Sapa is the City of Hotels in the Mountains. There are over 300 of them in a city with a population of under 9k residents. They are in the midst of expansion and upgrades everywhere.
After getting off the train at around 5:30 AM, we were immediately hustled by a person who we assumed was a train conductor or employee, to a taxi (minivan) for the 1-hour drive up the mountains to Sapa. On finding out he was merely a taxi manager, we looked at each other and said with our internal voices, "here we go again". We asked the price and after some comparison, we relented and accepted the offer of our own taxi. As luck will have it, we were required to pay the taxi fair upfront...that's when Prov realized his wallet was missing. The Taxi manager was very helpful and raced back with Prov to train car #7, cabin 1, and there Prov found his wallet under the sheets of the bunk he occupied...relief and excitement...back to the taxi. Thank goodness for prepay!
As the morning grey gave way to the morning sun, we experienced the most wonderful mountain scenery of rice paddies and vegetable gardens, hillside villages and well-kept roads. The mountain peaks are breathtaking. Then through the lifting mist in the cool morning air, Sapa appears. We smile and for a moment we breathe the green of country versus city
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| View from our hotel on the mountainside of Sapa |
Next up: The people of Sapa...
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