Sa Pa: Ý Linh Hồ, Lao Chải, Tả Van Village Exploration

The train we took to Sapa

Fog coming into town. This was our view from the 5th floor at our hotel.
Sapa Church
Snack with Delicious Vietnamese Coffee
In front of the tourist office in Sapa
Two Black H'Mong women looking for tourists. View from the cafe'.

Today was our short one day trek for a total of 10km.
It was raining and the visibility was low, but once we got closer to the village we could see the rice patty terraces.

Yesterday, I had no tolerance for the women selling things. Today was different. I heard stories that the women follow you on your trek. They did. 10 women deep. At first, I was very quiet and said no thank you when they persistently asked "What's your name?" "Where you from?" "How old are you" "How long you stay in Sapa?" ETC. Then I slowly answered and asked them the same questions. They continued with "How many brothers and sister do you have?" And I realized their English was pretty impressive. They answered all my questions and told me we were walking to their village called Lao Chải. They became human. I couldn't ignore them anymore. One woman I walked with named Lang had a baby on her back all bundled up and covered. For 1 hour I didn't even realized she had a baby she was carrying. Her baby Zao was a girl and very quiet, until she became hungry 10 minutes later. Lang has 5 daughters and sells textiles for work. The rice fields are only worked on once a year since the town is in the mountains.

After lunch I bought a wallet, little purse and scarf from Lang and her friend. Lang was so grateful she took us to her house where we met 2 of her daughters. One was sleeping and the fifth was 4 years old at "school."

Our trek was booked through Sapa Pathfinder Tours or SP tours. It was only 10USD per person and I was pleased. We began passing Ý Linh Hồ which was the foggiest part of the trek. We could not see much. We continued to Lao Chải. Lao Chải is where all the women (who were following us) were from. We saw grazing water buffalo. Families of pigs. We stopped by a primary school where 40 children were dancing for exercise. We visited the local hospital. This is where we ate lunch.
We visited a "home-stay" and watched women weaving hemp.


After lunch we continued to Tả Van Village. We saw more roosters, chickens, buffalo, rice fields, locals and another home stay house.

Such an easy trek and I am so happy with the pictures I was able to take.
The locals were so nice.

The tour:

The beautiful locals from Lao Chai and Ta Van Villages.

Our trek

First stop, a little house who's residence are making rice wine.

Kevin buying a walking stick (bamboo) from one of the local boys.

river under the bridge.

new bridge next to the old bridge.

We stopped by the primary school in Lao Chai Village and they were dancing outside for exercise.


The boys weren't dancing, they were eating snacks.

water buffalo hanging out by the rice terraces

We Bought souvenires from Lang and she was so appreciative she showed us her house and introduced us to her daughters:

Lang and her baby Zao

Baby Zao

Her kitchen
Lang and I.

People working on the rice fields in Ta Van Village

Hello Vietnam!

Crazy that it's already been 8 days since we arrived in Vietnam.

We started in Hanoi where I received instant exposure to the wild traffic. hundreds of locals commuting by motorbikes, vespas, various mopeds etc. We got picked up pretty late and the night time traffic seemed more hectic because I didn't realize the road was that busy during the day as well. We saw families on the smallest motorbikes and luckily they almost all wear helmets and a large percentage wears face masks, although I'm not sure how much protection they receive from the homemade fabric masks. It's something.

We spent 2 days in Hanoi. We explored the section we were in which was situated by the lake. It was called "Old Quarters." In this area, many of the streets are named after the crafts that were sold on that street long ago. To this day, some still hold true. for instance, Pho Hang Bun (Vermicelli), Pho Hang Ma (paper product), Pho Hang Bac (Jewelry) are a few of the streets carrying the name of the products sold on the street. I'm not sure how to translate it but from the looks of it, our hotel was next to Sunglass Lane and Purse Alley. The Ray Bans, D&G, Coach, Prada, Louis Vuitton sunglasses and purse fakes or imitations are IMPRESSIVE. They are the best imitation name brands in the world. Vietnam produces such high quality everything. We got a "North Face" backpack and I'm loving it.

So aside from the fake products we spent time exploring this little town of Hanoi. We went to a water puppet show. Included with the puppet show (WHICH WAS IN WATER) is a live band with two female singers. The popular instrument common in Vietnam is the Dan Bau (Monochord from Vietnam). It is the most amazing instrument. For one, it only has one string. But it produces the most wide range of sound I have ever heard from one instrument not being manipulated by something (distortion, wah, chorus, flanger pedals. ETC) But this one string guitar needs nothing and the sound that comes from it is strong and sweet all in one song.

The puppet show was terrific. At the end we discovered the people actually controlling the puppets are behind the curtains and in the water WAIST DEEP. We thought there was a dry space hiding behind it all. Nope. It made the experience that much more incredible.

Everyday in Hanoi we enjoyed Phở the local noodle soup which can actually be found in San Diego. BUT, the best part is the Phở here is only 75 cents for a bowl. Delicious. The best part is I've been technically eating "street food" and haven't gotten sick yet. Maybe because soup is boiled? Either way, I'm excited I haven't had any sickness yet. To my surprise, the sweets here are delicious too. They have tons of bakeries with caked and donuts and goodies of all sorts. They range from 50 cents to 2 USD and are delectable. Alongside some Vietnamese coffee which is served with condensed milk and needs no sugar because of it. A great morning or evening.

From Hanoi we took a 3 day 2 night tour to Ha Long Bay. It is supposed to be beautiful in warm weather. Unfortunately, it was raining and cloudy the whole time we were out there. I still enjoyed myself. I found it to be relaxing. I couldn't believe how comfortable our stay was on a "Vietnamese Junk boat" We slept here overnight and our private room had a private bathroom and shower. It was something else to wake up in the morning and pull open the curtain to see open water and not too many other boats near us. Not to mention the rock formations surrounding us. The 2nd night of this tour we stayed at a Hotel on "Cat Ba Island" called Holiday View Hotel. Another great treat. It was the nicest place we've stayed yet in Vietnam. Very similar to a Holiday Inn. The only thing is our tour cost 88USD per person for 2 nights and 3 days. Not even in the same price range comparison to a Holiday Inn.

After returning to Hanoi we took a train to Sa Pa the same night. Sapa is a beautiful, mountainous town in northern Vietnam very close to the Chinese border. This town has cultural diversity because it is more remote than other towns. of course over time this place has become terribly touristic. I still loved it. Immediately, upon arrival you see (mainly women) with distinct colorful head dresses and outfits. Similar to the women in Peru or Bolivia they have VERY bright colored goods with intricate embroidery. They have tons of textiles to offer and are all incredible. They all say "Hello!" "Where you from" "Buy from me?" The best tip EVER I always say "No money" (this worked in South America too) and they instantly leave you alone. I don't necessarily want to be left alone but tourism has taken its effects and now they walk up to you to sell all day. My favorite thing to do is sit at a cafe on the second floor and watch them interact from a distance, to sadly avoid being hassled about buying something.

Tomorrow we enjoy a ONE day trek to even more or ACTUALLY remote villages. It's SOO foggy here, so we will see how it goes. I've never seen weather like this before. Constant waves of fog, thick blankets of fog. It makes everything damp and of course invisible. The steps and streets are slippery and it's not even raining. I hope I don't slip on the trek tomorrow but it's only a total of 11km and over a course of 5 hours with some stops in 3 villages.

Wednesday we may rent a motorbike for 5$ and take it to a remote village on the other side of Sa Pa. Wednesday night we take another overnight train back to Hanoi. From there we are supposed to move south.

Avoiding arrest in Singapore

You won't find gum in this photo! (Because they don't sell any!)





The art museum at night.





Just being dramatic. We won't be arrested. But chewing gum is illegal in Singapore.
Also, drug traffickers suffer instant death.
To our advantage it is illegal for taxi drivers to overcharge. What a terrific law.

The collection of "do not do this" signs!
oops took a picture of a "no camera" sign.







Anyway, we are being very careful and unloaded all the chewing gum we brought from the U.s. We bought chewable mentos for a breath freshener. We don't plan on doing anything major here. We only have 4 days, so I'm sure we will stay out of trouble.





Little India

Our hostel is by Little India so I think we will eat Indian food tonight. Luckily Singapore is immaculate in so many ways. Because of the strict laws and regulations. Everything is SO CLEAN. This means I don't quite yet have to fear getting sick from eating anything out of the ordinary, or anything local atleast.



The last day in Singapore we visited Sentosa Island. This island was interesting and cleary different from any beach I'd ever been to. It was set up similar to an amusement park. It had a free tram that took you to each of the 4 beaches and even the southern most point in SouthEast Asia. and the sign does say it is Asia's southernmost tip closest to the Equator!






Southern-most point!





Sentosa Beach




Bird park at Sentosa amusement park style BEACH



And the food....

Singaporean food is legendary, with bustling hawkers (indoor or outdoor cafeterias) and 24-hour coffee shops and shopping malls... offering cheap food from all parts of Asia and many Indian options for super cheap. Such a delicious experience.




Chinatown for food on Smith St