Day 5

13 dec 2012

Mr G, my mascot, represented me at Mr Ham Rong.

 It took 10 hours of sleep for the fever to be completely gone. But to be on the safe side, I opted to recuperate in the hotel  and ordered a late check out at 5pm ( $20 extra ), where the plan was to sleep with AXN programs running  in the background.

The other two intrepid  photographers decided to go 'trekking' on the 'tourist mountain', Mt Ham Rong, with Mr G ( my mascot ) instead of me. While hubby worried about me being alone in the hotel room, I was more worried that they would be forgetful and leave Mr G on the mountain. When the fog lifted mid morning, I shooed everyone out for my much needed 'curative' sleep, not after shouting after them  " DON'T FORGET MR G !" 

According to the intrepid photographers, this climb made yesterdays Ta Vin trek small change!

Mr G poses before the zodiac. Mickey Mouse represented the mouse.

Moss covered mountain made lush because of the fog.

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Cau May St sparkles in the sun below.

This looks like a scene taken from sci fi show.

Endless steps in Mt Ham Rong is not exactly for the weak.

Mr G conttemplates with Sapa at his feet.

Just as they set off from the base of the mountain located at the hotel's doorstep, I decided to delay the lie-in . I made my way to Cau May via a short cut - via the flight of steps outside the hotel. I have yet to do the touristy thing in purchasing a souvenir. I had in mind a handcrafted ( by Hmong ) hung up runner but the price at the craft store was prohibitive, ranging from $16-$18 . But just off the road where the local market was, in a quiet 'handicraft' corner where a woman was sewing, I made my  purchase of a similar item . Ah well! I knew it could have been lesser had I persisted but I was on holiday and was not prepared to work myself out bargaining. Infact, the successful transaction made the fever subsided.

The trepid companions returned from their father-daughter bonding session at Mt Ham Rong many hours later. It was a wise decision that they hiked without me. Girlgirl was full of stories - mainly about the tourists who invaded the mountain in droves for the purpose of group photos only,  the steep and endless climb and stone sculptures in cartoon characters masquerading as animals of the zodiac. Despite it being a hill rather than a mountain, both hubby and girlgirl managed to capture lots of Canon moments. Not to make me feel left out from their invigorating hike, they even video taped  the fog which 'ate up' everything before drifting away as fast as it came.

Parting shots off Cau May

2 Hmong women posing for hubby.

We had lunch at Little Sapa and because the proprietors recognized us from our previous visit, rendered  friendly service. A big group of Australian students and their teachers were already lunching there which made the quiet restaurant very lively.

Banana flowers were used for decoration outside restaurants.

People watching at the corner French bakery

I have yet to sample quality cakes in Sapa but the atmosphere more than make up for it.

Sapa coffee has a distinct flavor, not unlike Japanese Sencha

Apart from the town people , I feel that tribal women fuel the economy here.

A pretty lass in black Hmong dress.  Most Hmong guides speak excellent English.

Sapa is a town undergoing much construction.

Down Cau May, we had our last coffee break. The view from the top floor was great but I would not say the same for the cakes served.

Sapa market place, where Hmong and local do their marketing.

Unlike the people in Hanoi, Sapa streets are not cluttered with litter. The Hanoians should take a leaf out of Sapa's book.

A last walk around the market place. Here a market snack stall, manned by Hmong woman.

Lao Cai station,at 6 pm in December.

Lots of eating place at Lao Cai station.

At 5 pm, we bade goodbye to Sapa and hopped on the van bound for Lau Cai, $4 per person for a one way ride down, arranged by the hotel. Together with guests from the same hotel, we made the one hour ride down in the sunset.

Our train ( Livitrans SP8 ) departure was scheduled at 8 pm, which gave us some time to wonder around the train station. It was when we discovered that had we been locals, the ticket to Hanoi would have cost us a mere fraction of the price paid. We were in a magnanimous mood though, because we know the country needed the extra tourist dollar to get back to its feet. Still , I could not help but harbor a tinge of unhappiness knowing that I did not get the best deal.

The sleeper train departed on the dot. This would probably be our last train ride in Vietnam for a while, so many photos were taken from the station all the way to the sleeper cabin. Then it was a 'luxury' ride all the way south to Hanoi.