May 23: A Chill First Day in Sa Pa
I arrived in Sa Pa on time at about 5:30 AM. I slept pretty well, although the amount of sleep was not enough. I still cannot balance my sleep schedule while traveling.
As soon as I arrived, I noticed two things. The first was that the temperature was much lower than in Hanoi. I had expected that, but it still made me feel relieved. The second thing was that Sa Pa is a very touristy place. I saw quite a lot of people who looked like they were from other countries. How did I know? Of course, they looked different from the local people, but they were also carrying large backpacks.
Also, as soon as I got off the bus, two women who looked to be in their 50s started talking to the passengers, including me, in English. That immediately made me feel like I had arrived in a tourist destination. They were suggesting random activities tourists could enjoy in Sa Pa. Trekking is one of the most popular things to do there, so they recommended that too.
I was surprised that they were already there at 5:30 in the morning.
Although I talked with them for a bit, I politely declined their offers. Since I had no idea what I wanted to do in Sa Pa, I looked for a random coffee shop and went in to think about my plans.
Since starting this trip, I have sometimes experienced decision fatigue because I have to think about everything by myself. During solo travel, you are free, but at the same time, you must decide everything — what to eat, where to go sightseeing, and where to sleep.
That is why I appreciate the fact that there are so many coffee shops in Vietnam where I can sit down and think. Vietnam has definitely been influenced by France because of the colonial period. I am not sure how much the coffee culture is part of that influence, though.
I found a nearby coffee shop and entered it. There was nobody inside when I walked in, so I was not sure if it was open. However, there was a customer sitting on the terrace drinking coffee. I asked him if the shop was open. He explained that he had ordered breakfast, so he assumed the woman working there was inside the kitchen preparing it.
After confirming that it was open, I put my bag down and sat down. While waiting for the staff member, I talked with the guy. It turned out that he was from Canada. I had initially thought he was local because he looked Asian.
Surprisingly, he correctly guessed where I was from. I asked him how he could tell I was Japanese, and he replied, “Because of the accent.”
I do not think I have a strong accent, but I guess native English speakers can tell.
He was also traveling alone. We talked about our plans in Sa Pa. He was also somewhat disappointed by how touristy the town was.
When the woman, who looked to be in her 60s, finally appeared, I ordered a cup of coffee and one of the breakfast meals. The prices were about the same as in Hanoi, or slightly higher. I had expected Sa Pa to be cheaper, but I quickly realized it was actually more expensive.
While searching online for things to do in Sa Pa, I kept seeing groups of tourists walking around outside the coffee shop. That made me want to avoid famous tourist spots like Cat Cat Village.
Eventually, I still could not decide what to do, so I left the coffee shop and started walking around randomly.
As I walked downhill, the atmosphere began to feel more local. About 30 minutes later, I found a homestay that looked nice, so I entered it. The lights were off, and there were only a couple of boys who looked like early teenagers.
I asked one of them if I could book a room for one night. Since he did not speak English, we used a translation app. His reply was simply, “What do you want?”
I explained my request through the app, and he responded, “Can you wait until the manager arrives?”
I agreed and decided to wait.
The place where I waited was a restaurant connected to the homestay, with the reception desk near the entrance. Since I did not want to waste time just sitting there, I went for another walk.
As I walked along the road, I saw many old wooden houses. Some of the local people were cooking outside. They looked at me like I was a strange person.
At one point, I entered a place labeled as a coffee shop, but there was nobody there. I sat down on a chair and enjoyed the view. The scenery looked much more rural, with mountains and rice paddies stretching into the distance, which I really liked.
Two small girls were playing nearby. I saw an old woman who looked to be in her 70s and asked if I could get a cup of coffee. She simply said no.
I was not even sure if the place was really a coffee shop, so I gave up and left.
I kept walking, but eventually I became tired and realized there were not many places to relax around there. So, I accepted a taxi driver’s offer to take me back to central Sa Pa.
After getting out of the taxi, I entered a local coffee shop. Inside, there were two dogs and several cats playing around. Two young guys who looked to be in their 20s were working there.
I ordered black coffee, as usual.
Again, the prices were about the same as in Hanoi, or slightly more expensive.
At first, I was the only customer, so I relaxed while watching the dogs and cats. Later, a couple who were speaking what I think was Russian came into the shop. They started taking pictures of themselves, the dogs, and the cats.
After leaving the café, I decided to have an early lunch in the central area. I entered a local restaurant and ordered egg fried rice and meat skewers.
Most restaurants in Vietnam do not really have front doors, so there is not much of a concept of “entering” the restaurant.
At that moment, I was the only customer. Two girls were playing nearby while their parents worked at the restaurant. I assumed they lived upstairs in the same building, which seems to be common in Vietnam.
The amount of food was much bigger than I expected. I was completely full after finishing it.
Although I was overcharged — 260,000 VND (about $10), which is very expensive for lunch in Vietnam — I pretended not to notice and paid anyway because the food was delicious and the portions were huge.
After lunch, I walked back to the homestay. It took about 30 minutes. Walking is one of my main forms of transportation while traveling. You burn calories, and it is free.
When I returned to the homestay, I finally booked a room. The young girl at the front desk, whom I later found out was 18 years old, helped me.
The rooms were located in a building next to the restaurant. On the first floor, there was a large living room area. My room was on the fourth floor, so we walked upstairs together.
The room was decent for the price: 400,000 VND ($15). Still, I thought it was a bit expensive. Since leaving Mongolia, I had tried to keep my accommodation costs under $10 per night.
After resting for a while, I returned to the restaurant area and talked with the young girl at the front desk. I learned a lot about her.
She works at the homestay three days a week. She gets paid about $300 per month, and accommodation and meals are included. I thought that was a pretty good deal.
Her hometown is about one hour away by car. She had just graduated from high school.
We talked for about an hour. Since she was going back to her village after her shift, I would not see her again that evening. She was a very kind and hardworking girl. I really enjoyed talking with her, and I hope she does well in life.
During dinner time, I saw some tourists at the restaurant. I talked to one of them, a young guy from England. He had gone to Cat Cat Village earlier that day and told me that there were a lot of people there and that it was “okay.”
I was glad that I had not gone there.
After that, I went back to my room and went to bed.
May 24: Visiting Ta Phin Village / The First Hitchhike of My Life
I slept for a long time. I went to bed at around 9 PM and woke up at 9 AM. Even though I had slept for about 10 hours, I still did not feel completely refreshed.
After packing my things, I went back to the restaurant area and started updating my blog, writing my personal journal, and organizing the videos on my camera.
When I was about to check out, the British guy I had talked to the previous day was also checking out. We talked briefly before leaving.
Since I wanted to try a traditional herbal bath in Ta Phin Village, I headed there by motorbike taxi using the Grab app.
If you are traveling in Vietnam, I highly recommend using Grab for transportation.
After about a 15-minute ride, I arrived at the village. Before leaving, the driver told me that he could also drive me back to central Sa Pa later because Grab usually does not work well in the village area.
We exchanged contact information through WhatsApp, and he left.
He had dropped me off near a homestay, so I asked a woman who looked to be in her 30s if I could have lunch there.
She offered me a lunch set shown in a picture for 250,000 VND ($9), and I agreed because it looked delicious and I was hungry.
She told me it would take about 30 minutes.
While waiting, another woman approached me and tried to sell souvenirs. I politely but clearly declined, and she left.
I walked upstairs to the dining area and eventually received my lunch.
The meal turned out to be massive — a huge plate filled with different dishes along with a large bowl of rice. Everything was homemade.
I loved the taste, although I could barely finish it. Still, I did not leave any food behind because she had cooked it for me with care. I absolutely stuffed myself.
After eating, I decided to walk around the mountains to enjoy the nature and digest the heavy meal.
On the way to a cave, I encountered several women from the Red Dao ethnic minority selling souvenirs. As soon as they saw me, they started following me and asking where I was from.
Once I made it clear that I was not going to buy anything, they stopped following me.
This happened several times on the way to the cave.
It was not a pleasant experience, although I understand that tourists are an important source of income for them.
That being said, I still enjoyed walking through the mountains and nature, even though I never made it all the way to the top.
While walking, I noticed that many local people stared at me as they rode past on motorcycles.
After returning to the place where I had eaten lunch, I asked for the herbal bath. A guy started preparing it, and soon I was able to enjoy it.
The bath refreshed my mind and healed my body after all the walking.
Later, I started walking toward the central area of Ta Phin Village, planning to catch a taxi somewhere along the way.
I saw cows by the roadside and plenty of cow poop on the road as well.
Eventually, I became tired of walking and tried to call a taxi through Grab. However, just like the motorbike driver had warned me, I could not get one.
So, I decided to try hitchhiking to get back to central Sa Pa.
I had never hitchhiked before, so I felt nervous and hesitated because I was afraid of being rejected.
At that moment, I remembered a conversation I had once had with a female traveler from Germany who was hitchhiking in Japan. She had told me, “You should be brave while traveling.”
That memory pushed me to try.
As I walked along the road, only a few cars passed by every five minutes or so.
On my first attempt, the driver clearly noticed me but ignored me completely.
On the second attempt, I saw a truck approaching from behind and raised my hand.
The truck passed me at first, and I thought I had failed again.
However, a few meters ahead, the truck suddenly slowed down.
I ran toward it.
The driver rolled down the window, and I asked the man, who looked to be in his 40s, if he could take me to central Sa Pa.
At first, he did not fully understand what I meant, but eventually he let me into the truck.
Yes, I did it.
It was my first hitchhiking experience.
I succeeded on my second attempt. Maybe it was beginner’s luck.
Although I was slightly worried whether he would actually take me where I wanted to go, he eventually dropped me off safely in central Sa Pa.
I felt a huge sense of achievement.
I thanked him, and he drove away.
I was grateful not only to the driver, but also to the German traveler whose words had encouraged me.
After that, I checked into a hostel that I had booked for only $4.
There were several travelers chatting in the lobby, and eventually I joined their conversation.
There was a Chinese man who looked to be in his 50s and two Canadian girls. I mostly talked with the Chinese man.
After the short conversation, I finished checking in and went out to explore the city at night.
Since I was still completely full from the massive lunch, I just took a short walk and came back without eating dinner.
Walking around the city at night felt amazing.
Back in the room, I relaxed for a while and went to bed at around 11 PM.
Luckily, I was the only person staying in the room, so it was very comfortable and peaceful.
