Hello steemians!
Apologies about the length between posts, had some technical issues with my laptop.
Moving on from part 1 onto Fansipan the highest point in indochina, Fansipan can be done through a tour group or guide but Chau and i decided to do it ourselves as to be able to take our time and do it at our own pace. as we had a scooter this was made a bit easier as we simply drove to the gateway to fansipan.
You can get to the top two ways, by climbing (which will take you about two to three days) or by cable car. Needless to say we went with the cable car...
After reaching the base of the mountain we passed through a small market area and food stalls to get to the ticketing office, tickets cost about 600,000 each. trust me it is worth every dong, the cable car ride is an experience in itself.
After lining up for about 20 min we are directed onto the large cable car that will take us to the mountain and we're off! its over 6km to our destination so there is plenty of opportunity for happy snaps of the mountains and valleys below which are breathtaking!
View from the cable car
The ride up took us some time as we literarily came in through the clouds but we simply took the time to take photos and relax.
Heading into the clouds, view from the cable car
After what felt like an age we had finally made it to our destination, after disembarking the cable car we are directed through a centre with cafes and shops, here we put on the cold weather gear we had brought with us, and good thing we did as it was freezing up there! i even donned my beanie.
To make it to the very top we had to traverse a lot of staircases and past temples along the way.
We began to make our way up the staircase and quickly realised why there was signs telling you to take regular breaks, the air was noticeably thinner and we quickly felt exhausted after starting the climb as we would if we were down at sea level. this lesson quickly learnt we took our time.
Making my way up the roof of indochina
After what felt like an age we finally made it to the summit, but then again so did a lot of other people. It was quite crowded on the summit but still felt great about doing it, we stayed around long enough to admire the almost non existent view (due to the cloud cover, just had some bad luck with the weather) and took some happy snaps with the flags and summit markers that have been erected on top and we were straight back down the way we came again.
Flag and summit marker a top the mountain
Once back to the cable cars we made our way back down from the mountain and couldn't help notice a lot of the cable cars going up at this time (after midday) were quite empty, perhaps it was better to go in the afternoon.
Again back on solid ground at sea level we made our way back to Sapa town an onto the markets/shops that inhabit the street just right of the old french church. Here we found everything you could want and generally at cheaper prices than other areas which came at a surprise, and everything is always negotiable needless to say we ended up with a lot of scarfs, shoes, bags and clothing. As it is in a lot of marketing shopping areas in Vietnam North Face is everywhere and it can be hard to tell if its worth buying, to be honest i have purchased a lot of these products and so far they have stood up to all expectations, from bags to shoes and a few windbreakers I've been happy with the quality so far. in my opinion if you think about purchasing any of these products be sure to check the stitching and quality, theres always different levels of fakes!
Finally after three days in Sapa it was time to head back to the big city of Hanoi, our return journey was again through Sapa express but this time we were to leave in the afternoon.
With he journey back happening during the day it gave us the opportunity to see more of the beautiful landscape and rice paddies scattered along the mountains, unfortunately my camera was packed away under the bus so was unable to photograph this only admire.
The Journey back to Hanoi is much the same as on the way about a four hour trip with a stop along the way for food and to stretch the legs. Arriving back in Hanoi about 8pm and just in time for beers in the old quarter!
Thanks for reading, if you enjoyed this please give an upvote.
cheers