Buzz
Quickly heading to Sapa's stone church, a historic edifice built in 1895, still preserving its French colonial architecture intact in Sapa. Backed by the shielding Ham Rong mountain, with a spacious flatland upfront, crafted into a square serving cultural tourism activities.
Near the Heaven's Gate pass at O Quy Ho, we rented a motorbike in Sapa, rode up to Silver Waterfall. Due to heavy rain, we decided to push further to Love Waterfall, close to Heaven's Gate and adjacent to Lai Chau province's border. The road was paved with stones, passing through shelters for rain and sun, crossing the Golden Stream, ascending several dozen steps to reach Love Waterfall. Truly, the waterfall was stunning, worth experiencing. With a ticket price of 70,000 VND for adults, you can thoroughly explore Love Waterfall.
Returning to Sapa, we ventured into the Ham Rong mountain tourist area. Ascending the stairs and exploring the landscape atop Ham Rong mountain, with a garden featuring the 12 zodiac animals or smaller peaks offering views towards Sapa town.
For lunch, we indulged in dishes from the Northwest region, such as grilled local pork or salt-roasted village chicken with a plate of Hmong vegetables for a satisfying midday meal. Then, we embarked on a cable car journey 4km from Sapa to reach the summit of Fansipan. After a 15-minute cable car ride, we set foot on Fansipan's peak, amidst temples and Buddha statues still under construction, with the sharp summit marking the 3,143m altitude of Fansipan.
Overwhelmed by the grandeur of Fansipan's summit, where clouds drift beneath our feet, where only a few mountain peaks emerge amidst the vast expanse of white shrouded clouds.
Having had our fill of experiences, we returned to the cable car station to head back and prepare for conquering O Quy Ho pass and capturing the sunset at Heaven's Gate. O Quy Ho pass traverses the Hoang Lien Son range. Driving along the pass, gazing at Hoang Lien range, witnessing Silver Waterfall along the way, amidst numerous small waterfalls cascading from the mountains, passing by the entrance to Love Waterfall, we arrived at Heaven's Gate, the border junction of Lao Cai and Lai Chau provinces, then sat awaiting the sunset.
Back in Sapa in the evening, freshened up, had dinner, then you can visit Sapa night market, buy some exquisite ethnic handicrafts, of course, at reasonable prices.
Ending the first day in Sapa, on the second day, I spent time exploring the local villages, Tả Van and Cát Cát, the two villages I prioritized for the second day.
Tả Van village is quite distant, following the guide map, passing the ticket booth, don't stop, the ticket booth is for cars or tourist buses, but they often make motorbikes buy tickets too, locals there advised me to just keep going, no need to buy tickets. Entering Tả Van, looking down from the road into the distant valleys, Tả Van village starts with a bamboo bridge crossing, entering the village, experiencing the life of the Giay ethnic people, trying the Bắc Hà stolen pig, eating multicolored sticky rice from Văn Bàn... crossing the bamboo bridge over the river is quite an interesting experience.
Cát Cát village, near Sapa, walk in after buying tickets for admission. If Tả Van village is not crowded, bustling, then Cát Cát is better developed with local young men acting as motorcycle taxis, taking tourists inside Cát Cát for sightseeing, with rows of stalls selling ethnic handicrafts lined up closely. I chose to visit Cát Cát in the late afternoon because looking towards the cable car, the cabins floating against the golden sky are very beautiful, scattered small houses nestled among the mountains, golden rice fields still present.
2 days in Sapa have passed, although not able to explore every nook and cranny of Sapa, but more than enough for a short day experience, to understand more about Sapa, to know the local villages, what they do, how they live, that's what's worthwhile.
By Peter Cao
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Reference: Mytour Travel Guide
MytourNovember 20, 2017
