22nd December - Sapa VIETNAM

Sapa - Vietnam   22nd December 2014

Last night, we left Hanoi temporarily to  Lao Cai and then on to Sapa which is in the far north of the country on the Chinese border. In theory this train journey sounded OK but the reality was a little different. 
We got to the station after an afternoon "day use" hotel to freshen up and chill out.  Mandy was still recovering gently from the "Galloping Knob Rots" and Steve and Janette had decided to walk around the old town to find an extra luggage bag and duly got lost.
Paul and Mandy had got drinks and stuff for the train trip which was an overnight sleeper to the far north.
So this was our experience of Vietnamese train travel, carrying all of our stuff across the tracks and and then into our sleeper compartment.
This train was built by the french on the 1920s and in that time seems only to have had a picture of Ho Chi Minh added and toilet in all that time so the 1" thick foam mattress and the sound from a train carriage that seemed like it had three hundred wheels on it resulted in not much sleep except for Mandy who seemed to have slept though all the stops and the public service announcements.  Paul and Steve had both fared badly and both red-eye !!
So at 6.15am we rolled into town in the dark and met by our new guide and driver but we were exhausted and desperate for a shower or sleep.  We had 2 hours before we were on the move again working through this tricky couple of days.
All we can say is thank god we had the deluxe sleeper cabin !!

Communist party members very much in control

Little nipper - playing.  Just liked the picture!!
Thats a 20m drop on his right.

The Truang Son mountain range of the north of Vietnam homes about 54 different tribes but in Sapa they are mainly Vient Muonhg, Mon Khmer and Tay-Thau. These seem to us only to be different but the different coloured head scarves that they wore.

As recently as 2011, the Vietnamese government attacked many hundreds of these people for gathering to protest about the illegal confiscation of their land by a country that restricts religious freedom totally.

Now it is very cold. Mandy had to buy a hat and boots as the temperature is only about 7 degrees dropping to 3 degrees at night. 

Down Town Sapa - a fascinating Tribal place that was once a french hill station and now a big trekking location

Rolling mists cover the peaks on our first visit. Temperature about 3 degrees

The Chinese taught the Vietnamese how to "terrace" and develop hill side farms.  Now you can see these world famous terraces every where including almost every travel magazine.

Hill side farm houses

Local Muong Girl going to school

                                                             

We were honoured to be invited into the local school to see the Vietnamese children learning their own language which for us, seemed impossible.

  

Never far away from a regional office of the communist party.  They are in every town and appear not to be short of funding from the communist neighbour.

 The rice terraces of Sapa

Opium is everywhere in this part of the world and this is why the lands are heavily policed or fought over in history.   Opium in alcohol - locals drink but will probably send you blind !!.  Suffice to say, none of us drank this stuff

Tomorrow we are off to a local market and Chinese border before we return to Hanoi and our journey to the boat on Halong Bay for our Christmas eve celebrations.