Lo Cai and SaPa

Lao Cai City and SaPa

Before dawn we heard music playing in the corridor of the train car.  Then the snack cart lady came by to knock and wake everyone.  I had set the alarm on my phone so Susie and I had already used the communal facilities before the rush hour!  We had slept our long underwear as our ‘winter pajamas’ because Phil had warned us that in the mountains it would be very cold.  We could only bring a small bag with us so we needed to conserve on space and have our clothes do double duty.  Our goodie basket had toothbrushes, combs and wet wipes along with the crackers so one could do a little bit of a cleanup if you did not bring things with you.

Phil, who had knocked a good morning wakeup call earlier, came by to give us a two minute warning. We stood up with our bag ready to go.  As soon as the train stopped we moved to the door and exited easily.  The porter or Phil took our bag and the other held our hands as we disembarked safely.  

We followed Phil rapidly along the concrete platform and across the remaining tracks to the station.  We went up the steps, right through and down the steps to our waiting small bus.  The dark was giving way to gloomy grey skies and heavy mist.  I have no pictures because the dew was too thick to get a clear view from the windows of the bus.  

Lo Cai City was not our destination but the end of the line for the Sapaly Express. We would return here for the trip back to Hanoi in a few days. Our destination is SaPa at the foot of the Roof of Indochina – Fan Si Pan.  The ride was about three hours over mountain roads more winding than on the previous trip.  The fog or haze was blinding. Phil filled us in on the plans for the stay and also talked a lot about the various tribes we would be visiting – the Red Dao and the Black Hmong. We stopped for a break at a place that made Milk Candy.  Milk for the children is a relatively new addition to the Viet diet.  They do not have a lot of cows.  So when they couldn’t sell the milk this family started making candy.

We arrived in the resort town of SaPa (Sapa).  The narrow and twisted streets required the bus to go around and about until it could line up with the street the hotel was on.  We checked into the Sapa Lodge Hotel.  Our room was down one level from the lobby on Floor 2.  There were four floors below the lobby and three above.  It is built on the hillside facing the mountains and had a nice, rustic balcony where we could enjoy our morning coffee.

We had arrived in time to enjoy the breakfast buffet with made to order omelets and pancakes.  The French Toast was French bread that was sliced, buttered, and toasted. We had time to shower and change.  We checked e-mail and got a little reorganized after the Stilt House stay.  Phil took Barbara and I to the ATM. My card had not worked in Hanoi but here we found a machine of an international bank and it worked fine. 

We all then went for the Orientation Walk. We went back up to the center of town where a large cement amphitheater was being readied for some event.  They have concerts and performances but today looked like it might be a military review.  An officer was cleaning the movie screen with a feather duster.  Adjacent to the arena is the Stone Church.  Dedicated to Mary it was a pretty but not significantly original looking to me.  But it does represent the large French influence in VietNam.

We met our adorable local guide, Mai Linh.  We drove out to her village which is part of the Red Dao (pronounced Red Zhou) tribe.  Mai Linh would be with us for the next couple days as well.  She shared a lot of personal information about her people.  Her parents still live in the village but she lived in SaPa because she married at the old age of 32 and chose a man she met in guide school.  Her parents were okay with receiving only two water buffalo as her dowry and with letting her marry a man of her own choosing. Because she was already so old as to be considered un-marriageable.

Even that she met him in guide school is remarkable because women in her village usually go only as far as primary school.  They are taught in Viet but speak their local language. Also only the boys learn to read and write their native language.  Luckily in the schools they do learn to read and write but not necessarily speak English!  The young people like to speak with foreigners to practice their English.

The visit in the rain to the humble Red Dao Village required an entry fee.  The fee is supposed to be used by the government to support the infrastructure such as the crumbling paved partial road we were walking on.  As soon as our feet touched the ground we were swarmed by the women who chatted amiably to be “very friendly.” On their backs were baskets of woven goods they tried to talk us into as we walked. They all co-operated with Phil when he wished to speak about the town and with Mai Linh who was showing us points of interest.  None minded being pointed out to describe their everyday costume or to have pictures taken.  But the truth was this was how they made their living when it was not farming season.

We saw a beautiful example of the complicated wedding dress and how it was worn.  The heavy veil covers the bride’s face the whole day so no one but the groom will see her.  When she goes to his family home she then restyles her headdress and becomes the Daughter-In-Law.  Her job is to learn to become the Mother-In-Law eventually! She submits to her in-laws totally.

Back at the hotel we set out once again. This time it was Barbara, Bruno, and I that Phil was taking to the store where they could shop for gloves and hats.  They ended up getting a good deal on an authentic North Face jacket which Barbara could really use. They had very nice ponchos that OAT had sent them but no jacket.  Although they are American they live in San Miguel, Mexico.  Warm clothes were not part of their wardrobe.  Phil found some great zip off pants in a pretty blue for summer use.

After lunch at a local restaurant some went back to the hotel but some wanted to try to get jackets like Barbara’s.  Phil returned with them to be sure they found the right store and wouldn’t get stung by knock-offs.  The day passed quickly and soon most everyone set out for dinner on their own.  But with guidance.  Phil recommended a restaurant and went along to do the ordering.  I chose to pass on that and relax in our room.

I planned to catch up on writing but soon fell asleep and so this is a short entry.  Not much happened on our first rainy day in SaPa!