Solo trip to Sa Pa of a girl who is afraid of dogs

LAO CAI – The first day she arrived in Sa Pa, Thuy wanted to “run away and get people” immediately because there were too many dogs, but she was afraid of them.

On a chilly day in early October, Ngo Thanh Thuy, 23 years old living in Bac Ninh, suddenly wanted to work in the cold and immerse herself in nature. The image of Sapa at that time flashed in her mind. Immediately, Thuy carried the suitcase on the road without thinking much.

“The decision to go to Sa Pa was made by me on a day when my mind was in the clouds. I went without a schedule, without a plan. If I had planned ahead, I would have postponed it like a trip to Ha Giang or Ninh Binh before,” Thuy said.

Thuy travels and works remotely.

This trip to Thuy was 5 days and 4 nights long, and spent all of her time in Ta Van village. Before that, she went to Sa Pa many times, but when she came to Ta Van, she saw more dogs than she imagined. “I know Sa Pa has many dogs, but I don’t know that many. When I opened my eyes, I saw dogs, they barked and growled. Every sound they made was like a bomb hit my head,” Thuy said.

The homestay she stayed at was commented on as “very beautiful”, the downside is that she has three dogs. There is one even bigger than Thuy. She dared not go downstairs. Every time she went down, she had to look around to see where the three dogs were. Many times, she reassured herself that by just walking normally, dogs don’t bite. But when she saw them, she was still startled.

“The first time I traveled, I wanted to go home on the first day because there were too many dogs. But after that, I reassured myself that each trip brings me meaningful experiences. The trip. This time made me realize that I am more afraid of dogs than I thought,” Thuy said with a laugh. She told herself that she would not return to Sapa alone again. If she goes, she must go with someone strong enough, or at least not afraid of dogs, so that they can protect her.

Thuy’s thought of wanting to go home quickly disappeared on the second day she arrived at Ta Van. “It was a beautiful sunny day,” she recalls. Therefore, Thuy decided to walk around to see the scenery. The next interesting thing she discovered was that the dogs in the village were not “terrible”, but very gentle during the day. They didn’t bark or follow her like the night before. “They’re only scary at night.”

At noon, she asked locals about the restaurant, and the way and was enthusiastically led by two young girls in the village. “Both of them are younger than me, but married. They make a living selling handmade souvenirs to tourists, carrying children while working. The items they sell I don’t use, but still buy to support”.

Minh Lam, the owner’s son, loves dogs and speaks English very well.

Thuy was shown a shop that is both a homestay and a restaurant. The only minus point is that there are also dogs here. The food is rated delicious. Her favorite is scrambled eggs with tomatoes and mixed salad. While waiting for the dish, Thuy met Minh Lam, the owner’s son. Lam was young, about 5-6 years old, just came back from playing. Seeing the guest, he went into the house to take out scissors to cut and give Thuy a flower, with the English sentence “I love you” that made the young girl’s heart melt. “It’s the first time I’ve heard someone say this to me,” laughs the travel blogger. After saying that sentence, Lam ran to continue playing. Moments later, the boy came back, holding a small dog in his hand to show Thuy. She was still startled when she saw this animal. But looking at the animal sleeping soundly in Lam’s hand, she felt at peace.

Thuy is impressed because Lam is very good at English, even better than Vietnamese. The reason is that Lam’s guests are mainly international and English-speaking guests. Therefore, the boy was communicated with this language from a young age, often. Playful, but when Thuy expressed her desire to take pictures of Lam, the boy sat still and smiled shyly.

Thuy’s days in Ta Van passed in peace. As she wandered around the village, she met many international guests. Some people took pictures with her, some people praised Thuy as beautiful, others left a special impression on her.

For Thuy, Sapa is a special place. It was a destination she always wished to visit when she had not had the opportunity to go far away. But when she got there, Sa Pa made her disappointed because it was far from her imagination. “Sa Pa always leaves me with many doubts and confusion every time I come back. I like this place because of the beauty of the mountains, the traditional wooden houses, the friendliness and honesty of the people.”

But besides that, she also feels sorry for this famous destination because Sa Pa is gradually becoming touristic. Traditional values ​​have been lost, old-style wooden houses are gone, instead of concrete constructions. “Looking at the cliffs that are being flattened by machines to build houses, dust in a corner of the sky. If it continues like this, how much is left of the wild beauty of the mountains?”

Thuy said she knew she couldn’t be selfish and asked Sa Pa to keep its original and wild features because the people here need to develop tourism to have a better life. But what Thuy hopes is that Sa Pa can develop tourism in a sustainable way, to still retaining the inherent traditional cultural values.

Fried egg with tomato, priced at 50,000 VND a plate, is Thuy’s favorite when coming to Sa Pa.

Some notes when coming to Sapa:

From Hanoi to Lao Cai city: Thuy takes a train, you can book sleeper tickets on the website of Vietnam Railways. This place also sells car tickets for the Lao Cai – Sa Pa route, so it’s very convenient.

Travel time: take the train at 10pm, arrive in Lao Cai at 5am. Upon arrival, guests are notified to go to the counter and arrange to board the car to move on. The cost is more than 620,000 VND per person round trip (two routes by car and train).

Sa Pa – Ta Van: take a motorbike taxi and ask the homestay owner to help you. Cost 100,000 VND one time. The road in Ta Van is a pass, it’s dangerous, so Thuy doesn’t rent a car. She chose to walk.

Thuy chose Indi House and accidentally saw it on Airbnb. Homestay is a traditional wooden house of the village, small but clean and cozy. Thuy in the attic, price 350,000 VND a night. The owner cooks rice for guests.

Homestay is located next to the stream, every day Thuy sits on the balcony to catch the sun and wind, listen to the murmuring stream and watch the fruit-laden persimmon tree in the front yard. This is the feeling of peace she longs to find.

Thuy is a vegetarian. Sapa has many international visitors, many of which are also vegetarians. Therefore, most of the eateries and restaurants in town and village have vegetarian dishes. Some of Thuy’s favorite vegetarian dishes are pumpkin soup, vegetarian vermicelli and spring rolls, lam rice, tomato fried eggs, fresh vegetable salad, and beans with mushroom sauce… Prices for dishes range from 30,000 VND to 70,000 VND.

The weather in this season has a big temperature difference. Therefore, it is advisable to bring many thin items, instead of one thick shirt. It is cold at night and early in the morning, so dress warmly to avoid getting cold. It is sunny in the afternoon and afternoon, so you can wear a dress to take pictures of “virtual life”.

Photo: Internet

Đăng bởi: Ngô Tấn Phát