Last time, we talked about how after a 30-hour bus ride, we finally arrived in Hanoi. After settling into a hotel in the Old Quarter for the night, we continued our journey from Hanoi to Sa Pa, a truly stunning place.
Taking a Bus to Vietnam 2015 Series
http://www.dcfever.com/travel/journey.php?id=207
Acknowledgement: Travolor for arranging local itineraries
Sa Pa is located in northern Vietnam, about 400 kilometers from Hanoi. It’s said that a new highway was opened earlier this year, reducing the travel time from the original 9 hours to 6 hours, and the road is also flatter and smoother than before. Looking at the map, Sa Pa is in Lào Cai Province, very close to the Yunnan border, and the population mainly consists of ethnic H’mong and Yao minorities.
Thanks to Travolor’s arrangement, around 7 a.m., a bus came right to our hotel entrance. The seats on this bus were very comfortable, allowing us to catch up on some sleep—haha.
Although Sa Pa may not be well known to people in Hong Kong, in Hanoi, basically every travel agency has information on Sa Pa tour packages, and there are also quite a few foreigners who come here for vacation. After getting off the bus, we followed the locals and arrived at the office of Sapa O’Chau, where we said hello first.
Among many travel agencies, Travolor chose to collaborate with Sapa O’Chau. Sapa O’Chau is a social enterprise that uses the travel fees paid by tourists to support local community development—helping children go to school while also providing employment opportunities and training for local residents to increase their income. Just last year, they sponsored over 30 local children to attend school. From my short two-day interaction, Sapa O’Chau is genuinely dedicated and truly hopes to promote local community development, not for any self-interest. That’s truly rare.
Take their restaurant, for example—Sapa O’Chau employs some locals as chefs and runs their mountain-top restaurant.
Looking at such scenery really lifts one’s mood
The food at the restaurant is also pretty good, with authentic flavors and quite delicious
After lunch, we continued our journey. Travolor arranged a half-day introductory trekking route for us. The advantage of the introductory route is that it’s not too difficult and also allows you to see beautiful scenery.
Originally, according to our itinerary, we would have had the chance to see the local sunset. You might not know this, but Sa Pa’s sunset is ranked among the Huffington Post’s top eight most beautiful sunsets in the world. However, on the day of the trek, it was quite cloudy, so we didn’t get to see the sunset or the stars—kind of a pity.
After hiking for several hours and crossing several mountains, we arrived at the homestay where we’d stay for the night. The homestay is run by locals, who prepared a rich dinner for us. The dinner was cooked over a wood fire—very flavorful, isn’t it? Probably because we had been walking all day, after dinner, I took a bath in a wooden tub with herbal water, wrote some articles for a while, and then went to bed. Although it’s in the mountains, the mosquitoes weren’t too bad.
Text and photos: Daneil | A story of a part-time travel journalist
Acknowledgement: Travolor for arranging local itineraries in Vietnam
Read more
Taking a Bus to Vietnam – 2015 Latest Guide
More Fever Travel Travelogues
http://www.dcfever.com/travel/traveloguelist.php