Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

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Vietnam — 5, the resort town of Sapa

2011-05-22

Pretty soon we made it to Sapa. I've been butchering the photos in Lightroom with my crooked hands here, purely out of boredom. I hope the psychedelic coloring won't be too distracting. Where it's important for the narrative, I tried not to mess with the colors too much.

 

Two women standing on the street: one in a helmet looking at her phone, and next to her another woman carrying a baby strapped to her back. A hiking backpack is visible in the foreground, with blurry city buildings in the background.

The small one is lugging a really tiny one, but is still hustling souvenirs

Sapa is a very resort-like town, meant mostly for tourists, so everyone sells everything to everyone there. Though in Vietnam, trade is booming everywhere anyway - judging by everything, they've only heard of licenses and taxes in passing here. In Sapa, crowds of Tay people (it's an ethnic group) walk the streets in national costumes and pawn off souvenirs to tourists for exorbitant prices. They are called "street dealers" and pose a problem, including from the authorities' point of view, because they are speculators in the worst sense, taking away most of the earnings from those who actually make the souvenirs. You could draw analogies with the recording industry and musicians, but I'm sick of it already. Go read Lessig or something.

 

A detailed map of Southeast Asian countries, including Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, and southern regions of China. A red pin with the letter 'A' is located in China, near the northern border of Vietnam.

Where is Sa Pa? By the border with China

A concrete pole with a dirty electrical panel and a tangle of black wires rises against a gloomy sky, surrounded by tree branches, some with green leaves, some bare.

Lebedev style

An armored electricity meter with consumers' names. Outside the houses.

A stone church with a tall bell tower and a cross on top rises on the left, people are visible on its steps. On the right, numerous motorcycles line the sidewalk next to market stalls and passers-by under a gloomy sky. 

Motorbike cabbies waiting for clients

Motorbike taxis, called xe ôm in Vietnam (translates as  'hugging vehicle', meaning a cuddling machine), are everywhere, and they will always yell "MOTORBIKE!?" at you. It's best to ignore them and not make eye contact. You can also say no in English or Vietnamese ("khong"), it actually helps, unlike in India (according to rumors). Though it doesn't always help.

But if you actually need to go somewhere, you can totally take a taxi like this, if you aren't scared or shy. It costs half a dollar for a ride of a few kilometers, a dollar for a longer distance.

Rear view of a man in a red shirt looking out at a busy street in an Asian city. On the right are multi-story buildings with shops, signs in Vietnamese, and parked motorcycles, while forested mountains are visible on the horizon.

The central streets of Sapa are peppered with shops

By the way, there are 138 thousand residents in Sapa, and in Vietnam as a whole - over 90 million, the country is 13th in the world by population, with a density of 269 people per km^2. This is very important, because density allows for the creation of a significant number of businesses and services geared towards this population. In Latvia, the density is only 34 people per km^2.

IMG_4781

Our hotel

We didn't see that many tourists from other countries, although more than in Vietnam overall. Wikipedia tells us that they make up 21% of the total, but this includes other Asians too.

Two women talking on an Asian street: one in a yellow cardigan, the other in a bicycle helmet leaning on a bicycle. In the background, there are houses, parked cars, and a moss-covered stone wall.

Check-in negotiations

The girl on the left is the hotel manager, her name is Nga. This is funny, because the girl on the right, as you know, is named Anya. The hotel is called Son Ha Hotel, located immediately to the right and down from the central square, at the end of the street (all the info is on the site). We stayed there by chance, just drove down the street to it, were looking for another one. Then we went, looked at the room, and were happy with what we saw. I think in the rest of the hotels (and the whole street is packed with them, as is half the town, actually) everything would be very similar.

A triple room cost 15 bucks a day, the price includes AC, Wi-Fi, a little soap and shampoo, and a very flimsy toothbrush. You can pay in both dollars and dongs, which is a fairly common occurrence.

 A sepia cityscape with foggy mountains on the horizon, where a large metal tank with the inscription 'VIET HA' and buildings with balconies and dark roofs are visible in the foreground.

The view from the hotel window

Vietnamese hotels usually have an idiotic bathroom layout: the toilet is positioned so that the shower inevitably floods it, and this goes for the toilet paper too. Turns out, you have to hide it beforehand. Only in the fanciest hotels is the problem solved, albeit in a funny way: the toilet paper is kept under a clear plastic lid.

A plant with long green leaves, dried up in places, growing in a terracotta pot against a white wall on the left and a dark, textured wall on the right.

Not watering it enough?

 A lively street scene in Vietnam under an overcast sky: in the foreground, street vendors sit on the ground with their goods, while a motorcyclist and pedestrians travel along the road. In the background are residential buildings and a long green construction fence.

This is the main square, further down the street is the central market

A park landscape with a winding stone path leading up a green hill with many decorative coniferous trees. In the background, tall trees rise up, a red cloth is stretched out, and a light-colored arched structure is visible. 

Dwarf trees are planted at the tourist info center, cute

They also sell overpriced Sprite and food there.

A group of people, mostly women in traditional ethnic costumes, sitting and standing on wide stone steps. In the background, an old stone church with an arched entrance and greenery can be seen.

These are Tay people (Tay), or maybe Hmong (Hmong)

The Tay people (Tày) are an ethnic minority in Vietnam numbering 1.5 million. As far as I understand, unrelated to Thailand. In Sapa, the Tay push souvenirs very aggressively, just like the Romani selling cigarettes at our train station. The best course of action is to ignore them entirely and not make eye contact, but unfortunately, this doesn't help either. The souvenirs they sell can be bought for the same price or cheaper at the market, so there's no point in dealing with the Tay. If they get really clingy, shove your camera right in their face (figuratively); Anna says it helps (but she has a lens the length of my arm).

In a green park, a man sleeps barefoot on a concrete bench, while on the right a woman in traditional clothing sits on a stone. Around them, on the path and grass, are wicker baskets and numerous potted plants, presumably for sale. 

Chilling

A narrow alleyway with stairs and a ramp in the middle runs uphill between tall buildings. On the right in the foreground, a green advertising poster with images of various electronics and photos is visible.

Hills

A large part of Vietnam's territory is covered with forested hills and mountains (up to 80%), so we had to scramble back and forth quite often.

 IMG_4796

Hustlers pester you even here

In Vietnam, people have a chill attitude towards everything, as I've mentioned before. Apparently, this is one of the reasons why the street souvenir dealers aren't kicked out of the restaurant, even though they won't let customers eat in peace and quiet. The second reason, probably, is that the restaurant staff are in on the take.

IMG_4802

Chicken soup

A fairly typical chicken soup. The meat is finely minced, and the soup's consistency is like hot aspic, thick. Tastes ordinary. The prices in Sapa's restaurants, by the way, are geared towards tourists. That is, a set meal costs 5 dollars (not very big, but lots of dishes), or 5-8 dollars to buy different dishes separately (for 10 you can gorge yourself until you pop).

This isn't very cheap, and if your budget is limited, you can eat at the cafeteria in the central market, or a street grill. There, I think, it'll be like usual, a dollar or two for a nutritious soup or something. My comrades were paranoid about infections, and they generally don't like cafeterias. If I went again, I wouldn't eat in restaurants so often, there's no reason to waste cash for nothing. But I have no regrets, because food in Vietnam is usually delicious, and exactly the way I like it - just vegetables, meat, sometimes with sauce.

A close-up of a white mug with herbal tea containing pieces of ginger, cinnamon, and other spices. Crumpled white napkins are visible in the background. 

"Sapa" tea with cinnamon and ginger

This kind of tea is geared towards tourists. Locals drink an extra-strong green "chifir" brew with no sugar or additives.

Slices of white bread lie on a white plate on a wooden table. In the background, a glass of beer, green bottles, and a basket of napkins are visible. 

There is no rye bread, of course. I don't think the locals eat much white bread either

A bottle of Vietnamese "LÀO CAI" beer with a yellow label stands on a wooden table among other frosted bottles, a glass of beer with foam, and a metal cap. 

Local "Lao Cai" beer

I don't like beer and try not to drink it, and Intars and Anna said it's not very tasty.

A white plate with a pile of white rice and stewed meat with vegetables in a thick dark sauce, garnished with tomato wedges. In the background on a wooden table, a cup and another plate with a piece of bread are visible. 

A typical meat dish

They bring rice with any dish, usually a lot of it. Often you have to scoop it, along with the meat and greens, into a separate little bowl from the main one. This is a continuation of classical traditions, when everyone ate together from large bowls, and everyone took as much as they wanted, except here they bring it to everyone individually. In the photo the gravy is probably with soy sauce, which I partially got hooked on. The rice is lightly salted, by the way, because the sauce is salty. Soy sauce, in case anyone doesn't know, is basically that same MSG, aka monosodium glutamate, which causes even more controversy in the West than the recording industry.

On a wooden table in an Asian street cafe, metal trays are laid out with a variety of raw meat, fish, and skewers prepared for grilling. In the background, patrons at tables, a menu on the wall, and various kitchen utensils are visible.

Skewers ready for grilling at the market

A woman in a red and white jacket sits on the floor in a market stall, surrounded by shelves and counters filled with clear bags of dried herbs and bottles of traditional remedies, sorting through the contents of a basket. 

Of course, they also sell endless spices, dried and fresh fruits and vegetables, and other stuff you'd expect from an Asian market

A market stall filled with clear bags of dried herbs, roots, and mushrooms. In the foreground on a wooden shelf are numerous bottles of liquid, including so-called snake wine with whole snakes and ginseng roots inside.

Roots, I think ginseng and all that

Vietnam has incredible biodiversity, and the government is making an effort to preserve it. Though I think the Vietnamese themselves don't give a damn about it.

 Knives and machetes on display for sale: on the left, in black horn sheaths with golden handles; on the right, a row of large knives with metal blades in a wooden box. In the background are beverage bottles and the legs of people standing at the counter.

Tay knives

 Various traditional Vietnamese dried and candied fruits, packed in clear plastic containers and jars, are laid out for sale on a counter with a patterned tablecloth.

Dried fruits

A black-and-white photo of a busy street market: a female vendor stands behind a counter full of diverse fruits. Large dark fruits and many small round ones are laid out in front of her, and a flat woven item lies near her hand.

Fresh fruits

A busy street in an Asian city with shops on both sides, filled with motorcycles and pedestrians. In the foreground, a woman in a yellow sweater and black jacket. 

The main street of Sapa, restaurants and shops

On a busy city street, a man and a woman look at a mobile phone held by an Asian woman in a patterned conical hat. Buildings, traffic, and street food stalls are visible behind them in the background.

Haggling over the price of mangoes

I don't like mangoes, and therefore ate them rarely. The vendors can often tell you the price in broken English, and if they can't, they bust out a calculator and punch it in there. Or you can pull out your phone.

 A street vendor sits on the sidewalk near baskets of fresh fruit, including apples, mangoes, and peeled pineapples in a jar.

Note the peeled pineapples

Peeled pineapples, just like unpeeled ones, are sold everywhere. I can't eat that many pineapples either - too sweet and warm. At first, my comrades were wary of buying peeled ones, saying we'd better peel them ourselves, then they got used to it. I think the pineapple is peeled in a spiral to remove the "eyes," but it might also be for looks. Fruit prices, by the way, are by no means low - obviously, this has to do with the fact that they don't grow in the north, and lugging them from the south across the mountains isn't easy.

Three old CRT monitors with numbers on their casings stand in a row on a wooden desk in an internet cafe. Calendars and a sign reading '5000VND/1H' hang on the wall above the computers.

Internet is everywhere in Vietnam, Wi-Fi or mobile. But it's not very fast, especially in resort towns, and in motion (on a train or bus) it pretty much doesn't work at all. Plus, the Party is vigilant and blocks objectionable resources, Facebook among them. Bypassing this is easy, by editing hosts. The internet costs, as you can see, 25 cents an hour, but I think it's free for hotel guests. The PCs are ancient, the keyboards are filthy and sticky, but there was one off to the side with an LCD monitor, so it's not all that bad.

Some more fun facts about phones: our SIM card cost us about 20 bucks, but it's impossible to spend it all. Why? Because the internet is cheap, we didn't really have anyone to call in Vietnam, and you CANNOT make international calls or texts from a mobile in Vietnam!

Why you can't - nobody knows. There's some tricky workaround involving a landline, but no matter how much I struggled and called the operator, it still didn't work.  And you can't make calls abroad on any network, not just our Vinaphone. The card, by the way, had 3G, but it didn't work, and we were too lazy to figure it out, so we used EDGE. Roaming with LMT is pricey though, about 3 lats a minute, and SMS didn't work either (for me).

My advice to you: if you need mobile internet, buy a card for 10 bucks, it'll be more than enough. I actually still have mine left, I can gift it to you.

 Five round wall clocks with city names: Tokyo, London, Hanoi, Paris, and New York, are mounted on the wall along a staircase. A fluffy dark cat lies on the wooden lattice railing above the clocks, and a vase with green orchids stands in the foreground.

A frequent decorative element in hotels - clocks with the time in different cities

Coffee or caramel flavored ice cream in a glass dessert bowl, topped with fluffy milk foam, with a spoon submerged in it.

Ice cream with hot pastry, not bad

 A summer landscape: in the foreground, green mowed fields stretch towards a small pond on the right and a large blue lake on the left. By the lake, a road is visible with parked cars and people strolling against the backdrop of a dense forest under a clear sky.

A painting in a restaurant and a semicircular lamp

Thin slices of roasted meat with onions and sesame seeds, served on a hot cast-iron skillet shaped like a bull. 

A popular dish - domestic or wild pig meat on a "hot plate"

I first saw a cast-iron plate like this in Moscow at "Pirogi," but it didn't taste good there. Here it's delicious, it comes with different sauces, more and less exotic.

A close-up of a man in a blue jacket and glasses exhaling a cloud of smoke against a background with images of large fish and a yellow banner with red letters.

Thick clouds of smoke

A street food stall loaded with fresh vegetables, various meat skewers, and other prepared dishes. Nearby, a whole roasted pig lies on a tray.

Grill prep again, and even a piglet

A whole roasted pig with golden-brown skin dotted with dark spots lies on a metal tray. The tray is set on a blue plastic stool, and fresh greens in a red container are visible behind it.

The piglet got roasted in the evening, and not even just once

Life on the streets of Sapa starts around 6-7, and continues until 22-23 in the evening; you can definitely get something to eat during this time at least. Shops, stalls, and kiosks open and close not by a schedule, but by intuition, and the grill benches always have staff manning them anyway.

Lastly, I'll say that it's cute and interesting in Sapa, but the pestering hustlers really get to you. Somehow I reacted normally this time around, but overall it's definitely annoying.

Also, the following peculiarity is clearly visible in Sapa: there are never any price tags anywhere in Vietnam. You have to find out the price by asking, and since you're a foreigner, they'll quote you a price 2-3 times higher than the real one. For instance, they'll charge 25 cents apiece for deep-fried sweet dough pretzels, which is highway robbery. The real price is most likely 25 cents for 3-4 pieces, or maybe even lower.

Therefore, you have to haggle ruthlessly everywhere, wring your hands, put on a sorrowful face, shake your wallet, pretend to walk away, and so on. Sure, there's little point in saving pennies on pretzels, but if you're buying a jacket or boots, then you really have to put the effort in. Of course, the price for such goods will only be marked up 1.5-2 times, but they actually often have price tags there too. A bit more on this - in the upcoming episodes.


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