Sa Pa, Vietnam_Day 1: Stairway to Heaven (Trekking through the mountains, villages, happy water, and home stay)

Lily’s Travel Agency was suggested by several teaching volunteers and CSDS for the cheapest most comprehensive trip. In my experience, thus far, their customer is impeccable, and they were in constant communication through WhatsApp making sure my trip to Sa Pa was free of any challenges. The agency charged $75.00 USD for 3 days 2 nights in a home stay with local villagers. This also included meals, all you can drink happy water, transportation on a sleeper bus to and from Sa Pa, personal guide on the extended hike, and they even paid for our taxi ride to and from our volunteer house.

After a six hour overnight bus trip from Hanoi on a sleeper bus, I arrived in Sa Pa. My guide, Moo, met me in the bus station and was dressed in traditional Hmong village attire. She escorted me to a local restaurant where I was treated to egg coffee and pancakes drizzled with honey and chocolate. 

My first impressions of Sa Pa were the city and surrounding environment literally bombards your senses from the open meat market, backpackers roaming the streets, Chinese tourists milled about, traditional Hmong villagers selling locally sourced trinkets, throngs of motor scooters zipping past, thriving coffee shops, restaurants and living quarters tightly packed together all surrounded by the lush fog draped mountains looming overhead. The weather was near perfection; a balmy 75 degrees with cool wind and ample cloud cover. A far cry from the extreme humidity of Hanoi.

Once I finished breakfast, Moo led our group up a near vertical hike from the village into the mountains. I had no expectations, and I soon realized this was not going to be any order hiking trip. The odors of fauna, jungle and fresh air coalesced together forming a sweet lingering aroma which seemed to energize my weary legs and burning lungs as we ascended the mountain. We weaved through the mountains, moved through vast cornfields, pushed past thick jungle flora, and traversed barely visible footpaths snaking through the forest. Children moved about freely; sometimes they were running and playing, other times guiding water buffalo.

There were several moments when Moo asked our group if we wanted to take the “easy” or “hard” path. My advice, if the guide says hard or easy path say “hard” because the effort is worth the rewards: views of untouched jungle and mountains, the time to reflect while exerting maximum physical and mental effort to meet the steep uphill climbs and downhill descents, and moments with Mother Nature you will never forget. At times I felt as if I melted into the environment, and Moo was an expert at at knowing when to stop to rest, drink water, and take in the sights from specific vantage points.

 

During the hike, goats, chickens, dogs, pigs, and ducks scampered underfoot while valleys and gorges cut through the face of mountains exposing natural cave formations. We walked through small homesteads with bamboo fencing marking unknown boundary lines, farm fields undulated along the natural curvatures of the hillside with farmers passing through undetected except for their conical hats bobbing up and down amongst the mature hemp fields and cornstalks. Trails continued to emerge from the underbrush moving back and forth like a wandering animal. Clouds and fog slid around the peaks revealing their secrets of depth and beauty beyond comprehension. The magnitude of the moment watching nature play hide and seek was the ultimate game of games. Terraced rice fields draped in their emerald green glory not ready to be picked until September stretched as far as the eye could see and seemed, from my first impressions, to be etched into every hillside.

The paths were varying in composition: loose rock strewn trails, black Steaming cow poop the size of bowling balls provided comedic relief when shoes sank ankle deep into them, paths eroded from time and the elements, soft clay laid smooth by the ultra moist conditions, jagged boulders jutting from the earth, waterfall crashing down the hillsides, and cascading rivers made for an arduous downhill and uphill trek over the various mountains. 

The stairway to heaven revealed itself when we stopped for lunch at a small restaurant/village house in the middle of the jungle. The stairway, I affectionately refer to as “The Stairway to Heaven”, ascended at a steep angle from the hillside and provided a harrowing look over the thousand foot drop to the valley below: no guard rails, no safety net, no one telling me to be careful, just me, myself and I trying not to look down at certain death.

About three hours into the trek, my brain realized this was going to be an adventure beyond words or pictures. Sa Pa was not for the faint of heart. I have experienced backpacking and this experience would be at the top of the list for difficulty level. In addition, to the hiking, we were treated to observing how they dyed fabrics using various plants found in the jungle, the process of making traditional clothing utilizing hand made tools, and the way village customs intertwined with religious beliefs and sustaining their way of life.

Hours later, we arrived to Moo’s village, Hao Thao. It is nestled in the mountainside with panoramic views of corn fields, rice fields, hillsides draped in a myriad a varying bushes trees and fields, and towering mountain peaks rising into the clear blue sky. At one point a person in our group likened the experience to walking through a screensaver. The home stays, like the one we were staying, are scattered intermittently throughout each village and are a viable source of income for the villagers. They cater to those intrepid explorers who are seeking a challenging, very personal experience with themselves, others, and villagers who reside in the area. Our home stay was a two-story wood building with seven single rooms on the first floor and seven single rooms on the second floor. Each floor had a large common area where we ate our meals, drank, and socialized. Outside there were hammocks to lounge about in and three toilets which also had running hot water to take showers.

For dinner we had a multiple course meal consisting of rice, pan fried vegetables, tofu in a tomato broth, vegetable spring rolls and several meat dishes. The highlight of the night, was participating in the consumption of Happy Water. It is a locally home brewed rice based alcohol beverage which is concocted in all the villages throughout the Sa Pa mountains. The taste is unlike any alcohol I have consumed. There is a hint of bourbon, mixed with an aftertaste of smoke, and the kick of vodka. I had 10 shots only because once my glass was empty, Momma May, the proprietor of the home stay merrily sang, danced, and immediately would refill our cups. When asked, the locals didn’t know the alcohol content level, but I would put it a step above wine, and slightly less than whiskey.  Whatever the alcohol content, it did cause me to feel “Happy” by the end of the night!

Day 1 Distance Covered: Over 13 miles

Reflection: Sa Pa is a wonder to behold. It lulls your senses into a belief that the world is as it should be; at peace and able to sustain life by working with nature. There were no boundary lines, only possibilities. Each path known or unknown was a tantalizing experience with sights unimagined and mine for the taking. The images are a microcosm of Sa Pa’s inherent beauty which engaged all five senses and propelled each explorer into the present moment. There was no time to think about the past or ruminate on the future. Each turn in the path, each moment, each sound, each smell, each village was a unique opportunity as if the fingerprint of the almighty was imprinted on the moment.