Sapa, Vietnam

We had heard about Sapa from a friend, who said it was well worth the trip from Hanoi. We were curious about what exactly the rice paddies would look like in person, since the photos we had seen on the internet looked incredible and we were definitely in for a surprise.

To get to Sapa, you can hire a driver who will take you there from downtown Hanoi and spend about 5 hours in the car. Or you can take one of the various overnight trains, that may take longer overall but since they travel at night you don't lose any precious daytime hours when you could be exploring. I will tell you the train ride was definitely a memorable trip - let's just say I won't be rushing back to an overnight train anytime soon but all in all totally worth it!

Our train from Hanoi brought us to the Lao Cai train station, where we arrived around 6am. From there we were picked up by a private driver who took us up the winding roads to Sapa, a beautiful mountain town known for it's rice paddies carved into the countryside.

We used Sapa PathFinder Travel to book our train, accommodations and tour guide and highly recommend them!

 Our hotel had amazing views from the dining room. It was a relaxing place to enjoy some Vietnamese coffee and take in the scenery. We had some time to put down our bags and get caffeinated before our trek around the local villages with our guide.

 

This woman was creating the fabric that would be shibori-ed and dyed with indigo like the fabrics in the photo above. This fabric decoration technique was used for the traditional garments of the Hmong people and also for sale. I couldn't leave without getting a few pieces, it was too beautiful not to. Below you can see one of the local girls that followed us and our guide all along our hike.

 I was fascinated by the Hmong people we saw. This woman's bright tassel headscarf was amazing. The school children performed a dance while we walked by. I loved their outfits, the way the bright embroidery popped against the dark indigo dyed fabric.

After our long hike (6 miles!) we had some coffee and beers at this rooftop cafe. The town is quiet and peaceful, a welcome reprieve from the constant chaos of Hanoi.

Next stop, Thailand!