by 6 am we left for Sapa. 400 km journey that was to take 12 hours! There were 14 of us on the bus plus the driver the guide. Very squashed in not much room to move. Our first stop was breakfast where a little man was running around putting cheese spread and bread in front of us. We got up and found their own bread and bananas. Along the journey we were driving through rice paddies they are everywhere and beautiful and green. There are many little villages along the road to supper. Lunch was good. The food seemed to be more authentically Vietnamese rather than being ‘westernised.’
After lunch, we kept driving and stopped at the village of the Hmong flower people. They used to live in the hills and when Vietnam was re-unified the government encouraged them to move down near the roads. They change their crops from corn and opium to corn rice and sugar cane. In exchange for free housing and other funding, they have to greet the tourist buses when they come to have a look. And next photo stop was the China Vietnam border. Just before we got to the Lao Cai the Bordertown. From Lou Cai it was a spectacular 34 km climb to Sapa (elevation 1600m Pop’n 4500) Rice paddies cut into the side of hills and spectacular views. Although unfortunately there was a lot of burning off happening so quite smoky. We arrived in the cool town of Sapa around 6 pm and we were guided to our motel. Then we went to the local bar to have a drink and watch some Sapa children perform. They sang and played the same tune over and over for one hour. After the performance, we went to bed.
