Tag terraced fields
We had hoped to do a bit of trekking today but when we woke up it was really foggy. Thinking it might clear up later in the day we headed up to Sapa town and the market which was supposed to be good. The owner of our homestay told us the market used to be in a different place but it’s recently been moved to a big concrete building. Apparently the rent is too high because the place was rather empty. The vendors were basically selling the same kind of things, some had dried fruits and herbs, some had outdoors … Read the rest
I’m looking out over the valley below and the mountains rising up on the other side. The slopes are all covered with terraced fields making them look like the sides of giant stepped pyramids. It’s late in the year now, the rice has been harvested and the paddies lie barren and empty, just the prickly stalks sticking up from the mud. The mist lies like a thick blanket over everything and two days of drizzle has made things all damp and soggy. Standing here I imagine how it would look earlier in the year, just before harvest, the golden yellow … Read the rest
There is a highway connecting Hanoi with Lao Cai, the city closest to Sapa, which could get us there in about five hours. I knew we couldn’t get on the highway with the motorbike but looking at Google maps I saw a normal road that looked to be more or less next to it. I figured with a few stops along the way we could get there in maybe six or seven hours; a long ride but not impossible.
It was quite chaotic getting out of Hanoi but eventually we made it without too much trouble. Out on the main … Read the rest