The pumpkin express train chugged it's way up through the Tonkin mountain range towards Lao cai, the literal last outpost before crossing into southern china. It is saturday morning; the children are on their way to school in their white blue-striped uniforms. Some are riding bicycles, but most are walking. The school in lao cai is modern and clean and there is a stand with over one hundred bicycles near the front gate. Besides being one of Vietnam's most northern cities, Lao cai was once a French outpost; the radio towers all have the familiarity of that famous one in downtown Paris.
One more hour by crowded bus to the Sapa Summit hotel in sapa town. I have not seen the sun since i left oakland. It is so foggy here that its like living on ocean beach. The town is like brigadoon; now you see it, now you don't. The hotel is stylish and the staff aim to please, but there is no heat in the rooms.
Yesterday, I walked down to cat cat village. Cat cat is a village of black hmong people, so called because they dye their clothing a deep indigo color. THE fashion statement in footwear here is knee-high rubber boots, due to the ever-present mud and water on the roads. The trail to cat cat is muddy in places, but most of the way it is a stone staircase, i would guess a good 600 steps to the bottom of the canyon. They don't tell you about that in the sales pitch.
The vultures prey on the weak and old, and so after 600 steps to the bottom, I found a scooter to take me back to the top. Best 100,000 dong I ever spent (5 usd). Cold and damp and muddy, i returned to my hotel room with newfound appreciation-- at least I was not sitting outside by a campfire, which is the heat source for the locals.
Sa pa and surrounding area is about as authentic as it gets. I must say that, except for backpacking, this is the most rustic place i have ever been.
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