Today we had an early start to catch our first sleeping bus to Sapa to go trekking. We had a small breakfast of mango and dragonfruit before heading downstairs to wait for our bus at 6.40 am. We were told the bus would pick us up between 6.45 and 7 am so we were concerned when by 7.15 am we still hadn’t been picked up. Kyle got in touch with our tour agency and eventually they replied and we had a taxi pick us up at 7.45 am. This drove us to the bus station, where we were piled into a van. At this point we were very confused as this was completely different to the hotel bus pick up we had paid for! The van then drove us to wait for the bus at a different location. Finally we started to head at of Hanoi at around 9.30 am, 2.5 hours late.
The bus had around 36 seats that could recline to a comfortable sleeping position. They were arranged as double bunk beds in 3 rows. A blanket was also provided.
We had one rest stop on the bus ride. This was around midday so we assumed it was the lunch break since none of the bus staff could speak English. We ordered some fries to eat and parked up for a snack. After seeing a lot of our fellow passengers getting back on board the bus we wondered if maybe instead it was just a toilet stop. Kyle walked over to the bus to see how much time we had left and was told 10 minutes. Less than 5 minutes later the horn started honking and it was a mad rush to get our fries into a takeaway bag and get back on board!
When we arrived in Lao Cai, a town around 1 hour from Sapa, we had to get off the bus and into a mini van to travel the last part of the journey. The van dropped us at the companys main bus station in Sapa, a 20 walk from the hostel. At this point we were pretty wound up. We had arrived 2.5 hours late after changing vehicle three times and now had to walk to the hotel, when we were told we would have one bus from pickup at the hotel in Hanoi to drop off at the hotel in Sapa. What the hell! Luckily Sapa is a beautiful, scenic town, so the walk was relaxing and helped to calm us down.
When we arrived at the Queen Mountain House hotel we were relieved to have a smooth check-in and find ourselves in a large tidy room. The bathroom was the nicest we’d had in ages, the shower was enclosed so no wet toilet, wooo!!!
For dinner we decided to head to a restaurant across the town called “Good Morning View” as it was highly rated on trip advisor. The walk ended up taking a while as there was so much to see on the way! Sapa is very touristy and has been largely built around that, but the town has a lot of character. The colourful houses framed by the lake and mountains provide a stunning sight, and the streets are lined with local villagers in traditional clothing selling hand crafted goods.
Eventually we made it on to the right street. We checked out some menus along the way to the target restaurant to get a feel for the local food offerings and prices. When we got to “Good Morning View” we felt trolled, as the only view from the restaurant was a construction site! The prices were also on the higher side. We quickly decided that the menu at “Good Morning Sapa” was more inviting and we would head there instead. This restaurant was also highly rated online, however had only a few reviews as it hasn’t been open long.
It turned out to be a great decision as the food was OUTSTANDING! For 260,000VND ($17) we had the fresh vegetable spring rolls, bun cha (pork, pork spring rolls, salad, noodles and a bowl of sauce), set 1 (a beer, pumpkin soup, salad, vegetable curry and fruit) and a second beer. We ate way too much but weren’t even bothered because it was so tasty. Even the pumpkin soup was delicious, it might just be one of the best I’ve ever had.
We then slowly wandered back to the hotel and came across very cute children dressed in their traditional tribe clothing who hassled us to buy their stuff.
Kyley on Tour 