Star of the North

I spent the last three days in Sapa, a small city located in the mountains next to the border with China. The country of the rising sun is only few kilometers away: hence I will not go any further north during my trip. Sapa was built by the French in 1922 as a place to relax and flee from the heat of the Vietnamese coast. And I have to say that there is indeed such thing as 'french flair' (by the way, watched the game yesterday at 2.00 in the morning - hurrah) - as what you can see from here is really true scenery.

A typical Sapa landscape with rice paddies

The region of Sapa is populated by many different hill tribes, who lived independently from the rest of the country for long. They live from rice (loads, loads, loads), sugarcane (I tried:excellent to chew), beefs, marijuana (not to smoke it: to make cloth - see hmong clothing in group picture below), fruits, and...tourism.

The peaceful life of these tribes has gradually changed over time, mainly due to the emergence of massive trekking tours for tourists and the intrusion of the Vietnamese government. Schools - the sole modern building in each city, and the sole place where you can see a Vietnamese flag - are now mandatory, and natives are taught Vietnamese, history and mathematics.

The entry of a Hmong village: the big building with red roof is a school

Despite this, there is still some form of community life. Natives do not use money or currency between then; rather, life is ruled in a collective way (you build my house; I build yours); and farming only serves for domestic consumption.

All in all, Sapa is a fantastic place to go trekking, but also relax and reflect about the wonders of life. Whilst my first day was awful in terms of weather due to the typhoons (I got a 2$ haircut on that day), the last two were much better, and today I even enjoyed the sun.

Group picture with the Hmong guide and a friendly catalan couple

Tonight I am heading back to Hanoi by night train - first trip was awful, you're waken up at 5.00 by Vietnamese music!! I will then head off to Halong Bay, where apparently the weather is now decent following the end of the typhoon.

Advice to travelers: when arriving in Sapa, head to the Mountain view hotel - great rooms (6-10$ for the cheapest), great staff, great guides. All agencies offer similar tours: expect 10$ for a day trip all inclusive. There are loads of tourists everywhere, which is a pain. If you want to avoid them you need to do longer treks (3-4 days), but these does not run if the weather is bad (as in my case). Lastly, try the Green Sapa restaurant, the 70 years old owner likes to play chess around a glass of weird Vietnamese liqueur.