Sapa is a stunning beauty even when one has not got off the 3-hour bus for Hanoi to Sapa which slowly and laboriously struggles to climb up the high way spiraling one of the mountains hugging the valley, offering an aloft view of a misty Sapa. The valley seems to play hide-and-seek with the coach from afar. The city suddenly appears and evaporates from view, veiled by the thick layer of fog and the long and irregular mountain range.
From here onwards, one loses the actual sense of seasons. At low attitude, the air is cool, fresh and clear, giving visitors a feeling of an early monsoon spring when nature is lovely, green, noisy like a young bird at the first time being allowed to fly off its mother’s care. Going higher, temperature drops drastically to less than 10C where mist engulfs everything. White. Chilly. Soft to the touch. It is like cotton from thousands of pillows scattered everywhere around. That is when one is bewildered by the early typical northern Vietnam winter coming unnoticeably with freezing atmosphere and a silent beauty of nature.
Sapa’s charm not only lies in the scenery and unexpected weather but it is also hidden in its people. They are tribe men and women whose farming traditions and unique life styles fascinate every visitor. The women wore exquisite head dresses in the tradition of their individual tribes. The Hmong young men were dashing in embroidered caps and sashes with large, bone handled knives in the waistband. The children were stunning in their miniature versions of the traditional outfits. They live in thatched houses that are raised above the ground by pilings scarred by criss-crossing ruts which form a network under the house. There are a verandah and a wooden staircase outside each household. Each only possesses one single compartment with one corner as the cooking area. Families often gather in the middle of the house to have meals and discuss important issues.
Life is quiet, regular but full of colors. There are dancing festivals which at least hundreds of tourists are found there, holding each other’s hand, singing songs praising the rice god, joining the locals in each dance, mingling with each rhythm. There are also harvesting festivals followed by celebration and offering to the Sun.
Food culture is also something unique about this remote valley far away from the dusty hustle of city life which can be found nowhere in Vietnam. Plain dishes are served with local fish salt and decorated by colorful vegetables picked up in the wood. Supply of rice comes from local harvests. White. Steamy. One cannot help but be mesmerized by the special aroma drifting across the room from a bowl of cooked rice. It is definitely enjoyable to sit down with a local family, be taught the right way to eat the food and then let each bit of fragrant rice melt on the tip of your tongue. The nutty, sweet taste seems to dissolve throughout and impregnate the mouth.
There are many reasons that make Sapa an exceptional place of attraction. So what about sparing it a visit and discovering the world of yourself?
