Our Three Day Trek in SaPa

The three day long trek.

28.01.09 - SaPa to Ta Van

Well today we started our big trek. This was different from our trek in Laos, as the temperatures here are a lot cooler than in Laos, and the Laos countryside is quite flat and monotonous additionally it was big. So we started in our hotel lobby at 0900 where we met Mai, our guide, a young Black H'mong girl. We trekked out of SaPa in the fog and mist and cold. Our first stop was Cat Cat a small village 3 kms south of SaPa.

From here we took a "short cut" via Mai's home, a rather nice little place, on top of a rather large hill. That aside, we had a chance to meet her family, and experience a more "rustic" H'mong home. A common sight being the meats, including stuffed Pigs stomach, intestine sausages and strips of skin, hair still on, smoking above the fireplace. Another sight being the 5 family dogs, which we were unashamedly informed were for eating, from then on all the dogs seem rather sad looking.

After being introduced to her family, Mai lead us on up the muddy and slippery slope to our first home stay in Ta Van. This place was kind of like a Hotel except that it was a house as well. It really did not feel all that authentic. We arrived early so we were taken for a walk around Ta Van to see the locals before they went home for the evening. We then returned to our home stay.

Despite being in the wilderness of Vietnam our "Home Stay Mates" were 4 foreigners, 3 of which were Australians. So this seemingly unlikely group of 5 Australians (and an American) ate their way through a large spread of Vietnamese cuisine. It was very nice meal. After the meal and a few games of "31" we were off to bed for a good nights sleep.

29.01.09 - Ta Van to Ban Ho

The following morning, after a laid back 0900 wakeup and breakfast of as many pancakes as you could eat we were off again. On our merry way, up a muddy, slippery slope, past countless meals (duck, chicken, goat, pig, buffalo, goose, dog, cat and perhaps a turkey) frolicking in the rice paddies, across the muddy rice paddies, down several muddy, slippery hills, past countless tourists (American, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, English, Israeli, Australian) slipping up and down the same muddy hills, and through some dense bamboo forests, it was about lunch time. And we were just a little unhunrgy after the mornings adventuring. Today's offering was noodle soup, which consists of instant noodles, and as many different vegetables as you can think of, finished off with ginger, lemon grass and chili.

Almost mercifully after lunch we were walking along road, where we passed many children all in traditional black H'mong garb, and blue hands, all it appeared walking up and back along this road, engrossed in various activities. With their new clothes and time off school or work, Tet is the traditional time for the youth of the minorities to find girlfriends/boyfriends (it's normal to have 3 or 4 girlfriends or boyfriends), and to just walk around to show off the new clothing. It's the only Holiday in the year that they get, so they should make the most of it.

We continued onto Ban Ho, down a very steep and bumpy and lumpy slope, without too many mishaps. We arrived in Ban Ho village around 1500, where we made our way to our home stay (this evening shared with two severe looking French) where we deposited our bags and made our way to the natural thermal springs in Ban Ho. Admission 20000VND pp, about 2 dollars. The springs weren't very warm but it was nice after a long day of trekking. We then dried off and walked back, I can tell you I got quite a few looks walking back in my thermals; we neglected to bring bathers with us so we went swimming in clothes that we needed to wash and hoped fervently that they would dry by the morning.

We were invited into the Kitchen while dinner was being prepared, and it was hard not to cringe as you watched Mai put spoonfuls or a mystery salt like substance into the dishes, a nameless substance that makes everything taste so good, perhaps better known as MSG. Suffice to say, the food did taste quite good, and happily we don't suffer from side effects of MSG like others do. So after another few games of "31" we were off to bed again for another nights good sleep.

30.01.09 - Ban Ho to SaPa

Pancakes for breakfast, again, but no complaints here, very nice pancakes. We then set off sans bags for a small Red Dzao minority village about an hour uphill trek form Ban Ho, we got there puffed and sweaty and hot looked around then went back down the slippery slope to Ban Ho, where we had lunch at our guest house.

Then we took off again, this time with our bag for the hour hard slog up the huge hill that we had descended yesterday to Ban Den where we were meeting the Jeep to drive us to 15kms to SaPa.

We arrived back in SaPa at 1500 and checked back into the hotel and had the same room, as the first night. We showered and thawed and rested our weary heads then dined in the hotel restaurant. James had a Pork Curry and I had a Vegetable Burger. Very nice food. We have HBO and Star Movies on the television. So there are some good shows to watch. However we went to bed for an early night and a deep sleep.

31.01.09 - Mountain View Hotel - SaPa

Woke up relatively early still trying to decide if we would walk to the red Dzao village that we were going to. Decided against it, as it's very cold, I have a cold and James has a sniffle, not much point making ourselves sicker. So we rested for a bit then went out for a walk around the village. Found the women that we were going to walk with a bought a hat from them for Dad, very colourful, just as he likes it. Now it's still very cold here, and the hotel lobby is no warmer. We were going to go to the Bac Ha markets tomorrow, however it's an organised group tour, which to James and I sounds like no fun at all. Motorbikes won't takes us as it's too far, 150kms away, which is a little disappointing, though I'm sure that we can find something else to do. Tomorrow we check out and are catching the train back tomorrow evening. more excitement...