Vietnam Fansipan

Right, slightly late on this post, but nevertheless here it is!

Wasn't very physced up about this trip till the last day, which i finally dragged my lazy ass off to buy my equipments and pack my bag.

Trekking equipments:

1 x high cut solomen gortex boots
1 x set of trekking attire
1 x set of warm clothing
+ other usual equipments

"Water sports" equipments:

1 x wet attire
1 x sandals

Holidaying equipments:

2 x sets of going out clothes
1 x set of warm clothing
900000 dong
300 usd (200 for package)

-Hello Vietnam-

After arriving at Hanoi, we were quickly whizzed off by our friendly agents to a nearby restaurant (pho 24) for our dinner (not inclusive). Surprisingly 1 of them really resembled a local actress.
Next we boarded the train to our next destination; the town of Lao Chai. From there it was a straight 3 hours van drive up the steep slopes... to... the village of.... SAPA!
Well of course we spent most of the time dozing off in the van, but hey the road up has some pretty nice views!


-The village of SAPA-

Finally after some ass breaking seat... we arrived at... SAPA village, the border village which separates Vietnam from the vast China! After dismounting we were quickly swarmed by friendly villages who sought to sell their homemade wares, if you fancy some of their homemade ware you can get them as low as 2000 dong which = sgd 0.20. (If you allow them to force their goods on you, it'll get harder to dismiss them later).
After a simple breakfast and some photos at the Royal hotel, we changed into our trekking gear and met our guide for a briefing. And off we are in the van towards our set off point.



After settling our camping permits for us our guide (above) resumed driving us to the set off point.

-Trek, Fansipan, GO!-

Terrain: Varies, Dry - Muddy, Up and down hills
Trek : Moderate (not advisable for unconditioned)
Trekking hrs to base camp: 5 for conditioned, 3 for those super trained
Summit: 3142m
Scenery: Worth the effort
Temperature at summit: 18 Celsius at summit during day, easily 10 during night (Dry season)

The trek of Mount Fansipan was relatively easy on the 1st day, it hadn't rain for the pass few days so the terrain wasn't really that bad, with muddy stretches on and off, so a pair of gortex shoes are highly recommended for comfort during the trek. If you don't mind a pair of trekking sandals would do fine too. But this was the relatively dry season, so i can't comment fully on the extent of the terrain. 2 hrs of trekking took us to our lunch point which we had, bread, egg, cheese and watermelon not bad for a start.


Oh did i mention that, water should be purchased at the village? A 1.5 litres cost 7000 dong at the village while it cost 20000 at the lunch point. They also sell coke (15000) and beer (forgot). So pack enough till the base camp, where they will cook some from the river.

After 5 hours of ups and downs (more downs really) we finally reached our base camp.


Where the porters and guides unloaded and started to prepare our dinner, 2 pups greeted us in earnest.

Seriously, the cute pups are certainly there to take a load off your mind, especially for dog lovers... for non-dog lovers... good luck to you... (to somebody). Anyways everyone took sometime of for a rest and also to wash up in the icy cold water of a river nearby. Trust me... the water is shivering cold.
A standard dinner was served consisting of chicken fried with mushroom, cabbage, tofu and fried potatoes. With rice wine for fighting the chill!


Believe me... the night is freezing cold, sleeping bags are provided but its best to bring 2 sets of warm clothings with you, either that or hug the person next to you for extra warmth. Another thing, clear your bladder before your sleep... It ain't fun when you wake up in the middle of the night, bladder full, shivering from the cold and having 2 hyperactive pups running around you while trying to relief yourself. Imagine shivering uncontrollably, trying to get the feeling and worrying about hitting the pups with your *erHerM*. Right... ain't a good experience...

- Trek, Fansipan, GO! GO!-

Ok Mr day 2, after a short 30 minutes down slope, it was against the gravity for the next 4 hours. The pretty tiring trek is saved by occasional nice views, terrain started to get dryer but slightly narrower and more sandy. What felt like 4 hours only appeared to be 2... Climb Climb Climb...

Finally... we rest...

Alvin taking a good rest...

Wonderful picture.

Trek trek, climb climb... after another hour or so of trekking we finally reach... the... SummiT!!!

Lets say... the view was rather spectacular~ On your left side, you can see the village of SAPA ,turn your head 70 degrees and behold... the great and mighty China! Feels good to be on the mountain resting right at the edge of 2 countries.



Oh look... a trig mark?




After lunch (baguette, cheese and fruits mixed we some sexy posing, its time to head back to our previous lunch point for a good night's sleep... oh so shiok! The trek down was much more dangerous & moral breaking especially well... nvm~

= Trek down =
Scenery of the trek down was wonderful plenty of ranges, too bad we were kinda rushing for this and that. So didn't really have the change to get those on cam, maybe its in the other one... hmm... Right so back to lunch point we were, where we met 2 ang mo's who've like just met that morning and decided to scale the mountain that very day. Cool, hope i could be like this someday, kinda whats adventure's abt. Who are you going to rely on when you get into trouble in the wild? Dinner was the similar that night and somehow it wasn't all that cold, turns out when you huddle together and share a blanket... u feel... warmer... and yeah did i mention? The toilet at the lunch point has a pig pen in it. So you know, that black pig inside probably saw more "male/females'" than any of us... whooo... cool~

= Trek though the sapa village=
Last leg of the trek, nothing too difficult and/or fantastic. Just that we got to see some of the villages, right the people there are kinda friendly and seriously... the air... is fresh. Just breathing that air made it reason enough for me to climb the mountain, so fresh... it takes your mind off all the troubles, all~ If you are there for the fresh air and a magnificent sight of their padi fields you should take this route. Shiok...


And finally... we reach the place that the van picked us up, all dirty, sweaty and very smelly...

Other characters not really featured in this write up Fansipan:
1.) The anyhow dog namer (Yulan)









2.) Carol in Boots









3.) Mr & Mrs Alvin














4.) Ms mosquito bite on my face
(Sorry Attached file fansipan001.jpg cannot be found)

5.) The unknowing girl (more than 1)










6.) The ulterior motive guy (more than 1)













7.) The OMG desu Shuai ge











Some side-quest you can attempt:

* "Beat the guide, be the guide"
* "Hunt! Where's the Bamboo Shoots"













* "Longest casualty Evacuation"
* "Cold, Shiver, Dogs and Pee"
* "1,2,3 Snap, the ultimate poser"
* "Camera, Camera who has the biggest eyes"











Job vacancy in Fansipan
- Guide
- Dog Handler
- Cook (kick away their one)
- Poser

For the rest of the vietnam parts, you can do a brief read up here dated 17/05/07 Cheers~