Sapa Vietnam Tour
My first impression of Sapa was that is
seemed like a hidden town deep inside of a valley. Surrounded by mountains and
clouds soaring above the village, the colonial buildings with their old European
style were situated between cherry blossom forests and the Samu ridge. I pointed
at all the stunning mansions which dotted the landscape and asked my guide how
could it be that Sapa has so many spectacular buildings, I was really surprised.
In my mind, Sapa was supposed to be a far away land with a lot of minority
people staying in small wooden houses. He explained to me, "The French under
their colonial rule brought Sapa many luxuries; with good hydro-power, a modern
electric system and 200 pretty mansions right in the middle of valley as you can
see." I was amazed at all the beauty right in front of me, the history of this
village in Northern Vietnam was stunning.
We had a relaxing dinner at a nice simple restaurant in town. As we ate, our
guide told us a story about how the village got its name; Sapa. He told us that
the name Sapa came from Chinese Mandarin; Sapa means "sandy land". I have no
clue why they named Sapa this, because to me, Sapa was definitely not a sandy
land at all. If I could have chosen the name, I think I would've called it
"misty land". All of the scenery here was covered in a thin fog. Everything was
naturally blurred and become more mysterious on each trek for an adventurer like
me. The cold mist brought a magical atmosphere.
The suggested time to visit Sapa is between June - October. Unfortunately, I
just missed the perfect time. So I prepared myself that I might see the snow
during our trip in Northern Vietnam.
After the evening's activities, I headed back to my room at a magnificent hotel
right in Sapa, my room had a public area with a wide balcony; from here I could
see all of Sapa. In the evening, Sapa looked like a picture that I had seen in a
travel magazine. The lights from both modern houses and traditional houses which
were scattered along mountains, shone as sparkling stars. Standing on my balcony
and staring at the beauty around me, I could hear off in the distance the local
men playing music on a Jew's harp. Sapa is a typical mountain town and the
locals really enjoy the area as much as the tourists. There is lots of laughter
and I'm always greeted by a friendly smile.
Marketplace, but I would see that the trading here was very different then with
lowland Vietnamese. They preferred not to bargain and instead sell internally to
family and friends under the form of exchanging products rather than selling
them. Even in my short time enjoying the market, I was able to get a local
costume for myself and some scarves for my family and friends. It was definitely
a highlight of the trip and enjoying the bustling market place was a memorable
experience.
After leaving the marketplace, we started out on our trek. I was very lucky
because I had the perfect tour guide. He told us everything we needed to know
such as the duration of the trip, the difficulty level and how to prepare before
the trip. I was amazed by his knowledge about the land, the locals and the
culture. People could easily misunderstand and think that he was a local. The
trekking trip lasted the whole day and we hiked around 15 - 20km. The hiking
seemed easy though as the scenery completely distracted me from all the walking.
Every step, every corner I turned, there were beautiful terrace fields, valleys,
springs or waterfalls. I met a girl during our hike who must have been around 5
years old as she was chasing after her older brother. She wore no shoes and
light clothes in what I considered very cold weather. One lady in my crew gave
her some money, but the little girl refused to take it. The girl smiled and said
she was taught to never take money from others and never use money that was not
yours. It was such an emotional moment for all of us, when we saw the girl run
away without shoes but smiling happily. She was such a polite young girl.
As we continued our trek, we passed by what looked like a very old church, It
was made from stone and the design followed the beautiful Gothic roman style.
The church was situated on a very prominent area with its back to the Ham Rong
mountains ( translated, Dragon mouth) and in the front of the Church was a wide
open flat pathway which was very convenient for transportation. Standing on the
ground of the church, I could see Sapa in its entirety. From this point it
looked like a construction game that young boys play. Houses were situated next
to the river and forest, everything was so well-organized it seemed like a giant
had arranged it from above.
On my last day in Sapa, I finally saw snow, it wasn't the first time I had seen
snow; however, snow here was different. It looked more transparent and easily
changed to ice since the humidity in Vietnam was much higher than any place I
had been before. It was an amazing sight to see a peach completely covered in
ice on the tree. After just one night, everything was covered by snow, it looked
like all the houses and trees just changed into their winter coat. Sapa is the
only place in Vietnam that you can ever see snow.
As I was sitting on the bus heading back to
Hanoi, I had the feeling that I
didn't spend enough time in Sapa. There are a lot of places I didn't visit; I
want to learn more about the people here and their culture. There is no place
like Sapa, where tradition and the modern day is perfectly blended together. If
you have a chance to visit Northern Vietnam, don't forget to take a trip to Sapa,
I am sure it will quickly become one of your favorite destinations as it is
mine.
Sapa Budget Tours
- Sapa Day Tours - Sapa Day Excursions - Day Trips Sapa Vietnam
- Sapa Walk and Bac ha Market
- Sapa Hard Trekking Two
- Sapa Hard Trekking One
- Sapa Medium Trek Two
- Sapa Medium Trek
Sapa Trekking and Adventures
- Fansipan peak conquering VIP tour (3 days - 2 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering VIP tour (2 days - 1 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (4 days - 3 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (3 days - 2 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Deluxe tour (2 days - 1 nights)
- Fansipan peak conquering Standard tour (4 days - 3 nights)
Sapa Cycling Options
- Sapa - Binh Lu - Lai Chau(with biking)
- Sapa - Lao Chai - Ta Van - Ban Ho
- Sapa Biking Tour - Ban Ho Village
- Sapa Biking Tour - Binh Lu - Lai Chau
- SaPa - Bac Ha Market with biking
- Pedalling The Remote Sapa\'s Northwest
Sapa Luxury Holidays
Traditional Minority Discovery Packages
- Green Sapa bus (Hanoi – Sapa)
- Eco Sapa Limousine Van (Hanoi – Sapa)
- Private car Hanoi Sapa
- Hanoi Sapa Private Cabin bus
- Coc Ly market with boat trip
- Cao Son market -boat trip on Chay river- Sapa Tours
Sapa Classic Trips
Northern Mountain Discovery Packages
Topas Ecolodge Sapa tours
- Topas Ecolodge and Market Package 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge and Market Package-2D/3N
- Topas Ecolodge and Victoria Sapa Package – 4D/5N
- Topas Ecolodge and Victoria Sapa Package – 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge Package – 3D/4N
- Topas Ecolodge Package 2D/3N
Top hotels in Sapa
Vietnam Top Hotel
