Sapa in winter is shrouded in fog. As you can see from some of the photos here, you can't see a thing. The humidity combined with the cold makes it feel even colder. But the peach trees are still blooming a beautiful pale pink. Nevertheless, we don't like Sapa.
When planning the trip, I was more concerned with the arrival and departure and accommodation options than with Sapa itself. I was already aware of the focus on trekking here and that we weren't doing that. Accordingly, I chose a hotel that was away from the city and offered certain amenities such as a rooftop bar with BBQ, a spa and a swimming pool. They have closed the bar, whether as a matter of principle or because the hotel is not so busy at the moment, I don't know. At the spa you sit in the shop window, you can virtually be watched from outside. What remains is the spacious room with a large bed and a window seat, at least a good retreat, and the breakfast buffet is also very good. (Pao's Sapa Leisure Hotel)
Sapa is located in the North of Vietnam on 1,600 metres about sea level. The highest Vietnamese mountain nearby, Fansipan ist 3,143 metres high. The border to China’s province Yunnan is about one hour drive away.
The journey from Hanoi, 350 km away, is still difficult today. You can choose between an overnight train, sleeper bus or van. The journey takes around 5-6 hours by road and 8 hours by rail. We watched countless YouTube videos about nighttrain journeys, and all of them were rather negative. We had already decided against taking the train, which is when I came across Vic Sapa Train. They have brand new sleeping cabins for VIPs (Vietnamese rated 🙂). In the end, romance and the new train won out. We take it for the outward journey. My husband's quote: "You hardly like traveling anywhere by Deutsche Bahn in Germany and now you even want to sleep in one in a foreign country?" 🙂 Yes, curiosity.
It started at 10pm, one hour before we were supposed to be in the VIP waiting room, no idea why. There are tips on the internet such as bringing toilet paper 😱. We got in and I found everything better than I had feared. The beds are freshly made in white, the blanket not too thin. Water, Oreo, bananas, disposable toothbrush/pasta were ready and waiting. Of course, the cabin is a bit cramped and there is no private toilet, let alone a shower, but the toilet and washbasin for the general public were very clean by Vietnamese standards. After almost 8 hours, my husband woke me up, I did fall asleep, but he didn't. Although it was only 6 o'clock, there were already many drivers competing for passengers, but our car was already waiting.
The car wound its way up the mountain, luckily there was still little traffic on the road this early. Then we drove into Sapa and this was the first thing we saw. We thought: oh, I really want to be in a place like this now (irony).
Unfortunately, it looks like this everywhere in the small town of Sapa. Sapa is ugly. The short main street is full of people and cars and it is very noisy. There is a permanent traffic jam because large trucks drive through, although the road is barely big enough for 2 lanes.
But we want to make the most of the 3 days.
12% of the Vietnamese population consists of 53 different known and recognized ethnic minorities. We learned this from Rehahn, the photographer we met when we were in Hoi An for a while. These minorities have been living in the country for centuries. The Hmong, Dao and Tay live in the immediate vicinity of Sapa.
It was precisely the culture of these minority groups that interested me. While researching, I came across Cat Cat Village, a Hmong village with a waterfall and rice terraces around it, where you can supposedly see how the Hmongs live. However, all the reviews on the internet indicate that the village has now become a large souvenir store.
After searching the internet for 2 days, we came across the neighboring village of Sin Chai Village. It was described as very idyllic and not yet occupied by tourists. We hiked there and realized that there was nothing there except 2 coffee stalls.
On the way there, the same one that leads to Cat Cat, it looks like this: One store next to the other, renting out costumes and taking pictures of the costumed people in them.
In Sapa itself, we also met Hmong women everywhere who sell their handicrafts in a very pushy manner. Even worse is the exploitation of their children. Little girls (many we estimate to be less than 4 years old) are dressed up in traditional Hmong costumes and made to look cute. They dance to recorder music and beg, little boys have to help selling goods. We saw children sitting on the wet street in the cold well into the evening. It breaks your heart.
We were also recommended to visit the Bac Ha market on Sundays. Various ethnic groups are said to trade with each other there, too. However, we realized that it takes 2.5 hours to get there, so we went to Sapa Market instead, which is supposed to be a bit more extensive on Sundays. The first floor was divided between sales and food stalls. The kitchen smelled very bad, so we didn't eat anything there. On the upper floor, you were supposed to find ethnic handicrafts. In fact, it's mainly clothes from fake designer brands that are sold there. Everyone basically only wears "designer brands" here.
It was also difficult to find good food. After eating hotpot in the hotel restaurant once, we finally found a good restaurant that cooks French-Vietnamese food (Chu Su Kitchen). We were there on 2 nights and everything we had was very good and the most expensive dinner cost the equivalent of 45€ for both of us including red wine.
From left: Braised duck leg, braised pork rib, passion fruit cheese cake, smoked salmon, summer spring roll diy, steak with pepper sauce
After 3 days of freezing, also inside, we take the van back to Hanoi. When picking us up, the driver had simply loaded other guests than us. Luckily we got the license plate number and were able to sort it out. With picking up additional guests and 2 stops, the journey took 6 hours. We are glad we are no longer in Sapa.
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