The Ride
This is a four-day ride from Hanoi up the Red River Valley as far as the Chinese border at Lao Cai. From there we took the bus up to Sapa, a town in the Hoang Lien Mountains over 1000 m above the Red River Valley. It was a beautiful ride through areas where minority tribes live. Of medium difficulty only as far as Lao Cai, we decided the last 33 km to Sapa was too steep for an older couple on a tandem! We also felt that a tour of the whole North West would be a stunning trip for the energetic on mountain bikes. To quote our guide book,
"The round trip Hanoi to Hanoi via Dien Bien Phu and Sapa is about 1200 km and offers perhaps the most spectacular scenery anywhere in Vietnam. Opportunities to see something of the lives, customs and costumes of some of Vietnam's ethnic minorities abound."
The Road:
We left Hanoi on a minor road which was paved most of the way. The last 20 odd km on this road were unsurfaced but good. (Not indicated on our Lonely Planet Road Atlas.) Highway 2 was a good paved though narrow road and finally Highway 7, also paved, was in better shape than we expected from reports by bus travellers. It is however deteriorating rapidly. There was very little traffic: almost no cars, a few buses and numerous bikes and motorcycles.
Accommodation:
No problem. Sapa, as a popular tourist destination, has hotels and guesthouses in all price ranges.
The Route in Detail:
DAY 1: Hanoi to Pho Tho (99 km)
With the help of friendly English speaking people we found our way out of Hanoi and onto the road to Son Tay a good sized town 33 km from Hanoi. The road continued on to a ferry crossing. The car ferry was not in action when we arrived so the tandem was packed into a tiny ferryboat with walkers, other bicyclists and some motorbikes. Later we crossed a large bridge and were immediately directed left onto a dyke or levee along another river. The road was unpaved but had a good firm surface. The last 20 odd kilometres we biked above rice paddies and small brickfields accompanied by friendly motorcyclists. Although the road map showed the paved road continuing, all our enquiries indicated that this was the only way into Pho Tho.
DAY 2: Pho Tho to Yen Binh (73 km)
We were directed out of town on a narrow surfaced road, which brought us to Highway 2. This was the road we had avoided the day before. At Doan Hung 22 km along this road we turned onto Highway 7. The road wound its way along a narrow valley among small hills. The rice paddies became much smaller and a major crop here seemed to be bamboo and the huge palm fronds used for roofing. Tea plantations spread over some of the small hills.
At Yen Binh we found no accommodation so turned off in the direction of Yen Bai 11 km away on the Red River. 3 km down this road we came upon a hotel. The next day we saw a guesthouse on Highway 7 shortly after we had turned off the day before.
DAY 3: Yen Binh to Bao Yen (94 km)
The countryside was again lush, hilly and beautiful. We came across our first minority tribe's people. The women wore tight black trousers, a heavily embroidered vest and thigh length black jackets. Bamboo walled homes became interspersed with large stilted thatched houses which belonged to the same tribe.
DAY 4: Bao Yen to Lao Cai (76 km)
The first 20 odd kilometres were quite tough as we climbed over hills from one valley into another. Women belonging to another minority group appeared wearing long skirts with brightly embroidered borders. At Lao Cai we were lucky to come across an unsignposted guest house near the station were the buses for Sapa left each morning and returned to bring passengers to the train. Ask at the eating-places on the left side of the station.
SAPA
Our two days in Sapa were a highlight of the trip. Well worth the effort. We could have spent longer there but for our flights back to Europe!