9/6/25
We decided to push our Vietnamese visa to its limit. We would stay one more night and leave on our absolute last day. Hypothetically, we could also cross the border into China, turn around, and come back in for another 45 days of visa free access. A ‘visa run’ if you will. That would be less dramatic though.
We went to the ‘bus stop’ just before 9am. Basically, we just stood by the side of the road where a man advised us to wait. There wasn’t a clear schedule. After 15 minutes a minibus pulled up. It wasn’t the public bus, but it said Sa Pa on the front window card. We figured first is best. It stopped a few times in Lao Cai. As usual dropping off and collecting random goods.
As long as the public bus didn’t pass us then we’d made the ‘right choice’. Soon after beginning the climb towards Sa Pa the bus stopped. The driver and helper jumped out and just sat down to have a coffee and a fag. We felt a little misled. But no sign of the public bus. After 5 minutes or so they jumped back in and we started to climb in earnest. It was steep and we were thankful not to be cycling. Especially as it was a fairly busy winding road into the mountains.
Spectacular was an understatement. The fog weather added a tint of the mystical. With any luck it would clear up later. The tiered rice paddies weren’t the pretty sight instagram tries to sell you. Instead they were mostly bare and brown. The driver was talking rudely and callously on the phone for a lot of the way. After an hour we arrived in Sa Pa. The driver dumped us off as early as he could. Then had the gall to charge us twice the price of the normal bus. We probably arrived a little quicker though.
Sa Pa was obviously a horrible tourist hole. Taxi drivers immediately started harassing us. As did street sellers. The pretty location was ruined by the lack of any considered planning rules. A hotch potch of loud signs everywhere. At 1600m clouds drifted pleasantly through the town. A cool air met us. Perhaps we ought to have been this high up the entire time.
We went for breakfast at one of the several vegan restaurants. They cater entirely for tourists. Everyone else appeared to be French. It was an odd vibe in Thong Dong compared to the ‘real’ Vietnam. As it was on a steep set of stairs, there were no scooters. No horns. Tranquil music played. Inspirational quotes everywhere. We ate banana pancakes. Frankie indulged in the most chocolatey, hot chocolate, she’d had for months.
Sa Pa station was inside a grand French colonial type building. Inside we could buy tickets for the cable car to reach the top of Phan Xi Pan. They also sold tickets for the train that travelled to the cable car station. These were expensive. 400k for both of us. We took a taxi for 60k instead. We sat a while. The fog looked thick. It would be an expensive journey and we were keen to enjoy something that resembled a view. If we rushed up and experienced altitude sickness we wouldn’t be able to wait for it to clear.
After half an hour we pulled the trigger. The cable car holds the world record for the longest, and greatest elevation difference, of a three rope cable car. In just under 4 miles we would climb 1410m. It was a beautiful journey. First crossing a valley before ascending the mountain. Waterfalls gushing below. We shared the journey with a German couple. The cable car was Austrian built. The emergency ration boxes had combination locks that were left open. The boxes contained nothing. Our fellow occupants joked that they’d made the mistake of trusting the Austrians before.
Stepping out at around 3000m was blissful. The cool air felt amazing. We’d brought our fleeces just in case. An incredible complex had been built on the mountain top. It was no longer anything raw. Completely in reach of almost anyone. A further funicular took us near the top. We took a couple more flights of stairs before being enveloped in fog.
Loud music was playing. It turned into an announcement. They would be raising the flag. A ceremony began. Afterwards we took some photos. Sadly we couldn’t see an anything but the inside of a cloud. We descended. Passing pagodas and statues. It had all been built in 2016. The stones all brought up by hand to maintain spirituality. Suddenly, we felt the intense heat of the Sun. We paused to watch as gaping holes appeared in the clouds.
A few minutes later we were climbing the stairs back up to the top. We couldn’t believe how far we’d come down. When we got back to the top it was hugely satisfying. Glorious views stretched out in front of us. The clouds adding perspective as they cruised in and out of the rippling mountains. We lingered for 20 minutes. Then went back down again. We meandered back to the cable car station. On the way down we chatted with an Australian woman travelling with her autistic child. This was the second day in a row she’d come up.
We took a taxi back to the bus stop at Sa Pa church. A comfortable ride back to Lao Cai. We jumped off near the vegan restaurant. After buying some hot protein we went back through the market, buying lychees and lettuce on the way. We had a bit of salad left over and munched our dinner while watching Survivors on our huge TV.
