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Greetings from Sa Pa Vietnam, An hour before the first light of dawn the bells of Holy Rosary Church peal to awaken those souls within earshot their day will soon begin. All is still in the little mountain village of Sapa near Lao Cai on the Chinese border at this hour, but the pre-dawn bells are a reminder that Vietnam once was a French colony and Catholicism the principle religion of the colonialists. Today, the old restored church built in the early twentieth century is the principle landmark in the town from which all other locations are referenced. The church, a couple hundred meters from the USapa Hotel where I am staying is visible from the balcony in my room #109. (View this YouTube video for an excellent visual introduction to Sapa.) But this story actually starts back in Hanoi where a friendly travel agent in the Old Quarter convinced me she had the best transportation option available between Hanoi and Sapa, a popular tourist town near the Chinese border. Seats on the door-to-door 45 passenger Sapa Express are only $17. Offering to buy two tickets as is my habit, she assured me the bus rarely ever was full and there would be plenty of room inside for my bag. Further, the company would pick me up at my hotel at 06:30 to 07:00 for the scheduled 7AM departure. When the appointed pickup time arrived a guy on a motorbike appeared at the curb in front of the hotel entrance and announced he would get me and my heavy backpack to the bus departure point... "only five minutes away." Expecting to be picked up by a big luxury bus, protestations that riding as a passenger on the back of a motorbike came as an unpleasant surprise and that a heavy backpack cantilevered out the back seemed like a sure way for an octogenarian to end his life. This resulted in elaborate assurances that the procedure would be completely safe and the driver would handle my pack in the foot space in front of his knees. I could see no alternative, if I wanted to use the fancy deluxe bus ticket I already had. The driver removed his own safety helmet and maneuvered it awkwardly onto my head with some difficulty. So now properly attired in safety gear, I mounted the rear portion of the rider saddle and grasped the driver's waist as we sped halfway across town to the waiting bus. With deference to my anxious concerns for safety, the driver who undoubtedly matched the dare devil skills of most crazy cycle riders in Hanoi, only went against one-way traffic a couple times and held his speed down to slightly less than the average traffic flow. Weaving among the swarm of motorbikes, lumbering buses, hapless pedestrians and cargo trucks we completed the trip without any fatal incident. Large vehicles are equipped with horns that pulse a varying loudness sound guaranteed to get the attention of everyone within hearing distance and creating a sense of urgency not always warranted. When we reached the waiting bus ten minutes later, it did turn out to be excellent... except fully booked for this particular trip. I got on and claimed a good window seat with my pack temporarily in the unoccupied isle seat which eventually needed to be vacated for another passenger. Insisting my pack needed to stay with me for medical reasons, resulted in the thing resting on the floor in front of my seat between my legs for the five and a half hour trip. Other passengers in the area offered alternatives, but none seemed an improvement on the original solution, so the pack stayed there crammed between my knees. The bus made two scheduled stops: one for "breakfast" about a half hour into the trip as "there would be no food on the bus" itself and a roadside comfort stop three hours later with the tour conductor announcing: "You go with yourself; the ladies and the men." as we all climbed out of the bus seeking relief behind the abundant bushes and trees in a gully. The mountain road up to Sapa in Vietnam deserves to be called a "Death Road" like the one I investigated in Bolivia back in 2007. On the 2nd of September just a few weeks ago a bus identical to the one I chose for my trip between Hanoi and Sapa, but on the return downhill run plunged over the embankment killing 12 passengers! Seen in the daylight it is easy to see the hazards a down hill night passage on this road would face. Tight, blind curves on narrow, poorly maintained roads with steep embankments plunging hundreds of feet nearly straight down pretty much insures any accident will have fatalities! The ill-fated bus racing downhill was attempting to avoid a head-on collisions with a truck passing on an inside blind curve. As unlikely as it may seem, even our bus heading uphill in bright daylight had a similar encounter with everyone slowing urgently and maneuvering safely out of the way. As our Sapa Express bus approached the start of the climb out of Lao Cai about noon for it's ascent up the mountain to Sapa, our tour conductor stood up in the isle to get our attention and dramatically announced everyone needed to fasten their seat belts... something I had already done, though few others had. Only long after the trip did I learn about the fatal accident that prompted the urgent seatbelt precaution announcement. Arriving in Sapa Town city center about 1PM allowed me time to check out only about five promising hotels scattered around the hilly terrain near the amphitheater in the town center. My choice for the first night after a steep climb, the three star Sapa Elite with rooms starting at $30, offered a great view of the city spread out below. In the distance I could catch a glimpse of the small lake formed by a reservoir, reminding me of a similar situation in Kandy, Sri Lanka visited last year. The most expensive room in the house at $47, the "suite room" with a private balcony seemed to be a good value on first inspection, but turned out to have numerous deficiencies plus the anemic breakfast will never be given rave reviews. Immediately after checking in at the Elite and now free of my way too heavy backpack, I continued the exploration of the colorful town area around the central area. Immediately across from the main plaza sits the 4 star USapa Hotel. Recently built, this $70 four star property offered everything I look for in a home away from home. The reception staff jumped to attention as I entered and displayed eager friendliness answering my many questions about the property. The Reception manager, John showed me around his house and made it clear I would be most welcome should I decide to book a room. So I did, delaying the hotel switch until the next morning. The USapa is one of the more expensive lodges in a town which offers a broad range of accommodations from $3 dorm room beds for low end mountain trekkers to top end luxury at the $130 Victoria Hotel next to the elcheapo Elite Hotel I chose for that first night.. The amphitheater/plaza adjacent to the Usapa Hotel has long served as a gathering place for the "love market" every Saturday evening (YouTube video). The two Saturday evenings I joined the crowds mingling on the plaza revealed old traditions have been dramatically impacted by tourism. Plenty of camera toting foreigners loitered around the plaza, but not a single boy attempting to beguile his love interest with a musical performance could be found. I did see a couple teenage boys sulking away from the crowds carrying their Piem Zats. Questioning locals I discovered the kids find all the commercial tourist attention interferes with their amorous moods. But, love has a way of prevailing and "secret" alternate venues for meeting your future spouse are rumored to exist in another place or places away from all the gawking tourist attention. Sapa reminds me a lot of Kathmandu which I have visited previously in 2004 and 2008. There are many mountain tribes in this province and gaily dressed artisans of ethnic minorities hang around town waiting for buses to belch out a new crop of potential customers for their hand made items. Every new arrival immediately acquires an unbidden entourage of one or more uniquely dressed hill tribe ladies, some with babies on their backs who follow them around until they are safely ensconced in their hotels... or buy something... which then results in the entourage gaining more members. Two, three, four story buildings rise along the main shopping street: clothing stores, cafes, hotels, massage parlors, travel agencies, trekking gear shops, handicraft shops, souvenir stalls, snack shops, motorbike rentals, etc. line this narrow, crowded street through town where women from the mountain villages prowl badgering tourists to "buy my things." Rejected, they often add: "Later?" or "Maybe tomorrow?" repeating until they get a satisfactory reply from the harassed tourist. The women all wear mostly black outfits with colorful embroidered decorations. Nursing mothers feed their babies whenever and wherever the tots get hungry. Fresh produce mingles with all sorts of dried substances used in various food and drink preparations. My photographs show many of them which staff in my hotel have not been able to identify completely. I have walked around the town many times now and these eager merchants treat every encounter like the first one, insisting you consider their hand made purses and shawls for purchase. Any indication you have no interest in the items is met with the whining question: "Why not?" I'm reminded of the old saying: "When a boy has a hammer, everything is a nail!" Nearly identical machine made items are on sale in every store throughout the town... for very low prices. A majority of the restaurants along the main shopping street offer Italian dishes curiously, including pizza. Beer is cheap ($1-$1.25) and plentiful... and apparently popular! I've been sampling the bargain price ($4-$9) "set menu" offers at the many tiny, cozy restaurants close to the hotel. Breakfast is included with all hotel reservations so that is never a problem, except during periods of low occupancy when the lavish buffet in the USapa is replaced by "al-la-carte" orders - never as satisfying as the buffet. Security wardens with their blue uniform shirts and red arm bands control the indigenous people selling stuff along the street. Products must not block the roadway. Friendly and often with a good command of English, these guys also act as informal tourist guides along the street, answering simple questions put to them by bewildered foreign visitors. I still "talk" with locals mostly with pantomime away from the tourist areas. It is amazing how informative this mode of communication can be. Motorbike rentals are popular with visitors who know how to operate them, renting for only $4-$6 per day. As the terrain is hilly, the vehicle makes a lot of sense... unless you happen to enjoy walking like I do. Fast bike riders racing up and down the street everyday except weekends mingle with ready-mix trucks weaving among the strolling tourists and locals alike. Collisions seem inevitable, but I have seen none. An annoying loudspeaker truck periodically patrols the central part of the town blaring out what I have been told are political and/or safety messages. A couple days ago I stepped backwards off a narrow cafe entry step and fell landing on my back awkwardly. I think I cracked a rib as the pain is minor, but persistent (It only hurts when I breath deeply or cough.) and is improving daily. To complicate matters I seem to be nursing symptoms of the common cold! Fortunately, the USapa Hotel is a comfortable place to rest and mend. On several of my walks I have reached hills overlooking the terraced agricultural fields and watched as farmers tended their crops - mostly rice I believe. I took way too many photos of the interesting terrain, but controlled my urge to share them all on these pages! With my multiple entry Chinese visa in hand, high altitude Sapa in Vietnam... close to one of the few land border crossings into the Peoples Republic of China, has been an ideal place to pause while planning the next leg of my exploration and now to ponder travel alternatives since the DPRK excursions has become impossible. After seeing the announcement the DPRK government had suspended all foreign tours into the country because of the EBOLA scare until adequate quarantine measures could be put into place, I assumed there might be a chance I could just wait a few weeks and then resume my planning. Sadly, the Koryo Tours agency which handles most trips into the DPRK from Beijing wrote to inform me the suspension is likely to last the rest of the year! So, after my Yunnan explorations I'm not sure where I'll head next... probably somewhere warmer than the current latitude! One day during my long stay in Sapa I took the bus down to Lao Cai to check out the border situation. The immigration plaza layout makes the formality procedures obvious and people spend only minutes moving through the operation on the Vietnamese side. Immediately adjacent to the Vietnamese Immigration building stands the tower of the deluxe 4 star Swiss Belhotel hotel with walk-in room rates of $55, making it an obvious choice for accommodations the night before crossing the border. Now that I know it is unlikely I'll be able to enter the DPRK this trip there is no reason to delay any longer my entry into southeastern China. I've just read the small town on the other side of the border might be worth a few days visit, so my next missive may come from Hekou China. Peace, Fred L Bellomy
Sapa Vietnam 2014: The white building in the background is the four star U Sapa Hotel where I stayed for over a week. Recently built and only opened four months ago, the hotel deserves the four star rating with $70 room rates. The plaza in the foreground is a popular gathering and play area for local inhabitants.
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authorAugust 2002 |
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