Hi Steemians welcome back to my page!
Today I will take you to Sapa, a beautiful village in northern Vietnam with breathtaking mountain views and unique ethnic minority culture.
If you can ride then I recommend to get a scooter as this is cheap, fun and give you more freedom to go around in this small village. Scooter can be hired from any hotel and will cost you about $5 a day - what a bang for the buck! Just be careful with some massive pot holes on the streets but trust me you'll get used to it!
I was driving everywhere on this 110cc manual scooter. It was great fun and you have the freedom to go anywhere in the local area.
Cat Cat Village
First day we went to Cat Cat village which is only 2km from Sapa Center. On the way to the village you will see many Dao women and children selling bracelets and souvenirs. As this area attracts lot of tourists, these ethnic people here have learned and can speak English and Chinese very well; some can also speak French and Spanish. They make their own clothes from hemp and have their own method of dying the fabric which are lovely and very colorful.
In the two photos above, the Red Dao ladies are making a thread from hemp, which later gets combed and spun into roll, ready to be vowen
My boyfriend 
Woman weaving hemp fabric with her traditional sewing machine. The whole process is 100% handmade and eco-friendly. She will later on using melted beeswax to paint all different ethnic patterns on the fabric
Tourism plays a big part in Sapa economy, and for some ethnic people here it's a mean of living for them. Thus they can sometimes be quite pushy asking you to buy the souvenirs - so just be understanding it's part of the experience and expect their company on your trip. I myself always prepare some snacks and lollies and giveaway to the kids on my way through their village.
Sometimes I have a feeling that these children are forced to be presented at tourist areas and follow tourists to sell souvenir, which is quite sad. This little guy apparently doesn't seem to enjoy what he's doing, plus he has to look after the younger brother on his back.
There are heaps of lovely views so take a good camera with you. Check out some of my photos!
Fansipan Summit
Another famous spot in this area is Fansipan - the summit of Indochina - 3143 meters from sea level. In the old day when there was no cable car it would take you about 3 days to reach the summit provided you're an experienced hiker. The cable cars connecting Sapa to Fanxipan is about 6 km long and will take roughly 20 minutes to get you there. With this type of transportation you can enjoy the marvellous view and breathtaking beauty of the terraced fields from above.
I advised not going to Sapa on the weekend as it's way too crowded. The queue to cabin cable took about 20 minutes. Look at the crowd around us!
And voila - Sapa from above
Made it to the entrance of Fansipan. From here you can choose to climb another 600 steps to reach the summit or catch a train. We choose to climb simply because it's more fun.
This area is about 3000 meters from sea level and thus the oxygen level here is quite low. Fortunately I did not get any altitude sickness but I can feel the difference as it's a little bit harder to breathe and I get tired quite quicky climbing just a couple of hundred steps.
Finally made it to the top. Here we are on the Summit of the whole Indochina!
The ease of transportation to Fansipan also makes this place somehow loose its charm and sacredness. It was still a great experience but I would do it again on a weekday instead of weekend to avoid the crowd. Also make sure to check the weather as you can get the best view out of a sunny day :)
Sapa Night Life
At night time simply hang out at Cầu Mây or Mường Hoa street where all the best shops, food and pubs are located. Make sure you check tripadvisor before going to any restaurant as some of them tend to overcharge tourists (I was a victim). Tips: If a restaurant presents you a menu without any price tag it's a good sign that they will double or triple the price. Simply walk out before getting your pocket burned.
Street food barbeque in Sapa
And this concludes my trip to Sapa. I hope this is helpful should you plan to travel to this lovely village at some point. If you enjoy my post simply follow my account 