One of the things we planned to do, and which we eventually managed with great pleasure, was a hike up Mount Fansipan (Phan Xi Păng), the highest peak in Vietnam, and indeed the "roof of Indochina". It is, admittedly, only 3,143 meters high, but for me even that is quite a lot — I hadn't been to the mountains before. This hike was intended as a trekking route, meaning it requires no special mountaineering gear, except maybe trekking poles. Fansipan doesn't have an alpine difficulty rating, so it was just right for my first time.
We walked 20 km according to the GPS, with an elevation gain of 1,843 meters. My GPS measures altitude inaccurately, but it's safe to say we started from about 1,943 meters and made it to 3,143, meaning the difference is 1,200 meters. At the same time, the trail had plenty of alternating ascents and descents. And don't forget the way back!
Vietnam - trekking to Fansipan in one day
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A few facts. Fansipan is located 9 km southwest of Sapa, and is an ecotourism hotspot because there are many different plants around: as many as two thousand.
Code of conduct in the national park
They demand a ticket, sticking to the paths, obeying officials, not bringing animals or explosives, not starting fires, and protecting the environment.
The beginning of the journey
You can only climb Fansipan accompanied by a guide, and the prices are far from pleasing: at least 70 bucks per person, and with an overnight stay and food it goes all the way up to 140. Usually, tours last two, or even three days, but my comrades decided that one would be enough. I sort of asked back in Latvia to make sure we could get decent sleep (8.5 hours) and warned them I had never been to the mountains before. Nevertheless, they decided to do it in a day. I didn't argue because I felt strong enough and was confident I'd make it. And that's how it turned out. Except that on the way back I lost the communal pot (an expensive one), Anya's mug, and her spoon. Let that be a lesson to me: no more carrying other people's stuff, and if it's expensive, no communal gear either.
The minibus driver with the puppy Fansipan
On the way there, we hit a dog, even though the minibus driver slowed down when he saw it. He didn't bother getting anxious when it still crawled under the wheels, and when the "thump" sound was heard, he calmly kept driving, which resulted in us running over it a second time. The overly sensitive among you will probably be horrified here, but you have to understand that in Vietnam, only the dogs that don't crawl under wheels are going to survive anyway — there is painfully little space here. On the other hand, when we arrived, he made sure the puppy wouldn't get hurt before we left — he gave it a kick, and it ran away.
Trekking poles in the form of cut bamboo can be grabbed at the start
I must say that the negotiations to get the tour price down were very heated, and when we also ended up not going on the first day, Nha from the hotel, and especially the guide, who had gotten up at 4 AM because of us, were not exactly thrilled. On the other hand, we paid a hefty sum (70*3=210 bucks) and had the right to good service. It's hard to find a balance between being obnoxious and standing up for your rights, but it has to be done.
The Lord sent us a phallic trail marker
Sent it for nothing, we had a GPS, and a guide.
A guide named Chinh
By the looks of it, our tour was organized by the company https://www.vietnamnomadtrails.com/. But it probably makes little difference. Our tour didn't have an overnight stay or a food porter, just a guide, a young (18 years old) guy named Chinh, practically still a school kid. He spoke English with a heavy accent and didn't understand complex sentence structures, so I quickly adapted and started speaking in pidgin, that is, simplified, grammar-less English. Later on, out of habit, I even overdid it in places, seeing as people in the cities do actually know some English here and there.
Considering, however, that Chinh is a simple village boy, his knowledge of English commands a fair amount of respect. When I was 18, I knew the bourgeois language just as well, if not worse. Chinh and I became friends and talked about life in Vietnam. He said he doesn't like waking up very early (which is required to hike Fansipan in one day). He also said that the money he earns as a guide comes hard ("this is no easy money"). Given that he probably makes very little, and climbing Mount Fansipan, especially in one day, is not for the faint of heart or body, I completely agree with him. I wanted to leave him a tip at the end, but I realized I'd be up to my ears in debt anyway when I got back. Unfortunately, that's exactly what happened.
Chinh also asked if I was married and if I had kids. I told him my girlfriend was still too young for kids, just 21, and in response, he told me he was married, and got married at 16 (though whether he has a child himself I forget, I think he does).
Intars and the dog Fansipan
I should mention that up until the first camp we were accompanied by a puppy, which I, not knowing its real name, dubbed Fansipan. We hiked, by the way, at a 20/5 pace, meaning 20 minutes of walking, 5 of resting. Intars suggested it. I liked it, it keeps you from slacking off and dragging your feet. If only I could use something like this for cycling, it would be just grand. The puppy, by the way, made it all the way to the first camp with us. Chinh said that a day earlier the mutt had done the exact opposite, hiking from the base camp down to the start. I helped the little dog out, because sometimes the tree trunks were so huge that the short-legged Fansik couldn't climb over them. Even though he would find a way around after a while, I still helped him, and on top of that I managed to snap photos, which isn't easy given that we were moving briskly and the trail was tough.
Chinh and Fansik taking a rest
This is Chinh still holding a stick; he carries it more for show, because he doesn't need it. Notice that he's also wearing rubber boots and is hardly carrying any water or food.
At the first camp (which isn't far away) you can buy some water, just like everywhere else in Vietnam
An authentic mountain cow
This is what the ascent looks like
I decided to edit the photos after all, but moderately
I was told this is called traversing
The eternal Vietnamese fog
Bamboo handrails
In reality, of course, the handrails aren't bamboo, they're concrete. It's just that bamboo was used for formwork, which is why they have such an interesting shape, with little rings. The handrails are sturdy, there's rebar inside, and I very rarely saw broken ones.
There are handrails in many places, but in plenty of others there are none
Ascents alternate with descents
The views are breathtaking, even in the fog
Beauty
In some spots there are also steel ladders, which are very slippery in the rain
This looks incredible
There are quite a few flowers too, even though the blooming season has passed
Closer to the summit of Fansipan, only dwarf bamboo grows
The base camp where people spend the night. It's not far from the summit, about two hours at a brisk pace
There's food in the tent
And dirt
Flowers everywhere
And bamboo
RaN Cedar trekking boots, Chinese as far as I could tell
I bought the boots the night before, after tasting some local wine. They literally saved me — with no climbing experience and without decent boots, I would have definitely broken my legs. I'll write more about clothes and shoes in Vietnam in a separate post.
More flowers
Tourists, of whom there are plenty on the trails of Fansipan
All the tourists we met were quite amazed by our speed run up Fansipan in a single day. I'll tell you a secret, it's something to marvel at. Hardly any of my friends and acquaintances, except those clearly involved in hiking clubs, could have pulled off such a stunt. Chinh said there are only about 20 such enthusiasts a year. It's something to be proud of, and it's a good thing I trained every day. Lately, to be honest, I've slacked off for various reasons, but I'll still try to keep it up.
In places, instead of handrails and ladders, there are specially broken bamboo stalks — very handy
Pretty steep
When we were already close to the summit, it started to rain, and after we began our descent it turned into almost a downpour. The ground under our feet turned to mush, the ladders got slippery, and wearing glasses, I couldn't see a damn thing anyway. The difficulty and danger of the descent doubled.
That's me wandering into a locals' tent, and they were roasting a little bird in there
The tent dwellers at the base camp poured me some boiling water free of charge, plus I warmed up by the fire and discussed pressing issues (as much as Chinh's skills as a translator allowed). I told them about Latvia, our life — I always tried to do that so as not to be just another dumb European tourist who does nothing but gawk at the natives. The trekking poles, by the way, couldn't handle the torture: one of them gracefully cracked and fell apart a little later. Luckily, we were already on our way down. Towards the end, we were walking at dusk; another hour, and we would have had to slog through the dark, which is no fun.
A hiking lunch pack from a Latvian sports shop
Roots, slush, and mud — a lovely combination
A fairy-tale panorama, and mysterious because of the fog
The locals prance around the mountains in sandals, but even they prefer not to hike all the way to the top in a single day
The descent
I wouldn't say this can be called a ladder — the steps are all skewed, and it's slippery
This one is a bit better, but still slippery
Conquering the summit
For Chinh, it's terribly cold at the top of Fansipan — but for us, it's just like a cool spring day, probably not even below 10 degrees. I shouldn't have believed it and lugged my fleece with me the whole way. We didn't stick around at the top for long, especially since you couldn't see a thing and it was raining. In any case, I really liked it, and I will one hundred percent go many more times, as long as there are mountains and comrades. Though you can go alone too, it's just more dangerous. At the same time, mountaineering with gear doesn't appeal to me at all, I just like walking.
If anyone is heading anywhere, drop me a line, I'm always up for it.
