanoi that night. This time we were much more alert with the stations compared to the first time we took the train.
Had lots of fun in the village, especially when we got to know each other from different countries. It was a very good experience. Not to forget that we did a good job in introducing Malaysia to them too! Sapa trek is the best tour we had in the one week trip.
So long, Sapa! Love Sapa lots!
For more pictures, click here.
No comments:
Post a Comment