- Ticket price does not include
meals
Sapa
Sapa is the most popular place
to go in the Far Northwest
amongst budget travelers and
packages tourists alike. By
using Sapa as a
base
you can hike off to more remote
‘traditional’ hill tribe
villages and sometimes you will
be offered a bed in a village
for the night. Sapa was
originally built as a hill
station in the early part of
this century and, in winter,
gets bitterly cold. If you are
going to be visiting Sapa in
winter do not forget the winter
woollies.
Sapa is preparing itself for the
continuing tourist boom
considerably well. Behind Sapa,
towards Phong Tho is a high pass
forming part of the Hoang Lien
Mountains that were known to the
French as the Tonkinese Alps.
This range includes Fansipan,
the highest mountain in Vietnam
at 3,143m, which view at dawn
could be spectacular.
There is a weekend market in
Sapa during which the town fills
up with hilltribe people selling
their wares. If you want to see
these tribes as they
"traditionally" live (as opposed
to flogging jackets to
tourists), either go for a hike
or head over to Dien Bien Phu
from Sapa. This stretch has the
most traditional people you will
see in the whole of Vietnam. It
seems that most tourist groups
pile into Sapa during the
weekend for the market. However,
travelers have reported that
during the week is a much better
time to catch a glimpse of the
real Sapa avoiding from a big
hassle of tourists.
You can hike in the surrounding
area and visit a number of
fairly traditional predominantly
Mong hilltribe villages. Further
afield is the colourful Red Zao,
Dzay, Tay and Xa Pho people. A
home stay in the Tay village
would be unforgettable
experience
Like
the other Sapa tourist train, Pumpkin
Express Train is not a separate train,
it offers soft sleepers, A/C and clean
four-berth cabins. Bread & small bottle
of water are supplied in every one for
free
