Burn Baby, Burn: Sapa, And The Way To The Border

Here's 3 photos that will give you no idea whatsoever of what's Hanoi like, but I only spent 2 nights there. It's not as buzzing as Saigon but it's got a much more oriental feeling and deserves at least a week or two. Even when one's away from the old town, there's street food sellers everywhere, sometimes the stalls being only a meter or two apart, rice dumplings, pork skewers and pho soup being the most common ones with everything else following, but when I say everything, I mean EVERYTHING, from kitchen utensils to coffee beads, duck heads, shoes, electronics, clothes, bamboo furniture, bamboo anything, rice, more rice, there's merchandise everywhere on the streets, on the stalls, on the shops behind them, the whole town seemingly a giant market. Then there is all the technicians and artisans doing their craft right there on the pavement, sometimes blocking the way in small alleys with all their tools spread out, repairing every imaginable piece of motors, fridges, TVs, you name it, things that are well beyond repair but always seem to come back to life. Whatever hole or microspace is left, is a Bia Hoi joint, where every local who respects him/herself will sit at some point in the day and have a cold beer. Then there is the vast spaces around the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum-went there but it was closed for, well I don't know, fluid change maybe?- big parks surrounding huge concrete buildings with strict communist lines, endless 4-5 lane avenues leading to other districts, some upper-class, but most as poor as the rest of the city.

The Ho Chi Minh mausoleum

A still functioning telephone in the only reliable bicycle shop I found. If you need one, it's located in Le Duan avenue between Trang Thi and Kham Thien, on your right side as you head south. It's a very small shop and you might miss it, but the guy's got quite a lot of gear crammed in there and knows how to properly true a wheel.

Mekong Delta anyone? Spelling mistake of the week.

Before leaving for the northern highlands I took a deep breath and decided to visit Ha Long bay, one of the most famous destinations in SE Asia and certainly the most touristic in Vietnam. In a nutshell, it's a bunch of limestone islets-about 2000 to be exact-most of them no more than 100 metres wide covering a vast area along the bay. I opted for a one-day get on a bus, get to Ha Long, get on the boat, cruise for 4 hours, back on the bus and return to Hanoi, leaving the 2-day, sleeping on the boat crap for the romantics. The day was misty and added some mystery to the journey, the massive rocks appearing one after the other as we cruised along. I got to admit, I haven't felt such serenity for a long time, probably because there were no outboard engined boats around, but most importantly no roads, therefore no motorbikes honking! Add some good company, an Australian couple and a German with whom I had a heated discussion about the Greek-German friendship, and the day passed pleasantly and painlessly-save for one minibus braking down and having to fit twice as many people in the other one, but what the heck, it's all part of the game.

A cave with kitsch lighting in one of the islands

My company for the ride.

The way back.

If there is one thing I'll remember Sapa for, it's the chocolate tart I found on a pastry shop. I'd got a mild food poisoning a few days before but it was so irresistible that every morning I had the same ritual: Chocolate tart, a cup of excellent coffee, then rush to the toilet, ensuring that my stomach didn't get better till I got out of there, and everything I ate went quickly out instead of staying in making me lose 2-3 kilos in a matter of days.

No photos of the tart, but here's a lovely mouse eating its way through one of the pastry shop's other delights!

Amidst the touristic over-development happening all across the country, Sapa has somehow come out relatively unscathed considering the large numbers of tourists it receives annually and still retains its traditional character mixed with the inevitable guesthouses and a tourist-only street plus a few ugly resorts thankfully well away from the town centre.

Situated in a valley at 1500m of altitude, surrounded by mountains and villages of many different ethnic minority groups, its central market serves as a hub for all the villagers to come and buy or sell their goods. Early morning and late in the afternoon, hundreds of women and children-men work in the fields, market is always a woman's affair- walk the mile back and forth with their baskets strapped in their backs.

Vietnam's other name is noise. Everywhere. Trucks honk their way through villages, motorbikes honk just about all the time, people tend to talk loud especially early in the morning, and early here is 5.30, maximum 6. There is construction work going on in every place imaginable, heck, even the cicadas in the forest sound like lathes. I chose a guesthouse away from the main square, a room on the 4^th floor. Opened the curtains and faced this construction site...

Testament to the non-existent health and safety regulations around here. I've seen babies hold machetes twice their size and can't help myself but laugh with western society's sometimes ludicrous concerns.

The area is famous for its rice terraces. Planting season is a few months away so most of them were brown and not that picturesque, still quite beautiful to look at.

I spent two days either cycling or trekking around the area, trying to get as far from Sapa as possible and visit some of the villages. On the second day I met Bao, a Hmong woman on her way to her village who works as a guide in the area. We walked together for the next 3 hours-or better said, I tried to keep up as she climbed like a goat here and there while talking in an equally fast pace. I asked her if people wear their traditional clothes only for tourist's sake, a valid question considering how often it happens in other countries-sometimes even forced by the goverment. She said that they always wear them, they are all very proud of their origins and traditions. There's 8 different ethnic groups in the region, marriages do occur between different ones, but not that often. Harvesting only once a year combined with harsh winters ensure that most are poor, medication is scarce and illnesses plenty. Tourism provides income for some families, either through guided treks or making and selling items to the tourists. In her very joyful manner, she told me more than twice how much she beats her husband when he comes home drunk and then has him sleep outside. After that, our conversation was monopolised by Bao's belief that men are not serious creatures, something I didn't try to disprove... If you happen to be in Sapa and need a guide, give her a call at 01685358529, I guarantee you'll have a great time and learn a lot about the area.

Vidal Sassoon award winner.

The ride from Sapa to the Laos border started with an ascent to the 2000m pass next to Fansipan, Vietnam's highest mountain and one I lament not climbing, offering some spectacular views on the surrounding mountains and the valley ahead. The day was great, partly cloudy and cool enough to ensure an easy 500m ascend, followed by an even greater 25km descent to 600m. That's what I love about ascends, there is always the promise of a roller coaster ride in the other side, hehe. After that I entered the valley following Nam Na river and after 200km gets to Dien Bien Phu, a big nondescript border town that will only be remembered because around here the French were finally defeated, putting an end to the first Indochina war. 

Most of the road is sealed tarmac, with maybe 50km of unsealed or gravel but enough roadworks around them to guarantee that the whole stretch will be ready soon. There's plenty of ascends along the way, but nothing too serious, the road always stays close to the river. I'm sure that a couple of months ago it would have been a good ride, but when I was there the whole place was on fire. There was so much burning going on that for 3 days and all the way to the other side of the border the air was thick, hot, brown-grey and the visibility low. I've seen so much of it during the past 3 months that I wonder what's going to be left in these countries in a decade, but then again, being a European I shouldn't talk, we've done this and worse to our land long ago.

Roadworks and delays along the way. No rush.

Chu, a Vietnamese cyclist I met along the way. He kept filming and repeating, "Hello Petros, hello Chu"

Burn, burn, then burn some more.

The mountain road from Dien Bien Phu to the border was shockingly bad, a dusty pothole extravaganza. So much for the Vietnam-Laos friendship!

So, what's the verdict? A month and a half is not nearly enough to understand the people of a country, as I said recently I just scratch the surface, the language being the biggest barrier. Much has been said between travellers, especially the ones that don't stay only here but visit the neighbouring countries, mostly negative. After having spent 3 months in Cambodia and another 2 in Laos(yes my fellow readers, the blog is seriously lagging behind) I find the differences sometimes striking.

Vietnamese are much more extrovert, sometimes too much, but I've come to realise that it's more in-your-face frankness than rudeness. In the beginning I was offended when mocked for riding a bicycle and not a motorbike-something I've had to a lesser extend in the other countries as well- but then I understood that bicycles represent times people want to forget when there was no food on the table, and I don't expect anyone to understand why a European-wealthy by definition-chooses this way of travel. In the same time, I got help when needed it, been admired for wanting to explore the country and offered hospitality on the spot. I've been invited to dinners, parties, slept at houses, was never allowed to pay, sometimes had to fight for it.

The sound advise I got from James and regrettably didn't follow, was to buy a wedding ring and wear it. I've been offered so many daughters, friends, cousins, asked if I'm married and why not, that it's as close to harassement as it gets.

As I wrote in a previous post, when it comes to mass tourism they have a long way to go. The rip-offs in most major cities and destinations are irritating and not likely to stop soon. You either accept it and live with it or move on to the next country. Many a time I tried to explain to a vendor why it sucks doing it but decided to stop wasting my energy. What got me furious was the extra ticket for the bicycle on the few necessary bus rides I had to take. I understand having to pay a bit more, but twice the price for something that when placed correctly occupies less space than a backpack? Whatever.

When it comes to nature, the country is a cycling paradise. It might lack the remoteness of Cambodia or Laos, but some of the most memorable ones I've done so far were here. After 3000km I covered only a 5th of the country and hope I'll be back some day, the rest of the HCM highway and the northeastern part of the country being the two regions I wish I had time to explore now.

The usual stats, facts and high quality maps. Time to get a gps maybe?

Total distance: 310km

After hearing many negative comments I skipped the Hanoi to Lao Cai ride and got on a bus.

Lao Cai to Sapa: 32km. That's a long ascent, almost from sea level up to 1500m. Many villages on the way, gets pretty scenic after the first 10km or so.

Sapa to Lai Chau: 61km. I had a relatively late start and stayed at this hideous administrative town. Nothing to do there and nothing to see. If you can push it to Phong Tho, it's a better option but an additional(easy) 30km.

Lai Chau to Ta Phin: 62km. There is a long ascent on the last stretch. Ta Phin is a small and cute village with 3 guesthouses-have a ride through it before deciding, I stayed in the last all-wood one, got some great food there. Don't, I repeat, don't stay in Muong Lai, it's ugly as hell.

Ta Phin to Dien Bien Phu: 120km. A long day, but not that strenuous. The last long stretch is flat and easy.
Dien Bien Phu to border: 35km. Crappy, crappy road. The border post is at 1100m of altitude. The last 20km are uphill and there is not a single village along the way.