Stunning Sapa
Trip Start
Aug 12, 2010
1
108
135
Trip End
Sep 23, 2011
Where I stayed
Family Guest House
What I did
Sapa, Vietnam
Sunday, May 15, 2011
So after our Halong Bay cruise we made our way back to Hanoi before getting an overnight train to Sapa, a small mountain top village in the north of Vietnam, just 3 miles from the Chinese border. The area has many ethnic villages that are still relatively untouched today and the style of living has hardly changed from a hundred years ago. Most of the ethnic minority people work their land on sloping terraces since the vast majority of the land is mountainous. Their staple foods are rice and corn. Rice, by its very nature of being a labour intensive crop, makes the daily fight for survival paramount. The majority of the village people are poor, suffer from malnutrition and other related health problems. The climatic conditions also contribute to many health issues including coughs, colds, and bronchial and respiratory problems that are commonplace throughout the community.
We had come here to do some trekking through some of the villages and just admired the scenery and serenity. The first two days we were here it didn't stop raining so we spent most the time shivering in our guesthouse before going out to eat. The final day we woke to clear skys and saw the amazing view that had been hiding from us over the previous two days. That day we hiked to Cat Cat Village before having to catch our train back to Hanoi. The views we got during the hike were simply stunning and it was very interesting seeing village life.
Hope you enjoy the pictures as much as we did taking them
Love Thomas and Hollie x x x
Travellers Tip:
If you plan to come to Sapa to hike most of them can be done independently and all you need to pay is the entrance fee to the villages. However, there are a few hikes that are best done with a tour as they drive you back from where you have walked. But, I'm sure there is always a local farmer willing to take you back to Sapa on their motorbike for a small charge.
Comments
when you first started your travells i thought what a wast of money how wrong was i// through both your eyes i have seen the wonders of the world thank you