First day of my Sapa trekking tour: trek to Cat Cat Village and a free day to sightsee Sapa on our own. But my 3 hour hike down through Cat Cat Village to the waterfall and back was something I hardly needed a guide for. While the hike is a soft trek, the stone path walkway can feel steep for some. An elderly couple on our tour had some trouble with this trail, but for the rest of us travelers who wanted to get off the paved trail, it felt like a bit of a letdown. Also, at times the village felt like a staged excuse for drawing income in through souvenir shops. It felt a bit inauthentic; still, some local life abounds and when you catch some of it, it makes the trekking feel worthwhile.
(Above photo & video of the event below) Family cleans a pig for a special celebration feast.
The waterfall area has a P.A. system, which streams traditional Vietnamese music to “enhance the atmosphere”. Okay, a bit cheesy and I felt like I was entering the movie, Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon, but this is Vietnam. After seeing the waterfall, the hiking path continues, allowing you to trek back through the hills to the top. If you feel too tired to return, you can hire an xe oem (motorbike taxi) to give you a lift to the top! This is what the elderly couple on our tour did. Overall, it was an easy day but I had come for a real trek…
Men building a house near the waterfall
xe oem (motorbike taxi) await at this station point to give weary trekkers a lift back to the top.
Tip: Unless you’re with a tour or trekking guide, you will have to pay admission tickets to enter and you’ll need to buy them in advance *NOT at the door. The entrance does NOT sell tickets, so if you hope to pay upon arrival, you’ll be disappointed (this was the rule for entrance into the main minority village area, as well as the Radio Tower). The tourist information center should be able to help with this.
entrance checkpoint: you must have tickets in advance
This post is not for the queasy of stomach, is it? I swear, if I had to kill my own animals to eat meat, I’d become a vegetarian instantly.
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Christine Ka'aloa Reply:
September 5th, 2010 at 5:13 pm
@Gray: Sorry- perhaps I should post a head’s up warning… Ironically, I think Korea prepared me. Though the food in Korea isn’t nearly as visually jarring, the difference was that in Vietnam, I knew what animal it was vs. “what the hell is that?!” (as in Korea). For me, the latter has been so much more scarier. But culturally, when you place these photos in the context of a mountain/minority tribe survival/lifestyle it actually feels natural. Placed in the context of a privileged western culture, where we have more options (and “middle men”) this kind of life feels primitive. But yes, there’s a few reasons why I don’t eat meat.
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My parents made my brother and I butcher live rabbits in the backyard of our upper middle class home in a big city. We were the Beverly Hillbillies, just with less millions. But red necks through and through. I hated it. i prefer to shoot and kill my meat from a distance, knifing one down on the spot is not for the faint at heart. But I do loves me some pig…!!! Thanks for keeping it reals, and I am solo traveling Ha Noi and Sapa today (fly from HCM City in couple hours) and your blog helped me. Thanks.
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Christine Ka'aloa Reply:
November 14th, 2011 at 11:32 pm
@Jimmy: Glad the blog and photos could be of help! Not sure if they’ll let you take your rifle or butcher knife along, but enjoy Vietnam! Ha ha… Sapa was my personal favorite. Actually our family used to have a farm and my grandfather used to own a pig farm. I’ve seen my share of closeup killings. Could attribute to my being mostly vegetarian these days.
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