Sapa, Vietnam is a cute little mountain town in Northwest Vietnam. To get to Sapa you need to fly into Hanoi and either take an overnight bus or train to La Cai, then another 1 hour bus ride to Sapa.
When we arrived in Sapa it was POURING down raining! It was actually quite refreshing being that we hadn't showered in a day or so throughout all of our plane, train and bus travels. We were now in the mountains of Vietnam, and it was much cooler, thankfully.
One thing to forewarn you about in Sapa, as soon as you step off the bus you will be approached by a mob of local tribal women trying to sell you handbags and jewelry. It is serious. They are polite and most have decent English. They will ask you your name and where you're from. They make small talk asking how long you will be in town, etc. But after a while you realize they've been following you and talking to you for over 30 minutes! If you try to step into a store to lose them, HA, not happening. They will quietly wait outside for you and will latch back on ever so quickly. Even if you go to lunch, they will wait. These were our girls. Mine was Zoe, second from the right.
Our girls followed us around all day until we finally broke down and bought something from them. Then they were on their way! Sheeeesh!!! But it's not over yet, if there is another tribal lady NEAR you when you make your purchase she will latch herself onto you and say "Buy from me BUY FROM MEEEEEE!!!!" I felt so sorry for this lady, below. She had the cutest little baby with her so after 15 minutes of her begging I finally broke down and bought something and then she disappeared.
After a couple of days of being stalked and bothered you had to get more firm with these ladies. We learned if you didn't look at them or respond to them they would pass. We hated to be less than friendly, but they come on STRONG, ALL DAY LONG, and it gets old very fast.
So the real reason we were in Sapa was to volunteer teaching English to orphaned and underprivileged children! We found this opportunity through helpx. A man named Peter started the Sapa Hope Center where he houses, feeds and gives free English lessons to children living in the hills of Sapa. Most of these kids do not go to school or do not have access to schools, so they come here. Some kinds walk for over an hour, alone, to get here. It was such an eye opening experience.
When we arrived in Sapa we stayed at the associated Sapa Backpackers hostel. Our contact Peter was no where to be found when we arrived so we walked around, etc. It was actually nice to finally shower and have a free day to rest up before our first day with the kids.
What we did not realize when we arrived was that the Hope Center was over 5km (3-4 miles) away from where we were staying. When we finally found Peter he said that some people walk it (ummmm) but others rent motor bikes. Getting to the Hope Center was a big issue because we were not prepared to walk 4 miles each way for a 1 hour lesson, and we are inexperienced motorbike drivers. Ok so taxis were our last option....
The first two days we volunteered we grabbed taxis, thankfully. It took us about our 5th or 6th taxi driver to finally take us because they either didn't want to take us, or claimed they didn't know where the center was. We later realized they price gouged us, which was not cool. We informed Peter but unfortunately he did not help us coordinate or arrange travel for the additional days. When you have quit your job and decided to backpack overseas, and are staying in places that are $3 a night, paying for unexpected transportation that is over $5 a day starts to eat into your budget. I know most of my family and friends back home are reading this and are probably thinking, "Elizabeth, five dollars!" If we would have known going into this about the location disparity we could have planned appropriately. Hailing cabs to/from was tough, especially with the language barrier. It was actually sad to see that locals were completely taking advantage of tourists. You would think they want people to come back, right? It seemed that most taxis would rather lay in their cars and nap than take us 4 miles down the road and back. Frustrating!
We did make it work the first two days. We talked our way into a cab and back, overpaid, but we were able to teach the children. It was such a wonderful experience, teaching that is!
I will never forget seeing the "whites" in these kids' eyes when they were looking back at my whiteboard trying to spell certain colors I had written out for them to practice. They were eager and excited to learn. These kids did not have to be here but they were. They were kind, curious and genuine.
Our third day we actually went to the grocery store to buy prizes for kids. We were researching lesson plans and wanted to make the biggest impact we could on these children with the little time that we had. Unfortunately day three we were unable to get a taxi because they either were charging us extremely ridiculous rates or did not know where the center was. Such a shame. We attempted to start walking the 3-4 miles but we realized by the time we got there it would be too late, and we would have to turn back around. The two days we volunteered were amazing and we wish we could have helped more. Oh well. :(
I know the Sapa Hope Center is new and unable to arrange transport at this time. Just FYI for any future volunteers interested in helping. Be either experienced or eager to ride a motor bike in crazy traffic, or be prepared to pay a taxi twice your hotel bill each day to get to the center. Sapa Backpackers offers you a bed for $3 a night if you are volunteering. A taxi to and from the center each day will cost you about $6 a day.
Since teaching was done with we had the rest of our time to relax. Each morning we would wake up and go eat breakfast. Vietnamese coffee is so amazing!!!!!!! I don't know what it is about it, whether it's the actual coffee beans, the way they brew it, I'm not sure. Or it could be the carnation condensed milk they use, but the taste is exceptional. Better than Starbucks!!
We enjoyed our coffee and breakfast each morning and then we were off to explore. We spent most of our free days finding a nice viewpoint to sit at where we could read, write and relax.
A lot of times when you travel you are so busy packing in excursions and sightseeing trips you never get a chance to really relax and enjoy your surroundings. But not us - we had a few days of complete relaxation. :)
Their version of a banana split:
Sapa, Vietnam is a cute little town. It is away from the bustling streets of Hanoi, tucked away in cool deep mountains. If you're in Vietnam and you're looking for hiking, trekking, or just to visit a place to check out with amazing views, I highly recommend Sapa. Just be prepared to be pestered, a little. :)
