Discover the northern part of Vietnam (Sapa - Halong Bay - Hanoi)
By Kirah - July 25, 2019
Day 1 (Kul - Hanoi - Sapa)
It was all started when I had a funny thought to hike Mt Fansipan. In fact I've already made few surveys and booked a hiking trip to Fansipan mountain. However, due to current weather especially in northern part of Vietnam (according to national weather forecast), we were hesitating either to proceed or to cancel our initial plan to hike Fansipan. A week before our scheduled plan, Sarah and I agreed that God's plan is always the best, indeed. We cancelled our booking trip to hike Fansipan. It will be too dangerous for us to hike in extremely rainy condition with not so much in our fitness preparation.
It was all started when I had a funny thought to hike Mt Fansipan. In fact I've already made few surveys and booked a hiking trip to Fansipan mountain. However, due to current weather especially in northern part of Vietnam (according to national weather forecast), we were hesitating either to proceed or to cancel our initial plan to hike Fansipan. A week before our scheduled plan, Sarah and I agreed that God's plan is always the best, indeed. We cancelled our booking trip to hike Fansipan. It will be too dangerous for us to hike in extremely rainy condition with not so much in our fitness preparation.
This time, I was travelling to the northern part of Vietnam with Sarah. Both of us covered the area of Sapa, Halong bay and Hanoi city. Our flight was scheduled on 18th July (KUL-HAN). It took us 3 and half hours by flight to arrived Noi Bai International Airport, Hanoi. We landed at 3.30pm and a driver from klook was waiting for us with our name on a cardboard. We booked a one way airport transfer to Hanoi city in advance via klook. This combo includes 4G 10gb simcard for both of us.
On the first day, we planned to do nothing as our bus to Sapa will be at night on the same day. So it will be wasted if we booked a hotel. So I told Sarah we will have someone to host us for few hours. I often use couch-surfing apps when travelling because it is trusted and I find it quite interesting. I picked Hoan as a host. His house located slightly outskirt from Hanoi city. Hoan is a single daddy with 4 sons. The klook driver had a tough moment to find his house because it was located in a hidden alley between shops. It was like a maze to find the house. Once we reached his house I was a bit shocked, there were so many kids (including the cousins). It was summer holiday for the kids so they often chill here to learn English as they know many travelers will be at the house. I found it interesting. The kids learn English by conversing to the tourists.
They were so cute and adorable. When they tried to communicate with us, they spoke fluent English. I was so amazed by the kid's effort to practice and to improve their English. They were like 8-9 years old in average. We hung out for about 3 hours and talked about cultures, foods, interesting places, education system, Vietnam's traffics and other topics with Hoan and the kids. I gave Hoan 2 packs of Maggi Pedas Gilerr for him to try. Sarah gave him a shirt with Malaysia's flag on it as a token of appreciation. We left some bags for a while until we came back from Sapa. They took care of our belongings for the mean time.
We took a grab car from Hoan's to Cosiana hotel in Hanoi city for a proper dinner. The restaurant called ''D'lion Restaurant''. It served halal food. We ordered Vietnamese Pho, fried rice and fried broccoli. It tasted good and surprisingly not that expensive as we thought. We even washed our face and brushed the teeth in the toilet as we were about to embark on 7 hours journey after this.
The bus pick up point was about 2km away from the restaurant. However, with few luggages, we took a grab car to the place. The bus was punctual. You must bare feet and shoes & food were not allowed on board. We departed to Sapa at 10pm and expected to arrive in 6 hours. Instead of bus, you have few transportation options to reach Sapa from Hanoi, either you go by train or private transfer by van. It is depending on your budget and preference. It only costed 13-15usd by bus. We bought the ticket on klook, around RM100++ for return transfer.
Day 2 (Sapa town - Cat cat village)
Sapa is a home to five of Vietnam’s most famous ethnic tribes including Black Hmong, Red Dzao, Tay, Giáy, Thai and Phù Lá. Sapa attracts both local and international tourists for its stunning mountain views, cooler climate, exceptional trekking opportunities and fantastic home-stay options with the extravagantly dressed ethnic minority groups. Sapa town is charming in its own, with its quaint little streets, coffee shops and bustling markets, however in my humble opinion, Sapa is best used for adventures into the surrounding hills and valleys. Since we were not hiking, we found our own adventures in this small town.
The bus arrived Sapa at 4am in the morning, thank god we were allowed to sleep in the bus till 6am. Since grab car was not available in Sapa, we took a local taxi to our hotel. We had few hours before checking in the room, so we freshen up a bit and changed our clothes. We were allowed to use the shared bathroom at the hotel. We had our breakfast while surrounded by the clouds in between spectacular mountains. It was breathtakingly awesome. I couldn't describe it with words. God is such a greatest painter.
The hotel has it own's cafe so we had a good breakfast there. The cafe offered us super great ambiance, classy mood and it's own character. You could slurp your hot chocolate while enjoying the stunning mountain view. It was priceless experience for both of us.
We were so lucky as we were told that our room is ready. We were allowed to check in early. It was not a luxury 5 star hotel but what I could say it was on another level. We had requested a room with mountain view and has a private toilet. I was screaming happily when they showed us where the room is. How could you not be happy when you've been given room like this?
There are countless tour options available in Sapa town, from one-day to one-week treks. We chose not to depend on tour. So we rented a motorcycle from our hotel for 1 day. Driving license was not required. They just asked for our passport so they could have a copy. 1 day motorcycle rental costed us around 120k vnd, about RM25-30. However, roads in Sapa are dangerously incline, very steep and intricate. It requires your experience in riding a motorcycle. You have to be extra careful especially the people in Sapa is ''free-spirited'' when riding motorcycle or driving cars.
Sapa has a lot of markets. The most popular market is Bac Ha market, however it is located hundreds kilometers from Sapa town. We could not afford to travel such a long way just for the market. Hence, we decided to go to Sapa market in town by motorcycle. It was located nearly 3km from our hotel. There were a lot of souvenirs and herb shops on the ground floor and on the second floor there were shops selling clothes/shoes and Hmong ethnic section.
On another part, Sapa Market was still a hive of colorful activity outside, with fresh produce, a butcher's section not for the squeamish and hill-tribe people from surrounding villages heading here most days to sell handicrafts.
Moving on, we decided to discover the most unique culture which located in Cat Cat Village. It is located on the Muong Hoa Valley which is the village of the H’Mong hill tribe. It was only 300 mtrs away from our hotel. The village was on the slope of the hill and easy walking, rice field and corn were grown here. The village was rich with its distinctive customs and practices which have been lost in almost ethnic villages. We visited a big waterfall on the stream and the old Hydro Electric Power Station built by the French here.
Took us almost 3 hours exploring the enchanted village and it's people. The entrance fee was 70k vnd. There were a lot of small stalls through the valley selling souvenir and their unique clothing. We have to step on steep stairs and could be quite slippery. We had a brief stop at one of the rooftop cafe and had a pancake and coconut water. The road leading to Cat Cat Village was an easy and interesting route for easy trekking. The spot was only within 20-30m minutes walking from Sapa center and the hike through mountains took us to the wonderful picture of rice paddies, water fall, or even water buffaloes grazing leisurely.
Each hill tribe in Sapa in Vietnam has its unique language, culture, and historical background, but H'mong is the famous one. There are a lot of effort to preserve and to sustain this tribe and culture until today. We met few Vietnam hill tribes, most likely the women. The Hmong tribe in Sapa originally came from China 300 years ago. Vietnam Hmong society is patriarchal. Every Hmong village has the head of the village who takes care of all issues in the village. Hmong hill tribes are animists who believe in ancestors spirits and other spirits, such as house, doors, kitchen spirits. Every Hmong house in Sapa has the family altar for worshiping the ancestors. Hmong traditional clothing is made mainly of hemp and died in deep blue indigo color, although they dress much westernized these days. Hmong women wrap their long hair and usually wear turbans.
Hmongs in Sapa are farmers and use the agricultural calendar. A new year starts when the rice harvesting season finishes. Hence Hmong’s New Year, or Gau Tao, is at the beginning of December. Sapa rice terraces are one of the most beautiful rice fields in the World, along with Tegalalang rice terrace and Jatiluwih rice terraces in Bali to name a few.
Both of us were impressed by the peacefully picturesque scenery. We caught the sight of women sitting in front of the loom with colorful pieces of brocade, while children playing around with pets. From the plain brocade, then women can carefully dye them with special leaves and embroider beautiful patterns of flower and animal on them. Moreover, many residents of Cat Cat Village are also skillful at manipulating sophisticated gold and silver jewelry.
It was almost 2pm, we had vege pizza for lunch in a halal restaurant in Sapa town. There were not many proper halal restaurant in Sapa compared to Hanoi. So we were very cautious in choosing what we should eat. We came back to our hotel and had a brief rest. At 4pm, we went for a ride to the Silver waterfall.
The Silver Waterfall Sapa, or as the locals call it ‘Thac Bac’ is one of the most beautiful waterfalls in the region. It is large and picturesque waterfall visible from road & popular as a hiking & biking destination. We headed to north along the Sapa loop road by motorcycle and discover the raging Thac Bac waterfall in the San Sai Ho mountainside. The Thac Bac Silver Waterfall was a 40-minutes ride north from Sapa. The roads in Sapa were not in the greatest condition, with potholes and ditches in some areas. The winding road towards the waterfall is incredibly scenic. I just couldn't get enough of the scenery.
We paid 20k vnd at the ticket office to enter the Silver Waterfall Sapa which went towards the maintenance of the area. It was a short 10 minutes walk up a set of steep stairs till we reached the steel arched bridge, which was the furthest accessible point to the waterfall. From the bridge, we could enjoyed the impressive views of the 200-meter high Thac Bac waterfall as the silver water gushes down from the Ham Rong mountain peak. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to swim at the falls though it is a wonderful attraction nonetheless.
Across the road there were a lot of H'mong people selling variety of their cultural things.
There was only one mini market in Sapa town. We had to stop by to buy some biscuits for emergency if there is no halal restaurant found. We had dinner at the same restaurant we went for lunch. We ordered fried rice, fried eggs and fried tofu. Then we filled the petrol gas before return the motorcycle.
Day 3 (Sapa - Hanoi)
We started our day with breakfast accompanied by the scenic and greenly mountain view. The hotel served us delicious banana shake and omelette. We had to check out early as we were not sure if we could make it before 11am. We stored our bags and luggage at the hotel and left it for our activities. We booked Fansipan cable car ticket on klook that cost RM120. It was quite expensive and it was worth every penny. You will see. Since we were not hiking the mountain, we went up to the peak by cable car. You will always have options in life.
Sapa train station is located only 10 minutes walk from our hotel. So it was really convenience for us to stroll around Sapa town. Location wise, we picked a great hotel to stay. Before that, we have to purchase a train ticket from Sapa station to Fansipan station. It was only 5 mins train. It costed us 50k vnd per person. Once we arrived at the Fansipan station, we took the cable car. It was 15-20 mins ride to the final station. It was raining cat & dog that morning and we did not wear proper raining attire. I was really concerned on how we could make up to the peak. Yes, it was not the end. We need to climb 600 stairs to finally reach the peak of Fansipan. If you are not willing to do so, don't worry you have another option which is to take tram to the peak. I am not sure about the price ticket but you can always book the ticket at klook in advance.
We waited for nearly 40 minutes as we hoped the rain will calm down a little bit. But we were wrong. At 11am, we decided to just proceed our way to the peak and climb up the stairs. It was really challenging and harder than we expected in really cold, rainy and windy condition. It was a challenge for us. 600 stairs were like 6000 steps up. We have to be really careful and hold the pole tightly when climbing up as the stairs were steep and slippery. The stairs were made from marble. Can you imagine that?
It took us an hour to reach the peak. At the peak, it was congested by people, tourist and locals. Some were from school trips, some were travelers like us and some were locals enjoying dates. We had to wear the raincoat. We looked like tele-tubbies in that colorful raincoat.
We spent almost 2 hours at the peak enjoying the cloudy and foggy view. I promised myself at the top of Fansipan that I will come back one day conquering Mount Fansipan. As we descent, it took more efforts to maintain our body stability but much faster. Once we arrived at Fansipan station, the rain started to slow down a bit. We headed back to Sapa station by cable car. There was not much people descending, thus we had the cable car by ourselves. We were so lucky as the clouds were disappearing and the view was started to become clear. I was so speechless by the beauty and stunning view. It was so serene. I just couldn't believe it was exactly the way google describe it.
At Fansipan station, we stepped out and randomly decided to chill and looked around. Unexpectedly, in that rainy season, there were a lot of blooming flower garden. It was so beautiful to the point I couldn't stop taking picture with my camera. The camera shutter was bursting for every angles.
Even we had enough pictures, we were still unable to turn around from this view. However, we were running out of time. We took the train down to Sapa station and along the way to our hotel, we stopped by at a halal restaurant for a late lunch. It was D'lion restaurant in Cosiana hotel. Same as we had our dinner on the first day in Hanoi. They have outlet in Sapa. But this time we had an amazing view. We had our second Vietnamese Pho and spring rolls. We were unable to finish all the spring rolls so we had take it away maybe for dinner in the bus.
Our bus was at 4pm. We rushed back to our hotel to pick up the bags and took taxi to the bus pick up point. We departed to Hanoi city and came back to Hoan's house. We arrived Hanoi at 10pm and took grab to Hoan's. He was already asleep but thank god, his kids were still up for computer games. We barely talked to them as we were so tired and need much sleep for tomorrow. Another amazing journey that we've been anticipated for so long.
Day 4 (Hanoi - Halong Bay)
Halong Bay, located in the North East of Vietnam, is a remarkable site known for its crystal clear emerald waters and stunning limestone islands topped by the rain forest. Halong Bay is scatter of islands, dotted with wind and wave-eroded grottoes. It is a vision of ethereal beauty and unsurprisingly the northern Vietnam's number beauty. Ha Long means “descending dragon.” Dragons play a prominent role in Vietnamese culture.
Ha Long Bay is 165 kilometers from Hanoi. It’s accessible by bus, taxi, motorbikes, ferry, hydrofoil, and private tour companies. You can also take a Ha Long Bay transfer directly from the airport. An overnight boat tour of Ha Long Bay to experience at least one sunset and one ethereal sunrise is a unique experience for us.
We woke up as early as 6am that morning and get prepared. They were still sleeping when we were ready to leave the house. I was carefully getting Hoan to open the main door for us. He was startled for a bit as we informed that we are leaving now. He thought we will be back after Halong's trip. We bid farewell and thanked him for his welcomed hospitality. We will never forget his kindness.
We took a grab to our hotel in Hanoi city which we had booked for one night after Halong's trip. The purpose was to drop and store half of our bags while we were on cruise. On 8.30am, there was a limousine van from klook picked us up to Red River Delta. It took us nearly 3 hours to reach the Tuan Chau Marina Pier. We waited for another group to arrive before boarding the boat. It was a short 5 minutes boat ride to transfer us to our majestic cruise.
The package that we chose, include abundant of amazing food and mind blowing scenery. You can choose from 3 available Halong Bay cruises- Day Trip, 2 Days 1 Night, or 3 Days 2 Nights. A lot of activities will be provided such as visiting Cua Von Floating village, kayaking, stop by the famous islands like Fighting Cocks and Stone Dogs, discover hidden private beaches and cool down with a relaxing swim.
Once we received the room key, I was astonished by the beauty of view from our room. I was speechless. The staff welcomed us with an extravagant lunch on board. As we both are Muslim, we requested for seafood and vegetarian food in advance. No pork, meat and chicken for us. But we've been blessed with huge prawn, squid and fresh fishes. We took tons of picture on cruise.
Around 3pm, we stopped by at the fishing village. They gave us options of activities we could possibility do. You can choose to do kayak or enjoying the view while chilling on a small boat (there will be people paddling it for you). We preferred kayaking, it was my first time but it was really fun. Paddling on the incredible green sea water to see the splendid nature with our own eyes was a once-in-a-life-time experience.
After kayaking, we changed our clothes. At 5.30pm, there was a lesson on how to make Vietnamese spring roll. They provided all the ingredients and separated it only for us as we don't need pork. We enjoyed the session as we had to do it ourselves and the outcome was quite good tho. We had a chit chat with other guests on board. They were Korean, Romanian, Indian, Australian and Singaporean. The western sky was turning orange and purple, the sun setting down made the whole landscape right out of a water-colored painting. It was magnificent.
Then, we moved for dinner. There served a lot of seafood for dinner. It was really scrumptious. I give 9/10 for the food. That night, we've been given the opportunity to try squid fishing. However, I gave up half way since I have to check my email and caught up with work. By the way, wifi is available on board. So you don't have to worry and you're able to catch the latest netflix episode. If you don't want to fish the squid, you can have karaoke session at the deck. I wish I could join them but I rather stuck with work while enjoying the breeze and my hot chocolate.
Day 5 (Halong Bay - Hanoi)
It was raining all night. We woke up at 5am since the Taichi session was scheduled at 6am. However, they had to cancel the plan as it was raining. We did not have the chance to witness the sunrise, as we decided to put ourselves back to sleep. Yes, sleep was important plus the rain was comforting us. We had a breakfast at 7am, it was a healthy breakfast as they served bunch of fruits, yogurt and breads.
We continued our next activity by visiting the Hang Sửng Sốt cave (Surprising cave). It is located inside Bo Hon Island, in the middle Halong Bay, Surprise Cave is considered the most magnificent cave in this charming bay. The cave's ceiling is decorated with stalactites like colorful chandeliers and the floor with plenty of rocks in diverse shapes of elephant, horse to tree, leaves, and flowers. The further we went into the cave, the more interesting shaped rocks appear. There was a small dock at the bottom of Bo Hon Island, where they dismounted the boat and began the hike up 100 steps to the mouth of Sung Sot Cave. The interior was separated into 2 caverns, the first of which was a small amphitheater type of space connected by a small passageway to the larger cavern next door.
We stopped by at the nearest beach which was Sand beach. Unfortunately, we were not allowed to swim as it was still raining. And there was no proper guard available. We took few pictures and back on the boat. Since we must check out and return the key at 9.30am.
Sarah and I used to be a member of arts & photography during our uni days. So we are both into photography and video-making stuff. I just had to take this shoot on another level. We could not afford to waste the marvelous scenery. The cruise was heading back to the pier. It took nearly 2 hours from the moment we returned the room key. We had our last meal on the cruise and it was a delightful lunch. Our tour guide, Cuong, bid us goodbye before departing to Hanoi. The van was waiting for us for Hanoi transfer. It took another 3 hours until we reached our hotel in Hanoi city.
Once we arrived our hotel in Hanoi city, we've been told that our room was upgraded from superior to deluxe room. We were so lucky. Rising Dragon Villa Hotel is within a 12-minute walk from Hoan Kiem Lake. The hotel location is strategic and the staff speak fluent English. We freshen up a bit and headed out to stroll around Hanoi city.
Hanoi is known for its centuries-old architecture and a rich culture with Southeast Asian, Chinese and French influences. At its heart is the chaotic Old Quarter, where the narrow streets are roughly arranged. Each street had merchants and households specializing in a particular trade, such as silk, jewelry or even bamboo. Local cuisine specialties as well as several clubs and bars can be found here. Hanoi has many scenic lakes and is sometimes called the "city of lakes." Among its lakes, the most famous is Hoàn Kiếm Lake, where our hotel at. Something that I realized, Hoàn Kiếm District is basically small street blocks and alleys and you can feel the traditional Vietnamese atmosphere. Many streets in the Old Quarter have names signifying the goods the local merchants are specialized in.
Hanoi is one of the craziest places in Southeast Asia to roam the streets, whether on some form of transport or on foot. There were no rules and regulation for the thousands of motorbikes whizzing around in the old quarter. We have to walk slowly but steadily across the road, allowing vehicles to moved around us and we avoided to stop suddenly except in an emergency. This worked, but we still need to be alert. Old Quarter was particularly hectic, at least the traffic tended to move slowly, and there were mainly bikes.
Egg Coffee is an unusual and unique coffee. A must try even if you are a big fan of coffee or not. Both Sarah and I are not a coffee lover, but unexpectedly, we loved how it taste. Vietnamese Egg Coffee is actually a unique kind of coffee that you cannot miss when you are in Hanoi. Unlike Western normal coffee, Hanoi locals have created a new way to enjoy coffee for decades by mixing eggs into coffee to form a perfect match. Coffee with sugar, sweetened condensed milk and egg yolks go together. It might sound weird and hard to imagine. But how strange, the taste was surprisingly good at least for us. The egg yolks were creamy soft, meringue-like perching on the dense Vietnamese signature coffee. Vietnamese egg coffee has been a massive burst in popularity thus many versions of the original recipe have been altered or replicated in various forms. Egg coffee can be ordered hot or cold and both of them seem to be quite different tastes depending on your preferences. We ordered the hot Vietnamese egg coffee and it was placed in a smaller cup and has a thick, foamy egg-based head. This yellowish heap of jacked-up creamy goodness was a perfection.
We had our best egg coffee at Cafe Giang - Giang Cafe Hanoi (Address: 30 Nguyen Huu Tuan Street, Hoan Kiem District, Hanoi). The prices differ on every menu but average was at 15k-33k vnd. Café Giang is known as the original coffee shop serving Vietnamese egg coffee in Hanoi. Giang coffee has also created so many unique beverages. Egg matcha, egg chocolate, egg beer and so on. To find Giang, we need to pay attention to the sign above the small alley then walk down to the end to meet the famous coffee shop. It opens daily from 7:00 am to 10:30 pm. The space of Café Giang was quite small but we managed to get favorable seats, just avoid coming on a crowded time.
One of the best activities to do in Hanoi at night is to just stroll around the beautiful Old Quarter. After a long and tiring day of sitting on a van, this exquisite and beautiful city, finally we could now have some free time for ourselves and enjoyed the fun yet relaxed nightlife in Hanoi. The streets were bustling and packed with locals and expats and got the know Hanoi from the view of true Hanoians. For me, strolling around Hanoi city was considered safe. There were a lot of foreign travelers too.
Day 6 (Hanoi - Malaysia)
It was our last day in Hanoi, Vietnam. We had our breakfast at 7am. The hotel really prepared great food for us but unfortunately half of them were meat and pork. We checked out early as 9am and left our things at the hotel for awhile. We wanted to stroll around the city for the last time. We had our last minute shopping. I bought a hiking jacket with really cheap price. Overall, you need to have great bargain skills to get the best price in anything you wish for. We took a grab to the airport at 1pm as we have bags to check in. Our flight was at 3pm. We had a pleasant journey and it was really great experiences so far. I will come back to hike Fansipan.
For those, who wish to have our full itinerary and detailed journey, I'll put a link to the excel sheet so you can view and download it anytime. I hope you enjoy everything that I share in this post. Any question just hit me up and follow my instagram account - @nhnsykrh
It was really a tranquilizing journey for me. Budget wise, I bet you are able to spend less than us, as we spent a lot in food. Let me know if you have any comment. I'm working on vlog for this trip. My next trip will be something adventurer than this and I have to prepare for it physically and mentally. See you on my next post and thank you for reading! No hate but love, cheers!
Link to access my full Northern Vietnam Adventure Trip 2019 Itinerary
2 comments
Thanks for your detailed information. Think we will just follow your itinerary when we go tl Hanoi next year hehe
ReplyDeleteHi Orked, I am glad my post can be your little help when you're travelling to Hanoi. Let me know if you have any question :)
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