Vietnam 2006 Part 6 & 7 : Trekking down the valley

Day 6 & 7(Wed-Thurs) : Trekking through Sa Pa

Mist-less morning
If you ever decide to come visit Sa Pa, do not miss the treks down the mountain. There are a few to choose from, but try to squeeze in one that has an overnight stay in a village.

We woke up to a bright new day. Outside the window we could see the grand view of the surrounding hills and valleys. The heavy downpour the previous night did us a favour by clearing away the mist. However the downside, which we found out much later, was that it also made the mountain trails all muddy and slippery.

After breakfast, we headed off with our local Vietnamese guide, Dinh, down the mountain. Dinh was a local graduate who worked as a part time tour guide during his holidays. He spoke surprisingly good English, had good local knowledge, and had a cheeky good-natured demenour. And he just loves to tease the local H’mong girls.

A view of Sa Pa town

So we set off on our 11km trek down the mountain.

There were slippery down slopes, narrow trails through rice fields, rocky paths next to running streams, muddy village roads, and sturdy suspension bridges. All the way down we had a wonderful panaromic view of the valley, rice terraces, shallow streams and a backdrop of bluish-green mountains.

Valleys and Hills

Rice Terraces

The best part of the trek was the company of local H’mong girls and women who easily kept up with us and kept us amused with attempts to sell us their wares.

"Now, to make you look tribal..."

After getting most of my shoes and jeans muddy, we finally reached Tavan village, our designated homestay for the night. That night our host, a Zay family, cooked us an assorted spread of meat and veges, and made us down a few shots of ‘Happy Water’, also known as rice wine. I decided to call it a night after dinner as alcohol and weariness took its toll on me. Downstairs, Ravi, Norman and Dinh continued to chat about Government policies and amusing tribal culture.

Dinner is served

Our home for the night

A Hand in Need
We woke up to another bright new morning. As we were having breakfast, we could see the Zay children all trudging off to their local school. We had another 5km to go this morning as we were headed for Giang Ta Chai village and then back up to the main road which is our pick up point.

The trek was even more challenging this time as the route was hilly and the rain again had made the trails extra slippery. We were lucky though as we were waylaid by a group of H’mong women at the start of our journey. They generously took us by hand and led us through the daunting steep trails and narrow mud paths. Without them I guess I’ll probably be falling over a few times and dirty all over from groping whatever plant or rock that helps me keep my balance. We of course rewarded their assistance by buying a few more shirts and bangles.

After a brief visit to Giang Ta Chai Village where the Red Zao tribes people live, we had lunch at a rest point. It was a short climb to the main road after that where a van soon fetched us back to our hotel.

A view of the trail we took

More shopping at the waterfall

Posing on the suspension bridge

Goodbyes
Back at the hotel, we showered and rested as we had a few hours to go before our trip back down to Lao Cai’s train station. We even had a visit from the friendly bunch of H’mong girls who we met on the first day.

After dinner, we took the van down to Lao Cai. Our train left for Hanoi at 8:30pm.