hanoi

Two Day Trek Through Sapa

Located in northern Vietnam, Sapa is becoming a popular destination among travellers. Known for its terrace rice fields, mountain views and villages, it's a beautiful place to visit. 

Tours are advertised all over Hanoi start at around $45 USD which includes transport, accommodation, food and trekking. If you don't feel like being constricted on a tour, you can easily make your own way there. You can take a sleeper train (around 9 hours) to Lao Cai and then a bus to Sapa (around an hour). However, it might end up costing more than a tour. 

We opted for the two day one night easy trekking tour since it was more convenient which cost us $45 USD. You're given the option of staying at a homestay or hotel. We would've chosen homestay, but it gets pretty cold in Sapa at night (4 degrees) in the winter time. They also don't have heating there, so it didn't seem worth it. You should ask which hotel they book you at, so you know what to expect. 

Day 1

We had a different schedule than the original one, since we needed to be back to catch a flight. So, we were picked up in the morning and dropped off at the bus station. We took a sleeper bus there which takes around five-six hours to get there, depending on road conditions. The sleeper bus itself was quite nice, unlike the one we took to get to Hanoi

Once you get to Sapa, we were bombarded by people asking if you needed to a place to stay, a taxi ride or if we wanted to buy handmade crafts. We noticed that the village people are quite persistent with trying sell you things. They'll also follow you around and ask you questions about yourself. 

A taxi picked us up and dropped us off at our hotel. We stayed at Grand View Hotel, which was not very great. Once you get there, you'll have lunch which is a mix of Vietnamese and Western food, similar to what we ate on our Ha Long Bay tour. You can check in after lunch and get ready for a short trek. 

You'll get pick up by a local guide who will take you down to Cat Cat Village. Just keep in mind that a few village people will tag along on your trek, which can be helpful since they point out things along they way. Just note that when you reach your destination, they'll leave and try to sell you their crafts. Just be persistent with saying no if you're not interested. 

Cat Cat village is really easy to get to. It's just down the winding paved road and it's well-marked. You'll pass by many different shops and a waterfall along with some scenic views. Afterwards, your guide will take you back to your hotel using a different path where you came down. It's mostly uphill on the way back, so remember to pack enough water. 

Once you reach your hotel, you'll have dinner and free time for the rest of the night. 

Day 2

We had an early start since the trek started at 8:30 a.m. We had breakfast and then checked out of our room. Our guide picked up us from the hotel and once again, we had a number of village people follow us on our trek. This trek was much more difficult than the first one but well worth the effort. It takes around three hours to reach Lao Chai Village where you'll stop for lunch, and then another hour to reach the Ta Van Village where a bus will pick you up to take you back to Sapa. 

The trek takes you uphill and downhill, through the rice paddies and valleys. Some parts can get muddy, so waterproof shoes are ideal. Keep in mind that the path can get pretty narrow with steep drops, so be careful at these parts. The village people are quite helpful and will help support you if you don't feel confident at any parts. Otherwise, if you have an average fitness, you should be fine. 

The first two hours of the trek are more difficult, but the last hour isn't too bad since it's mostly level or downhill to Lao Chai Village. Once you reach the village, you'll be bombarded with people trying to sell you things. Lunch will be served at a restaurant, which is mostly vegetarian due to the resources they have at the village. 

After lunch, you'll make you way to Ta Van Village. It's an easy walk and only 2.5 kilometres away. Here, you'll wait for your bus to take you back to the hotel. From the hotel, a bus will take you to the bus station. And then you'll take the sleeper bus back to Hanoi. 

Once you reach Hanoi, you're on your own. You'll need to find your own transportation to your hotel or hostel. 

Notes

  • The sleeper bus drivers are not very considerate of Westerners. We kept overhearing how they wanted to push the Westerners to the back of the bus. Remember that you paid the same price as the locals, if not more. So, you can sit wherever you want. 
  • You'll need a sturdy pair of shoes for the hike. 
  • They sell trekking gear in Sapa, which offers more variety than Hanoi. Although, it can get pricy because they supposedly offer the "real deal."
  • Buy water in Sapa because the villages can charge almost twice the amount. 
  • Grand View Hotel is advertised as a four star hotel, but we didn't really see it as that. There was a crack in our window, so it got cold at night. Luckily, they were able to give us extra blankets. There's no heating in the hotel, so the lobby gets chilly as well. They also offer a heater for $5 usd.
  • Although, it wasn't explicitly noted we decided to tip our young guide $1 usd each.

Happy Trekking! 

A Busing Nightmare: 28 hours from Vientiane to Hanoi

It's story time!

The bus ride wasn't actually that bad, but it was pretty frustrating. It's advertised as a 24-hour long journey on a sleeper bus, which already sounds like a bad idea. Why would anyone want to stay on a bus for an entire day? Well, it's pretty cheap at $30. Flights (from Laos) are about six times that cost and out of our budget. 

Booking the ticket

We booked the ticket from Soukchaleun guesthouse while wandering the streets in Vientiane. If you're in the city centre, there's tons of guesthouses/agencies to look at with prices ranging from 180,000 kip to 240,000 kip including the tuk tuk ride to the South bus station located outside of the city centre. We're actually not quite sure if the pricier ones are better, since we heard that some agencies may just bank the extra cash and book you on a cheaper bus. Almost every guesthouse/agency will offer the VIP experience, but that does not guarantee a comfortable ride nor do the pictures always indicate the bus you will actually board. So, ask around and choose wisely. 

We went for the cheaper one because we figured it was going to be a horrible journey anyways and we were on a budget. 

The Sleeper Bus

At first glance, it's not too terrible. There's an upper and lower bunk with three rows of seats. The seats are made of leather and it reclines pretty far back. The seats have small railings on the side, so you won't fall out as easily. Although, some seats have broken railings and dysfunctional seat belts. Safety first, right? 

If you're tall, you're going to have a bad time because there isn't too much leg room. It's best to grab a seat at the back where you can stretch your legs in the aisle. At 5'2, there was just enough space for my legs with some room to spare. 

Luckily, our bus wasn't full so there were some seats remaining. It was raining most of the bus ride and my window started leaking. I was pretty happy I had the option of switching seats. 

I also found the bus to be a little chilly, so it might be good to bring a sweater or scarf. Note, we went in January, so it might differ in the summer months. Also, we were not offered any blankets.

Crossing the border

The first part of the journey was fine. There's a rest stop a few hours in where you can grab food and use the washroom. After that, the next stop is the border crossing. The bus will usually make it there in the middle of the night and then park there since the office doesn't open until 7 a.m. Around 6:30 a.m., the bus driver and workers will wake you up to head into the office. Once the office opens, you need to hand your passport to the officer, who will stack it up in a pile to stamp all at once - which we thought was strange. 

Once you get your passport back, head across the gate. You'll have to wait there for your bus to get checked before you can get back on to head to the Vietnam border. This whole process took about two hours for us. 

At the Vietnam border, getting stamped in will cost $1 USD. If you don't have USD, you can pay in kip. This process was much easier and only took about half an hour. The bus was checked once again so our luggage was taken off the bus and then reloaded.

Mechanic Stop

We had to make an unexpected stop at a mechanic shop since our bus wasn't functioning properly. Unfortunately, this took about three hours to fix. The only restaurant in town was run by people who only spoke Vietnamese, so ordering was quite difficult. Thankfully, we speak enough Vietnamese that we were able to order something for our group. 

The rest of the bus ride

Given the unexpected delays, the rest of the bus ride was pretty smooth. We didn't make many stops after this, only short pit stops at the side of the road. We made it to Vinh around 3:30 p.m and finally Hanoi around 10:30 p.m. 

This was not a fun journey, but definitely not as bad as we thought. 

We survived the Sleeper Bus to Hanoi!

Good Luck!