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Somewhere between wake and sleep, the bus grinds to a halt, the lights are abruptly switched on and we alight into the semi-darkness of Sa Pa Town. Bleary eyed, we search for hot coffee and warm our hands round the first bun ca (a barbequed pork and noodles dish) grill we see. As the sun slowly rises the mist unfurls around the mountains, and, after a warming bowl of noodle soup and much-needed second cup of coffee in the town market, we begin our ascent out of Sa Pa Town and into the hills.
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By now the sun has emerged from behind the clouds and the mist has dissipated, revealing the famous, verdant landscape that attracts so many to this region of Northern Vietnam. Even in the height of winter, seven months away from September's rice harvest season, the hills and the rice paddies are visually enchanting. Our friendly guide, Ching, hands us small, apple-like fruits and chats to us about life in the mountains as we make the steep climb up to our first viewpoint. For the next couple of hours we walk through the hills. It's a quiet and peaceful morning, and after a couple of weeks in Hanoi it feels spiritually restorative to escape the chaos of the city.
At our highest point we gaze out over the valley towards Vietnam's highest mountain, Fan Si Pan, 3,143 meters above sea level. Prior to the 1990s, Sa Pa's economy was mainly based on small size agriculture. Today, it's estimated more than 100,000 people annually visit the region and it is fast emerging as one of Vietnam's top tourist draws. The Lào Cai province is home to around 24 ethnic groups, including the Hmong, Tay and Dao, each with their own language, culture and traditions. As we wander through villages, Ching shows us the plant used to make the natural indigo dye for the beautiful, handmade hemp and cotton clothes worn by the ethnic groups.As the sun sets in the mountains, we gather round the table at the homestay to eat dinner and commence that night's consumption of rice wine, known colloquially in English as "happy water", a popular, homemade spirit consumed across Vietnam. In between the belly warming shots, the family tell us stories about growing up in the mountains.
For the next two days, we trek through rice paddies and villages, making our way through the awe-inspiring landscape. After a final morning walking, we opt to take a motorbike up the hill from the valley back to Sa Pa Town, winding our way back for a final mountain view coffee. As we sit there, the transient, passing mist clears a little once again to reveal Sa Pa's famous peaks lurking through the fog.
