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We would
like to provide some useful information to passengers
planning a memorable trip to Sapa
Best time to
visit Sapa
is from September to November or
March to May, this time is pretty, sunny in the day time and
cool at night.
 In April - May, Sapa is in full blossoming and green fields,
the best time to see terraced paddy fields is the end of
August and September, visitors can also go to Sapa after
Lunar New Year (after February) to see Sapa peach flowers.
In wintertime, from December to February it is very cold in
Sapa, especially at night, however in return you will see
the beautiful sunrise in the valley in the early morning.
Especially in recent years there were snow sometimes, If you
come here on this occasion you will definitely be seeing
quite a romantic scene.
However, so that at this point, Sapa is crowded with
tourists, so if you do not like noisy, crowded places, then
you should not travel Sapa at this time.
Prepare your luggage
If you travel frequently, choose small suitcases with good
quality, make sure your bag is big enough to put your
clothes and small enough to put in the storage trunk, bring
your clothes and personal belongings for 2 to 5 days . Going
to Sapa, you should bring a brown or black shoes, as it is
pretty cold in the evening you need to bring a light jacket
if you visit Sapa in summer, you should also bring scarves,
gloves, woolen hat to keep warm if you visit Sapa in winter.
You need to have some small bottles of water, or you can buy
on the way, you are recommended to bring umbrella and
ponchos just in case it rains.
Transportation in Sapa:
From Hanoi to Sapa by train you can go with soft seat,
ticket prices 200.000 VND (approx 10 usd) or you can choose
to travel in soft sleeper cabins 40 usd, you can also keep
the cost down by travel on cargo train which departs from
Hanoi late in the evening
All Sapa trains arrive in Lao Cai station about 5.30 - 6.00 in
the morning, you can catch a public bus (available outside
the train station) at 3 usd/person. You can also arrange a
taxi easily at 25-30 usd for a 1 hour trip from
Lao Cai to
Sapa (32 km). In Sapa you can hire a motorbike at 5-7 usd/day
with petrol or 3-4 usd without petrol and travel to wherever
you like.
Tourist sites in Sapa:
First of all you should ask to buy
travel map of Sapa (in
the office or at the ticket counter at the foot of Ham Rong
mountain ) so that you can determine the specific route and
schedule .
- Ham Rong, Silver waterfall, Rattan Bridge,
Cat Cat
village, Ta Van, Ta Phin villages,
ancient rock fields
-
Fansipan - The roof of Indochina.
- Bac Ha Market, cross the border into China Hekou
Eating and drinking in Sapa
Price of food in Sapa is not expensive but you should not
ask the price before you eat . When the night falls you can
take a walk out to try Shanlung wine and barbecue. There are
many strange barbecues such as baked eggs, grilled chicken,
roasted purple potatoes, eggs, grilled duck eggs, sticky
rice cooked in the bamboo pipes.
Being a cold area, Specialities in Sapa is vegetables such
as cauliflowers, broccoli, carrots, chayote ... The most
special vegetable in Sapa is Ngong, which is part of the
body with flowers. There are many types of Ngong like
garlic, kohlrabi, chayote geese ... sauteed with garlic or
meat. In addition, tourists say that Chayote is best boiled
in Sapa.
Sapa is a mountainous district but has ... fish specialties.
Fish caught in the river is as big as 2 fingers, biggest
ones are just same size as a child's arm, the fish is
wonderfully served with beer. Salmon and sturgeon, 2 cold
water fishes in the country so far has only been adopted in
Sa Pa . This two cold-water fish farmed in Sapa has strong
taste, not fat.
If you
visit Bac Ha market, you should taste the famous Khau
Nhuc - sliced pork bacon in large bowl to cover up for their
vegetables, pickles and steamed herbs. Simacai market is
famous for
Thang Co, a kind of mixed meat, skin and bones of
animals such as the horse, cow, goat.
Shopping in Sapa
You should not buy drugs or Linh Chi mushroom on the
roadside or Tam That along the way up to
Ham Rong mountain,
most of them are bought from Chine, they are expensive and
not as good as advertising, counterfeit silver wares sold by
peddlers are not recommended.
You can buy souvenirs at the night market at the foot of the
church however remember to bargain carefully, and most of
the colourful brocade are made in China.
Water, beer, cigarettes are more expensive in Sapa. So you
can use the local beer, the price and the taste is
acceptable. |
