Too excited to sleep, I stayed up wondering how our first travel adventure in Vietnam would be? Would everything be open as it was the TET holidays on the 5th of February 2019, or should I say Vietnamese Lunar New Year?  I managed to drift off for a few hours before my alarm woke me up.  A work colleague organised a private car to take us to the Green Bus pick up point in Hanoi. We booked a sleeping bus, whatever that meant, but it sounded good!

Well, it turns out our sleeping bus was more than I expected. When you enter the bus, the staff provided a plastic bag to store your shoes.  With your shoes off, the staff usher you to your seat.  The sleeping bus has three columns of double-decked beds.  The children were ecstatic, the first-time adventure on a sleeping bus, never seen one before.  If you have long legs, it does feel a bit cramped, especially trying to get into the top deck bed.  Thankfully we were all seated on the lower level and settled down for the 6-hour drive to SaPa.  I do like a road trip, taking in all the scenery as you drive by.  The road was a bit hairy after it left the motorway and the bus snaked around numerous tight bends sometimes taking up the entire road to make the turns.  But oh, wow! The scenery was breathtaking.

Finally, we made it.  The bus dropped us off at the entrance to the town.  Armed with Google maps, we pulled our suitcases along to find our accommodation.  Down tight streets and alleyways to reach, The View Hotel.   We arrived at our hotel, but it was closed?  I was a bit disappointed as it was not what I expected.  We dialled all the numbers on the door and waited for someone to arrive and check-in. Funny story, we were at the wrong hotel 🙈 this was Sapa View Hotel, but, we were booked at The View Hotel. Easy mistake. Poor staff, we disturbed them on their holiday 😂😂. Red-faced and embarrassed, we laughed and giggled as we made it down the last few streets and check-in at The View Hotel.

It was a fair walk, thankfully down-hill, but we were glad to settle into our room and drop our bags. The room was spotlessly clean, with everything we would need, including free wifi, aircon and mini bar fridge to store some food we brought for my fussy son.

Staff at The View Hotel organised a taxi to take us on a tour of the mountains and wait for us to explore before continuing onto the next place. It was surprisingly affordable considering he spent the whole afternoon driving and waiting for us.

First, stop Heaven’s gate a 15 km Drive along the Tram Ton Pass from the hotel. It’s like you are on top of the world with spectacular views of Hoang Lien Son mountain range situated about 2047m above sea level, the highest mountain pass in Vietnam.

We turned around and headed back towards SaPa stopping at Love Falls about a 2km Drive from Heavens Gate. To reach the falls, it’s an easy 30-minute walk on a well-paved path from the entrance.  It was great to see crystal clear water, unlike Hanoi dirty, polluted streams.

Our last stop Silver Waterfalls, you need your walking shoes to tackle the steps it goes up, up and up!
Silver Waterfalls is 3km from Love falls. Regardless of all the steep steps, it was well worth the view. Feeling rejuvenated back in a familiar happy place, surrounded by fresh air, mountains and waterfalls, reminded me of South Africa.

Weary, and tired the taxi driver dropped us off at the Skyview Bar and Restaurant, he must have thought these passengers need a drink! We enjoyed a cocktail on the deck overlooking the town and mountains before heading inside for a well-deserved meal.

Vietnamese Lunar New Year, we spent the day at Sun World Legend exploring Fansipans spiritual sites. From the town centre, we caught the funicular to the Cable car station. Then hopped on a cable car taking us over the mountains, valleys and rice paddies to the reach the top of Hoang Lien, Son mountain, commonly referred to as the “Roof of Indochina.”
From there we visited Bich Van Thien Tu and Thanh Van Dac Lo, admire the gardens and took in the breathtaking views.

The View Hotel Staff invited us to join them at midnight to bring in the Vietnamese Lunar New Year, the year of the Pig! I am glad we joined their festivities. It was an excellent way to learn a little more about their culture and traditions, as strangers sat and cheered each sip, whilst explaining how they usually have the whole family come together. It’s always a happy time; no family disagreements take place on the last day of the year. The head of the family conducts a 10-minute meeting at 11.50 pm to discuss the past year and hopes for the new year. They treated us to some of their traditional snacks and drinks, and the hotel owner gifted the children with ‘Lucky money’. The money placed in little decorative envelops and opened the next morning—an eye-opening and enjoyable night.

Last day in SaPa we ambled down the road to find Cat-Cat Village nestled at the bottom of valley only 3km from SaPa Town. I enjoying the walk downhill taking in the beautiful mountains, terraced rice paddies and watched the grazing water buffalo as we passed. Cat-Cat Cultural Village was formed in the 19th century. It was suppose to offers tourists a glimpse into the daily life of local ethnic people. Learn about their traditions, watch them weave beautiful fabrics and purchase some traditional souvenirs and handmade items. I think you need to do this with a guide and not alone as we had no information available. I would definitely revisit the village with a guide as it was fascinating and I would love an inside view into the villagers ways of life.

Blessed with unseasonably warm weather on our trip to SaPa; we had a wonderful time, a great start to our Vietnam adventures to come.

SaPa should be on the everyone bucket list when visiting Vietnam; you won’t be disappointed.