Explore Vietnam: Sapa- Challenging for Mountainous Trekking

Sapa- challenging for mountainous trekking

All I knew before traveling to Sapa is that it is voted to be the best trekking spot in Vietnam, by both natives and foreigners. The whole district is dominated by The Hoang Lien Son mountain range, which also includes Mt. Fan Si Pan- the highest peak in Vietnam and the entire Indochina peninsula with the height of 3143m. This mount is not only a tough challenge to trekking enthusiasts but also an opportunity to witness the splendid mountainous vista.

My traveling crew in Vietnam: both of the guys are my Egyptian friends and the girls are our amazing tour guides

That is why, in December 2016, when I was visiting my Egyptian friend, who lives and works in Hanoi, we decided to travel to Sapa and finally do the trekking and see the beauty.
We took the bus from Hanoi to #Sapa: very comfortable six hour trip over the night in a night sleeping bus and early morning we arrived to the town.
We met our tour guide and she brought along her friends because they both want to practice their English.
After early breakfast, we finally went to hike the trekking.
Because of the weather and the time of the year, it was not all green and super mind-blowing, but still very beautiful and I was honestly happy.

My happy and very satisfied face

Along the way, we met so many locals, who are trying to help you to find your way or answer any questions, that foreigners might have. I did learn about Vietnam, for example, that:

• They also have a “love market” festival that is observed to commemorate a tragic forbidden love story, and to give modern day ex-lovers a chance to meet on neutral territory.
• The Forbidden Purple City is a walled fortress and palace in Hue that was only accessible to the royal family and their eunuch servants.
• LGBT rights are getting more progressive, with a recent uplifting of the ban on same-sex marriage.

I wish I spent there not just full day, but couple of days, because the town is very nice and has a nice park for a jogging and a lot of great restaurants (especially if you like the local food)

The lake where you can see the perfect reflection

Overall I believe it was a very nice road trip with my lovely Egyptian friends.
I hope to come back to Vietnam one day, as some of my friends want to do the bike trips.

Thanks for reading and being with me,

Elvira