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cated in the northwestern mountains of the country, Sapa is a modest town nestled within the Hoang Lien Son mountain range in Lao Cai Province. Sapa is an excellent destination to enjoy outdoor activities with stunning landscapes that attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

Travelling in Sapa, few tourists miss an opportunity to trek to mountain villages and majestic waterfalls.

Cat Cat Village sits atop unspoiled landscapes and is a desirable destination for trekkers seeking to spend full days walking in a world of natural charm and tranquility.

Terraced paddy field, Sapa, Vietnam

Visiting the village, tourists will discover various traditional trades of the local people such as weaving, jewellery manipulation, metal work and stone carvings.

The road from Sapa winds through hilly terrain, past terraced paddy fields. A sign reads “Welcome to Cat Cat Cultural Village”, greeting visitors as they arrive at the entrance of the village.

A leisurely walk within the old village provides visitors with a better understanding of the traditional customs and practices of the ethnic Mong people that live here.

While wandering around the village, I continually asked the locals about their crafts and houses. I was curious about everything and the locals were friendly and ready to help. They also politely asked me to buy some hand-made souvenirs.

Visitors in Cat Cat have an opportunity to admire and watch locals sit with looms and create colourful pieces of brocade. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful designs of flowers and birds. Interestingly, Mong women use plants and leaves to dye the fabrics. After dyeing the fabric, they then roll a round, smooth piece of wood, covered with wax, over the material in order to polish. By doing this it helps to make the colours more durable on the fabric.

In addition to their weaving craft, many residents in Cat Cat are good at making gold and silver jewellery. Their products are quite sophisticated, especially the women’s jewellery.

Further into the village are waterfalls along with a stream that weaves its way around boulders, hills and mountains. The pristine stream is spanned by a suspension bridge, which offers a good view of the waterfalls and mountains.

The path after the bridge passes through bamboo forests filled with wild flowers and past tranquil brooks.

Another must-see village is Ta Phin, a remote village located 12km from the centre of Sapa, which still retains traditional customs and lifestyles of the Dao, Tay and Mong ethnic groups.

It’s recommended for tourists to catch a local xe om (motorbike taxi) at price of VND180,000 (US$10) in order to get there. Another option is to rent a motorbike for VND100,000 ($5.50) a day, which provides a convenient and interesting way to discover the landscape and villages.

Despite the winding road to the village, tourists can see picturesque rolling hills and terraced fields on the way. Much of the Sapa valley has been cultivated into verdant rice paddy fields equipped with irrigation systems.

Ta Phin Village seeks to capitalise from tourism and thus causes local children and adults to constantly follow visitors, in an effort to persuade them to buy wallets, hats, bags or fabric. However, these sellers tend to be friendly and hospitable.

The villagers often invite tourists to visit their homes, where they show them how they live and what they have, and tell about their families. Their living standard is still low, but their lives have been improved by the expanding tourism industry.

“We women are so active – not only do we grow vegetables and raise pigs and get wood for the fire, we also try to learn English so we can talk to tourists,” said a 25-year-old Dao woman. “Before there were tourists we were very poor, but now we can make handicrafts, make money and meet people.”

Ta Phin Village is able to win tourists’ hearts thanks to the beautiful sights that surround it. Lavie Waterfall is a common destination for trekkers. After trekking through forests, maize fields and mountains, tourists often enjoy soaking in Lavie Stream and sunbathing on flat boulders.

After a long day of walking on the curvy roads and hills around Sapa, it was pleasant to soak my bones and muscles in a traditional Dao herbal bath at Ta Phin.

The price was reasonable, VND60,000 ($3.30) for a one-hour bath. Soaking in medicinal waters may make you feel a little tipsy. When you start feeling dizzy, it’s time to get out of the wooden bathtub. After the soak, I finally felt relaxed. The herbal bath was good for my health, mind and bones.

I was very happy to have a chance to travel to Sapa. I will never forget how it felt to stand in front of imposing, beautiful mountains. — VNS

Source: Minh Thu/ Vietnamnews

Recommendation in Sapa, Vietnam:

- Hotels in Sapa
- Trek Fansipan, Sapa tours
- Trekking Tours in Vietnam

In the decades since the war, Vietnam has blossomed into a tourist’s paradise, with lovely beaches, extraordinary shopping opportunities, and friendly and welcoming people. In fact, more and more Westerners plan trips to Vietnam every year.

Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Step 1: Obtain a passport before you plan a trip to Vietnam. Bring your original birth certificate (not a copy), one other valid form of identification and two small passport-sized pictures of yourself to your post office. Note that it can take 4 to 6 weeks to get your passport in the mail unless you pay a significant fee to rush the process.

Step 2:  Develop a travel itinerary for your trip to Vietnam. Many tourists center their activities around the two main cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), and arrange for travel between the cities in advance. You may be able to fly into one city and fly back home from the other, or even include Thailand, Hong Kong or China in your flight plans.

Step 3: Schedule a visit with your doctor at least a month before you leave in order to get proper vaccinations, since you will need shots for yellow fever, hepatitis A and B and typhoid. While the risk for malaria is relatively low in the major cities, you may want to bring along malaria tablets if you’re going to be visiting rural areas. Check with the TDS website for latest vaccination requirements (see Resources below).

Step 4: Contact an experienced and knowledgeable travel agent to help you plan a trip to Vietnam. Your agent should be able to help you find the best travel and accommodation packages, and to help make travel arrangements between destinations within Vietnam. You can also use online resources, such as Travelocity, to find the best deals on airfare and hotel rooms (see Resources below).

Step 5: Visit the website for the Vietnamese Embassy and arrange for an application for a travel visa (see Resources below). You will need a valid passport and either a money order or traveler’s check made out to the Embassy of Vietnam. The cost of the visa will depend upon the length of your stay and the number of times that you will be entering and leaving the country.

Tips & Warnings
Since there are no direct flights from the United States to Vietnam, you will probably have to route your flight through other countries, such as Singapore, China, Hong Kong or Thailand.

Source: EhowRelated to Vietnam travel

- Viet nam travel guide
- Viet nam travel tips
- Viet nam tours

Halong Bay

Halong Bay is the leading candidate for Seven New Wonders of the World - an amazing, jaw dropping “have to see it to believe it” kind of place. And I had. Seen it. One year earlier, to be exact, while on a business trip and it amazing and my jaw did drop. I wanted S to experience the same thing and I was counting my blessings that I was going to see it again.

Normally we are on a tight, tight backpacker budget that forces us into fan cooled rooms with questionable stains on the walls, the sounds of the noisy street (or beach) keeping us awake. But for this, our one night (well, my second one night) on Halong Bay sleeping in a junk boat, for this we decided to splash out a bit. And what a difference that 20 extra dollars can make! The food on my trip last year had been good - a solid good. But this year…..just look.

The first course of lunch. We knew that things were looking good when this plate of humongous shrimp (I like to call’em shramp) were set down in front of us. We peeled these guys and dipped them (who am I trying to kid? I bathed mine…) in the limey, salty peppery mixture you see at the top of this page.

I will let you in on a secret. I like eating squid, octopus and cuttlefish the most when they are purple. I have no idea why. When you place a plate of pale white calamari in front of me my stomach is like “nope” but when I see a piece of tako that is the colour of concord grape juice something in my brain breaks and I become submissive to its charms.

Yes - we are still on lunch! You may recall that I am normally a vegetarian (an ass kickin’ food lovin’ one) but on this trip I decided to eat fish because frankly, I think they are dicks. The wonderful staff on this boat made us an entirely pescetarian 5-course meal. This was a lovely fish steak smothered in a sort of Vietnamese warm salsa - tomatoes, onions both spring and white, chili and of course, garlic.

Our boat was much nicer than our course backpacker senses were accustomed to. Every thing was dark wood polished to a high sheen - very posh.

We eyed the requisite karaoke machine with suspicion, knowing full well that all of the Da Lat wine and Ha Noi beer was going to loosen us up enough to give it a go. But first, a perfect simple photo of a cold towel in a little laquered basket.

I am really at my very happiest when a meal begins with a vase of jumbo shramp and some carved vegetable flowers. I want every meal to start with these things. Do not be surprised if you come to my house and I present you with a tall refreshing glass of shrimp and a carrot rosette before you’re even all the way in the door.

These were in served in a really light broth - mostly clam nectar and garlic and were very delicate and pretty, but….I have had a bad relationship with bivalves since a terrible, horrible, life changing-ly bad bout of food poisoning from mussels a few years ago. Only recently have I been able to even entertain the notion of placing a clam anywhere near my mouth - but these boys made the cut! Cautiously, mind you - I only ate about 5 and even then was terrified to go to sleep, as if they were little clam axe-murderers just waiting for me to relax and close my eyes.

For the grand finale: crab shells stuffed with crab cakes. Just when I was feeling a little riced out, a little accosted with lemongrass (I hate the stuff and am pummeled with it daily) they brought these little gems out. Now, I don’t harbour any notions that these are in any way Vietnamese other than the fact that the crab lived here, but let me tell you: I was one pinch of Old Bay Seasoning and a little pot of aioli away from sheer bliss.

I will always remember my first time to Halong Bay. I will remember the beauty, the eerie calm, the almost spooky way that the karst rock formations jut out from the murky sea. It was magic in the truest sense of the word.

But my second trip? I will think about those tiny limes, the plump shrimp, the delicate blush of an octopus tentacle, the meatiness of the rich crab meat.

And I’ll look you straight in the eye and tell you that the first time was more meaningful.

You’ll believe me, right?

Related to Halong Bay

HaLong bay cruises: Indochina sails: www.indochinasails.com

Ha Long kayaking: www.kayakhalongbay.com

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