Sapa

10/10/2006

We got off the night train in a town called Lao Cai at about 7 am and immediately got onto an AC bus for an hour drive to Sapa (above). The train ride was surprisingly comfortable. Each little cab had two sets of bunk beds, and I was able to sleep quite well. Night trains seem like a very good way to travel. Sapa is a small town in the mountains that is surrounded by villages of the various ethnic groups in Vietnam. After climbing the 100 steps up to our hotel and unloading our stuff, we had breakfast and then Scott briefed us on our options for the following 3 days we would be spending in Sapa. We could climb Mt. Fansipan (highest mountain in Vietnam), trek for 3 days through the villages, or do day trips while staying in town. I chose to climb the mountain, along with Richard, Travis, Ellie, Emma, Dani, and Michal. Everyone else chose to stay in Sapa to do day trips.

I spent the rest of the morning wandering the town and walking away from all of these Hmong girls and women trying to sell me stuff. The Hmong are an ethnic group and Vietnam, and several of the girls would wait at the hotel entrance to try to get you to buy things. They are incredibly nice. They speak great English and can remember the names of everyone in our group. It's just not very easy to sell anything to me. I think one woman followed me about 100 meters before giving up. After lunch I walked to Cat Cat village, which is a Hmong village. It was very foggy and drizzly, so I was not able to appreciate the nice views as I would have on a clear day. The walk back to the hotel was uphill and thus a bit tiring. I thought it would be a good warmup for tomorrow's climb. After the hike Scott gave us a 45 min lecture on the history of Vietnam. Mrs. Bell would be embarrassed about how little I know even after studying the country thoroughly in senior IB history.