Sapa is a small mountain resort town that the French built to escape the heat of Vietnam. Nestled into the mountains near the border with China, the scenery is gorgeous and the temperatures are mild. It is easy to see why the French wanted to relax in this isolated area. Our trip to Sapa began on a night train to the Vietnam-China border. At 5:00am we were met by the representatives from the travel agency and proceeded on a winding, ascending ride through the mountains as the sun came up. Calling Sapa a town is a bit of a stretch as it is basically just one street full of hotels and restaurants. The tourism industry has overrun the town and it is clear from talking to others who visited the area 5-10 years ago that the surge in tourists has diminished a lot of Sapa's charm. Besides the scenery, tourists are drawn to Sapa because of the diversity of ethnic groups you can find within a small area. While there are quiet moments when you feel as though you have stepped into a National Geographic photo shoot, most of the time it seems more like a pageant/tourist trap. You cannot walk more than a few feet in Sapa without being approached by women or young girls selling handicrafts and imploring you to buy from them and them alone. Their English is exceptional considering it is leaned entirely from interactions with tourists and the young girls are quick-witted in deflecting your polite refusals not to buy anything. An afternoon in Sapa was more than enough for us. Luckily we spent most of our time in the area staying at an eco-lodge outside of the town and hiking through the different ethnic groups' villages and up and down mountains.
Our cabin
The view from our bed in the cabin. Sapa is covered in mist most of the time but if you look really closely you can see the mountains on the other side of the valley.
The terrace farming in the mountains is an amazing feat. You almost feel like you have stepped into an organic M.C. Escher drawing.
Hiking through the bamboo forest. In the background is the young girl who, despite our assurances that we did not want to buy anything, persevered and followed us for several kilometers in her sandals. She easily negotiated every obstacle in the path much more efficiently and effortlessly than we did.
Before setting off to conquer the mountain in the distance.
From the top of said mountain.
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