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Most
travellers visit Sapa will go
trekking to Lao Chai and Ta
Van villages, located in Muong Hoa valley,
Lao Chai village
is inhabited by Black Hmong people, there are about 100
families live in the village, the houses are built by wood
on the hill side, in the middle of the rice terraces.
Trekking to Lao Chai is a very popular activity in all
Sapa
tours, the vilage beauty is just incredible, the village
lies along Muong Hoa river, there are some simply built
suspension bridges across the river, sometimes in rainy
season water level the river water overflows the bridges and
people have to use boats to cross the river
Black Hmong people in Sapa are very friendly, tourists going
to Lao Chai are invited to their homes, drink corn wine and
listen to their traditional music, the number of foreign
travellers to Sapa in recent years has changed the face of
the village, little children prefer to go to town selling
souvenirs to tourists,
Tho Cam clothes, or brocade made by
hand is favourite with tourists, Hmong people wear Tho Cam
all the time, they never wash their clothes, once in a week
on sunny days they hang clothes out for drying
Sapa trekking is a must for most travellers, and walking
with a local guide in the buffalo paths, among the rice
fields is really an unforgettable experience, usually
travellers will start the Sapa trek from town, it takes
about 4-5 hours walk down the valley to reach Lao Chai
village, stop on the way to have lunch and keep walking to
Ta Van village, inhabited by Dzay people. Of all
ethnic
minority groups in Sapa, Dzay people is one of the most
civilized, though they still keep some traditions of hill
trible people, they only wear traditional clothes on special
days, although they live in wooden houses facilities are
well supplied, Sapa homestay tours are mostly based in Ta
Van village, trekkers spend the night with families, have
dinner with friendly hosts, listen stories about local
people, their customs and traditions, many young foreigners
fell in love with local girls and stayed and settle their
lives in the village
Sapa tours are usually organized in 3 to 4 days, with 2
nights on train,
Sapa trains start from Hanoi, travellers
book their train tickets to Sapa from travel agents or tour
companies, spending the night on train, there are some train
companies offering online booking tickets for travellers to
Sapa, most people book Sapa train tickets in Deluxe cabins,
or first class with 4 soft sleepers, the cabins are simple
but clean and comfortable, it takes 10-12 hours from Hanoi
to Lao Cai, and then takes 1 hour by car from Lao Cai train
station to Sapa. |
