Except it’s not.
In December we went to the northwestern mountains of Vietnam to a popular tourist town, Sa Pa. Sa Pa is known for its weather, cooler than Hà Nội, many people travel to Sa Pa for a break from the heat during the summer and mountainous tiered rice paddy views. Sa Pa is also home to many minority tribal groups, including the Hmong. It is also has Fansipan (Phan Xi Păng), the tallest peak on the Indochina peninsula. You can see China from the top.
We stayed at the Sapa Jade Hill resort situated at the edge of town, along the side of a mountain. The resort was in full-swing for Christmas and we were ready to “camp!”
Apparently, according to the hotel a manager, the weather has been tricky this year—lots of rain and overcast days made it difficult for people to see the views and tourism lagged (also, COVID). We, however, got excellent weather! it was a cool 30-70 degrees and mostly sunny skies.
The weekend we arrived in Sa Pa, the cable car to the top of Fansipan, which had been closed for the season due to COVID, opened. And what luck, because it might have been the highlight of the trip. We took a car up to her peak and we’re lost in the clouds.
We also got the chance to go for a trek through a local village and through the rice paddies. It was a gorgeous days and the kids were surprisingly ip for the challenge, spurred on by the promise of Choco-pies from our tour guide. At the end of the trek we stopped at the guides home to help make spring rolls and have a meal.
Sa Pa was really lovely. The only downside was only having a weekend to spare. Next time we will be back for longer (and, hopefully, during harvest, when the paddies are even greener)!
Will Travel with Toddlers 