Shit luck would have it that on the day we departed Sapa, the sun was out, and the sky was clear after almost a week of living inside a cold, dank cloud!
There are no direct transport links between Sapa and our next destination, Tam Dao, so we decided to break the journey in Yen Bai or Vinh Yen. The latter was closer, so that’s where we went.
We took the same G8 Sapa Tour bus back, but the driver forgot to drop us off at the intersection as the bus did not go into the town and was a direct to Hanoi. When I reminded him we were supposed to get off, he swung the beast around and drove us back up the highway to the drop-off point … which was in the middle of nowhere. Fortunately, a taxi driver is never far away in Nam, and one immediately approached us offering a ride into town, 10km away, for 100,000 dong (less than $4) – we’ll take that.
Our accommodation at the Modena by Fraser was top-notch, a four-star hotel at a fraction of the cost of something similar in Thailand (under 2,000 baht a night). Unfortunately, it was in a residential area, so there were very few food options around the place. Eating at the hotel restaurant, which was also ridiculously cheap, was a good alternative.
There are no tourists in Vinh Yen, as there is nothing here aside from a lake and a golf course. We used the break to enjoy the fancy hotel and its facilities, and wanted a taste of real Vietnam without the gaudy lights and tourist shops.
We grabbed a couple of complimentary hotel bicycles and pedaled into the main shopping area, which was a ghost town devoid of people and traffic. We also needed cash, but half the ATMs were closed or had limits on withdrawals … strange in a country that is cash-dominated.
The lake area is quite scenic, but it appeared to be one major development project with empty apartment buildings, ghost shopfronts, and half-built ostentatious lakeview houses for the wealthy. The area may be thriving in a few years, but it was desolate today. After a quick bia hoi, we headed back to relax for the afternoon before tomorrow’s onward journey to our last destination.
Next: Tam Dao
Previous: Fansipan
