#RideVietnam Day 8 - Sapa - Roaming Around Misty Sapa at 5°C

Nestled within the 100 million year old Hoang Lien Son Mountains of Northwestern Vietnam, Sapa is most popular for hiking and travelers can enjoy the nature of this untouched pristine rainforest all around.

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On a clear day, you can expect to overlook gorgeous vast rice field terraces at Muong Hoa Valley and watch the local tribal villagers ploughing the field.

On a foggy day, you can expect to see absolutely... nothing 😂

We were literally standing right facing Muong Hoa Valley but could not see a thing.

And that's how we had it for the two days here.
Talk about managing expectations when it comes to traveling and sightseeing..

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One of the top key attraction at Sapa is Fansipan.

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Dubbed as the "Roof of Indochina", Fansipan is not only the highest mountain in the whole of Vietnam, but it is also the highest one in Southeast Asia mainland, standing tall at 3,143m.

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Enthusiastic climbers can do a multi-day guided hike of 630 steps up to the summit, passing through different variations of thick vegetation and plantations, to humongous pine trees and densely grown bamboo forests.

I read that the hike is nothing too technical though the last section to the summit may get a little challenging due to the steepness and altitude.

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But when you get to the top and witness the world at your feet, the stunning panoramic views would be worth every bit of the hike.

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However, if you're like me who prefers the relaxed way to get to the summit, you can take the cable car instead. What used to take 2 - 3 days to hike to the top of Fansipan can now be achieved in just 15 minutes.

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Sun Plaza Sapa Station is where you can take the cable car up, and this is how it looks on a sunny day.

Versus foggy day!

Unfortunately, not only was Sapa covered by a thick blanket of fog when we were here, the cable car was under maintenance too and would only resume operation a day after we leave this place.

Well, the nice thing was we were reunited with my brother and his friends here in Sapa!

And what better way to comfort ourselves but enjoy some hot pot steamboat together in this 5°C weather!

January is usually the coldest month in Sapa and it's considered their Winter season.

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There was a few times it got so cold here that it actually snowed! And the last time it did was only in January 2018! Would absolutely love to witness this one day.

Since the weather seemed like it was going to remain foggy all day, we figured there wasn't really much of a point to head onto other attractions like Cat Cat Village as the main thing here is the scenery.

So we walked around town a little bit.

There were many shops here selling tons of hiking gears, great for hikers who need to grab some last minute equipment.

Came across this group of BMW GS adventure tourers parked outside a hotel and their bikes were also as dirty as our KTMs! Haha it's just really mud everywhere here right now due to the construction.

Interesting sightings continued to be spotted even here in Sapa where we see the local bikers carrying trees on their rides. TREES.

This one next level LOL.

Spent the rest of the day hopping from one cafe to another and just chilling around Sapa Town.

Tomorrow, we'll depart from Sapa and ride to China Border!
Hopefully the weather clears up then!

[Singapore. Ho Chi Minh. Da Lat. Quy Nhon. Da Nang. Hanoi. Ha Giang. Lao Cai. Sapa]

[Mileage Clocked: 1,643KM]
[Terrain: Tarmac, Broken Roads, Muddy Off Road, Mountain Passes]
[Traffic: Moderate]

[Temperature/Weather: 5°C/Cold]

Next stop: Lao Cai