Winter 17/18 Tân Quang over Phố Ràng to Sa Pa

It rained the whole night, and it rained the whole morning. I guess it is because the Greek comes from a country where it does not rain that much. He is not used to driving in the Vietnamese mountains, where the roads are bad, even worse when wet. And he has no experience with the low clouds and fog in the mountains when it rains. I have plenty of it and decided to take the easy way in the valley. Stubborn as a mule, Mitsos took to the mountains.

Motorbiker — The Greek is ready for the road. It rains, and he thinks it is good to take the mountain road.

Wet Dirtroad — This is the highway – and it got worse.

Since it rained for most of the trip, I have only a few pictures today. You see the road – you can imagine. One time,e there was a river on the road that was quite deep. Had to wait till I saw some locals pass to know how to cross. I was lucky, and my bike made it safely to the other side. The Greek was not so lucky. He chose to try the left side. That was not a good idea. He got stuck and had to walk his bike out of it. The water was about 60 cm deep on this side. I wonder how it is in the rainy season.

Mountain Road — Only to make way for more rain

Clouds over Forrest — But the street stays below the clouds

Nhà nghỉ Hà Thần in Phố Ràng

Got into town a bit after 15:00. There are a lot of Guesthouses along the main road, so it was not too easy to decide. Found this one and was quite happy. They sent the little boy with me to show me the room. I liked it, so the next step is to find out the price. Since he was only 10 or so, I put some money on the floor, but he did not like what I put. So he got some more out of my hand and put it on top. Too much, so I took some back. After a while, we settled on a price. We went back down again, and I filled in my information in the book. After that, it was relaxing in the dry room and waiting for the Greek.

Hotel Room — Our room at the Nhà nghỉ Hà Thần

Wet Greek — The Greek had to turn back after a while. The fog in the mountains was too thick. Wet but happy to find me in the nice room

It was not easy to find a restaurant in town. If you go to small towns, the restaurants close quite early or have a lot of meat and not enough greens. The only one we found that looked OK enough so the Greek would go in was this one. The little girl saw us and followed us into the place. She helped us translate with the owner and we talked till dinner was done.

Today’s drive:
I drove 81 kilometers in 2 hours, 47 minutes.

Phố Ràng to Sa Pa

The next day, the sky was gray but no rain. At last, in the morning. That should change into the day, but for now, we were good to go.

House in North Vietnam — House along the road

Motorbike — Lots of mud on the roads for the rest of the day.

Passed a lot of villages in the mountains, and a lot of them have roads like this. Before and after the village,e it is quite ok, but inside there is no tar or concrete. That makes for a lot of red dust when it is dry and sticky mud when it is wet. No clue why they haven’t fixed the road inside the village??

Road Sign — Looks like I have to find another way

After the Clear Cut — Finished shavin the mountain

Factory — Really big factory in the middle of nowhere

Wood Furniture — But they have mountains next to the road. And from all the mountain wood they make thin layers of inlay.

Train Bridge — Bikes to the left, please

Modern Building — Quite modern buildings here in the mountains

Hieu Dang Sapa Hotel

Sa Pa is so big now and has so many hotels and tourists – it is best to book ahead. This way, you arrive and can take a shower. I opted for the Hieu Dang Sapa Hotel, which is super close to the town center.

But there are loads of other hotels in Sa Pa! Get a good rate on Booking.com or on agoda.com.

Bathroom Hieu Dang Sapa Hotel — The bathroom

The last time I was in Sa Pa is so long ago. I remembered nothing at all. Decided to stay in the room for most of the day. Far to many tourists out there and so much traffic. Only went for some food in the evening with Mitsos.