Otherworldly Sapa

Otherworldly Sapa

We took the difficult overnight train to Lao Cai. "Q" carries our luggage across many train tracks to get to my train car. There are 4 bunks in a compartment, so they bought me 4 tickets so I could have my own. Good thing I brought my own toilet paper and soap. We are woken up at 5 am to disembark at 5:30am. This lush nice town is alive with activity. It is only a 5 minute drive to China. Our driver takes us for a 3 hour drive to visit the market of the Minority people in Dam Duong. The misty, windy, narrow road is filled with many uniformed children walking and biking to school, motorbikes, buses, trucks, and cars. The weather is cool and the mountains are lush, and the sunrise is amazing.

Soon we are above the clouds on our way to 2500 ft. In the rainy season ther are many mudslides. The land is very furtile and they grow roses, tea, pumpkin, cabbage, raise trout and many other vegetables. Aluminum quarries are on the side of the road, and some of the rock is used to stop potential mudslides. After another 2 hour drive we arrive in the quaint small town of Sapa with everything from outdoor food markets to a few galleries featuring local artists.

We arrive at the peaceful Topas Eco Lodge located on the top of a misty mountain, looking over step rice fields, several Tay and Black Hmong (the people wear dark indigo clothing) villages.

The scene is otherworldly. The new stone and wood cottages with balcanies that have magnificant views, no phone, TV, or internet, yet there is cell reception. Three great

meals a day prepared by an onsite chef are included.

The next morning is a beautiful day and I go with a guide on a bike ride down the very rocky and in some places muddy mountain to a remote village of the Hmong people. It is very pretty, with pigs, chickens,step rice fields, and of course many children. The area reminds me of the mountains of Colorado except they are lush and green. We continue walking up on a very narrow path to see an even more remote village of the Red people (they wear red head dressings) and live a very primitive life. A jeep picks us up from the village where our bikes are and on our way back I hear quacking. The driver had bought a few ducks for dinner that quacked all the to my hotel.

The next morning I walked down the rice fields by myself and passed a handful of tribes people. They are friendly but don't speak english. I felt very safe. At 4:30 pm I caught a 40 minute van ride to Sapa to use the internet. I took a motorcycle taxi back to the Lodge at 7 pm. It was totally black, bumpy, and cold. I closed my eyes the whole way.

Tommorrow I take the uncomfortable overnight train ride back to Hanoi.