Hanoi by Train to Sa Pa
Day 1 Hanoi – Train (Lunch: Meals incl. in itinerary (Vietnam) )
Hanoi Street Eats and Market Visit
Visit the bustling Chau Long market located just off of Truc Bach Lake. Enjoy the walk through the narrow and busy passages with a crowd of vendors’ stores displaying all sorts of colourful groceries and foodstuffs. There is a good deal of chances for great photos with vibrant colors from a vegetable shop or a butcher’s store. If you are keen to see some exotic stuff, you will find a corner with kicking frogs, eels, silkworms and so forth and so on. Feel the energy in the air with the excitement from the locals who are working on the ingredients for their upcoming meals at home. Twist the way through the crowd to find some interesting street food stops. There will be the tasty rice vermicelli with grilled pork patties (bun cha) with the famous deep fried Vietnamese spring roll. Continue your culinary exploration with some creative variations of the popular “pho”. Next, go to an old cafe that has been handed down through a few generations to enjoy the aroma of the coffee made with special family brewing technique.
Visit a Water Puppet Show
See a Water Puppet Show, a fantastic art form originating in northern Vietnam, best seen in Hanoi.
Transfer to/from train station
By train from Hanoi to Lao Cai
– Overnight in Train
Day 2 Lao Cai – Sa Pa (Breakfast: Hotel )
Transfer from Lao Cai to Sa Pa
Breakfast at the hotel
Excursion to Bac Ha market (Sundays only, tour will start early morning)
Visit the colourful market at Bac Ha, where ethnic minorities from around the region gather to trade water buffalo, livestock and handicrafts. The people inhabiting the area are mainly Flower Hmong, but there are also Dzao, Nung, Xa Fang, Phu La and Thai among others – Overnight in Sa Pa
Day 3 Sa Pa – Lao Cai – Hanoi – Train (Breakfast: Hotel )
Excursion to untouched villages (Ban Khoang
Ta Giang Phinh)
Leave Sa Pa behind and head northwards towards O Quy Ho with several stops to view the magnificent landscapes of Fansipan Mountain, Sin Chai Valley and the beautiful flower and vegetable farms. Pass through a wild region where waterfalls cut through the thick rain forest covering the mountainsides. Visit the village of Ban Khoang, home to the Black Hmong and Red Zao ethnic people who live their unique way of life and maintain their traditional values. The village looks prosperous thanks to the combination of wet rice cultivation on the terraced fields and the cardamom farming under the thick forest. Spend over an hour walking around this remote village to get an understanding of local life. Continue on to Ta Giang Phinh Valley where the Black Hmong live in small villages scattered alongside a peaceful stream.
After lunch by the stream walk along the path which connects all the villages and witness daily activities such as ploughing and harrowing the fields, and the growing or harvesting of crops. The walk ends in the mid-afternoon, and then drive back to Sa Pa. Total walking time is approximately three hours. Total trekking distance is approximately 9km
By vehicle from Sa Pa to Lao Cai (Vietnamese / Chinese border)
By train from Lao Cai to Hanoi
Transfer
– Overnight in Train
Day 4 Train (Breakfast: Hotel )
Transfer to/from train station
Breakfast at the hotel
Free time for shopping activities or leisure
