Hey Everyoneeee! (xin chào! For any Vietnamese friends!)
← ☀ WELCOME TO VIETNAM! ☀ →
On my second trip to this wonderful country I went straight to Sapa! I didn't have time to go during my first trip back in March.
I had very limited time this time and managed to squeeze a 'quick' 12 hour adventure.
Things to know about Sapa:
- It gets very cold so take warm clothes!
- It’s famous for waterfalls, mountains and rice paddies!
- The people are super kind!
- The shopping can be very cheap!
↓ This was my plan ↓
9:55pm: train from Hanoi Station (155,000VD)
4:15am: Arrive at Lao Cai Station
5:00am: Take the local bus to Sapa (50,000VD)
6:00am: Arrive at Sapa
6.10am Rent a motorbike and explore the town and surrounding areas all day (120,000VD)
6:00pm: Take the bus back down to Lao Cai Station (30,000VD)
8:20pm: Take the train back to Hanoi (155,000VD)
4:00am: Arrive at Hanoi Station
I rented a motorbike for 120,000VD from Le Gecko restaurant, filled it full of gas and headed out for the day!
In the centre of Sapa town is this small simple church, this was clearly where all of the tour buses and tour guides gather to find customers.
I asked a few of them "Where is good to go in Sapa?" and eventually I had a list of things to do with my day!
← ☀FANSIPAN LEGEND ☀ →
Still to this day I have no idea what this name means. But Fansipan Legend is situated outside of Sapa around a 15 minute ride on a scooter depending on the road conditions!
There's the Fansipan Legend building and a beautiful temple sitting on top of a huge lookout surrounded by mountains.
This is where tourists come to ride the cable car up towards an even higher lookout! I didn't even consider riding the cable car because A) It was super busy and B) It costs 600,000VD! If you want to use the 'funicullar' (?) it costs 700,000VD! Crazy.
Instead, I wanted to go and explore the temple directly opposite Fansipan Legend which sadly, everyone was ignoring! But I think this was because they were all Vietnamese tourists. They must see temples all the time and it's not a big deal!
Despite the odd person coming to take a selfie in the entrance of the temple, I had the entire thing to myself for over an hour!
It was so peaceful to just walk around these temple grounds without being disturbed or having to duck in and out of selfie sticks and pictures!
The entrance to this area is beautiful but it's not until you get around the sides and back that you see the true beauty!
The backside of the temple opens up and looks straight across a huge valley of small mountains. It's absolutely stunning!
I always admire the intricate details that can be found all around the temples of Asia! Even these hanging lanterns are full of detail!
After an hour or so of wandering around and trying to get great pictures and dropping my phone off of a 3 metre wall (oops) I got back on my motorbike and headed towards a waterfall that was recommended to me!
← ☀ SILVER WATERFALL ☀ →
The fee to enter is 20,000VD.
This is the entrance, you can hike up either side of the pool and upwards to the main spectacle!
IT'S HUUUGEEEEE!!
When I was walking up the stairs I looked up and saw water flowing, thought "Wow!".
Then I kept walking up and up and up and the water just kept coming! Again, I was practically alone here, apart from a few couples taking pictures. I was able to relax and take in the beauty of nature! Just listening to the water flowing and the wildlife waking up!
You can also take a seat next to some smaller pools about half way up! I love places like this because they're great to practice long exposure techniques on your camera.
← ☀ THÁC TÌNH YÊU (LOVE WATERFALL) ☀ →
Next up down the road was Love Waterfall!
The trail that takes you from the main road to the waterfall is great! It leads you through fields, trees and bushes,. Like the rest of Vietnam, it's all green and fresh! There's nothing better than getting lost in the wilderness!
Like Silver Waterfall, you start to experience it long before you reach the main attraction. The walking trails (there's a lot of them) all wind and bend past a stream that goes up to Love Waterfall!
I arrived here at 2pm ish which was perfect because the sun had just started to head behind the waterfall, this meant that the water was glistening as it fell off the rocks and landed in the pool below!
← ☀ DRIVING AROUND SAPA ☀ →
As I mentioned before, I was driving around the Vietnamese countryside on a hired scooter, which personally I think is the best and ONLY you should get around places like this.
Don't overspend on a private tour guide, taxis, buses or anything else you can think of to take your money!
Be brave, hire a scooter and explore on your own time! The best part of travelling is the freedom, so enjoy it!
Driving yourself around will also allow you to experience new and different things that you would with pre-booked transportation.
On my way between waterfalls I stopped at a little roadside stall owned by a sweet local lady.
She was selling Tea, Boiled Eggs, Meat Satay sticks and Sweet Potatoes! I had a couple of potatoes, some chicken satays and a few cups of tea. They helped me keep warm in the cold Sapa weather, tasted great too!
Just onward from the delicious food was a large opening of rice paddies. I stopped for a few minutes here, watching the farmers, enjoying the weather and taking photos.
My favourite thing about travelling is getting to see new cultures and seeing how local people live in their countries! The women in the rice paddies work so hard.
But as we all know, some roads in South East Asia are notoriously underdeveloped and can be dangerous, especially when the weather turns bad!
2017 has been a horrible year for Vietnam in terms of bad weather. This is the condition of the roads I was driving on throughout Sapa!
Drive Safe!!
Here are some final looks at the town!
As you enter the town from Lao Cai you will drive past a big lake! You can walk or cycle around it and enjoy the views!
There's many great places to do some shopping!
Young girls and boys will offer you bracelets and necklaces, don't be rude to them but remember to NEGOTIATE prices if you want to get something! I bought a couple of bracelets from a girl outside a church who was looking after her brother. I think I paid 10,000VD for 2.
sword anyone?
There's one big road that has plenty of places to get gifts , foods and drinks! They are all really quirky and fun too! Very fun.
I found this amazing BBQ place and YES, that is frog on a stick... it tastes okay!
The food in Vietnam is some of the best in the world! An I'll always try anything once.. Yummy!
If you have made it this far, thank you for following my travels to Sapa, Vietnam! I hope I have inspired some of you to think about going to this great country. It's one of my favouritEs in the world and I will definitely be going back!
Already been here? Where is your favourite place? What was your favourite food?
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Love Joe
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