Sapa welcomed us with a bright blue sky. The air felt nippy and it felt wonderful walking about with Vietnamese mountain people on their colorful garbs along its sun-strewn sidewalks. Trees abound, pines mostly, making us reminiscent of certain regions in the Philippines.

MORNING AT SAPA PARK, THIS WAS WHERE OUR BUS DROPPED US OFF

“This feels like Baguio”, I told C. “No, it’s more like Sagada,” she threw right back at me. Well, Sapa seemed like a combination of both, ten or twenty years back. Throw in a dash of Banaue into the mix and it almost encapsulates our first impressions of the town. Well, almost.

THE SAPA TOWN SQUARE, EMPTY DURING MORNINGS BUT COMES ALIVE DURING THE AFTERNOONS

Coming from an overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa without a plan, the first tasks of the day was food and lodging. We took care of the first one on the first affordable restaurant we passed along the town’s central park. A bun of cheese banh mi and two helpings of heavenly soft banh bao with quail eggs solved our first quandary. The second one was much more challenging.

CAU MAI ROAD, WHERE MOST OF THE RESTAURANTS AND BACKPACKER LODGINGS ARE

While on the bakery cum restaurant, we took to Google and Agoda in hunting for our lodging in Sapa. We’d be staying here for four days and we wanted to make sure we’d have the best view of Sapa’s Rice Terraces right from our room.

A LOCAL, WEAVING RIGHT ON THE STREET

It was quite a challenge though, what with our measly budget. We found a few matching our means that advertises on having a view of the Fansipan Mountain, but as we checked it one by one, we found them to be quite wanting.

I WAITED AT THE TOP OF THIS STAIRWAY

Exhausted from all that walking with our backpacks on, we stopped on a sidestreet near Sapa’s stone church to regroup. New plan. I sit with all the bags while C goes down a stone stairway leading to a small road below. Why do I get to do nothing? I have zero abilities when it comes to haggling for a price, I give in instantly to whatever they say. C’s haggling skill, on the other hand, is legendary. She can buy an item for a fourth of the price and have an extra candy too. So, off she went while I whiled away the time taking photos from the vantage of my seat.

After what seemed like half an hour, she came back all beaming and radiant. “I found one” was all she wrote.

THE FANSIPAN VIEW POINT

AND RIGHT BESIDE IT IS OUR LODGING, SONG ANH CAFE & HOTEL

The place, Song Anh Hotel & Café, was about ten minutes away from where I was sitting. It was an easy enough walk if not for the undulating road. The street wound on, opening eventually to a viewpoint overlooking the rice terraces of Sapa. And our lodging was right beside it. Wow.

IT’S LITERALLY A HOUSE WITH ROOMS SET UP AS LODGINGS

CAFE AREA, THE VIEW IS AMAZING

Being one of the last legs of our Same Same Summer Trip, she decided to splurge. Our room costs VND500,000.00 (USD22.00 | PHP1,100.00) per night, we have the largest one in the house and the best view! And it is indeed a literal house, they have kids playing on the living room below, a full kitchen, a dining hall, and they even have a very cute puppy that follows us around. It being the low season, we were able to get the room for a much lower rate. How low, I won’t tell (but you can check my Instagram, I posted it there, if you’re really curious, lol).

OUR ROOM FOR THREE NIGHTS

Our room has two beds—a single and a double—some chairs and tables, shelf and closet space, a flatscreen television, and a spacious en suite toilet and bath. But the thing we were most excited about was its windows. The view from them was just jaw-droppingly awesome.

BESIDES BEING REALLY AFFORDABLE, OUR ROOM HAS THE BEST VIEW OF SAPA!

RIGHT OUTSIDE OUR WINDOW

THE MOUNTAIN TERRACES OF SAPA

UNLIMITED VIEW OF SAPA’S RICE TERRACES

All our windows look out towards Sapa’s verdant rice terraces. We watched, mesmerized, as mist swirled along the green landscape, covering up everything one moment, then opening it all up like a surprise present. On occasions, the clouds roll up inside our room. It was literally like heaven. On the horizon looms the outline of Mount Fansipan, Vietnam’s highest point. I can now imagine why it sometimes snow here.

FRIED PORK, SAPA-STYLE CHA GIO, AND PHO

CAFE IN THE SKY ROOFTOP AREA, THE VIEW IS BEING BLOCKED BY HEAVY TWILIGHT MIST

For food, we ate out on eateries and restaurants near Song Anh. Well, it is a café, but we felt like going out for food. Sapa Market was just a few minutes away, and that was where we usually have our cheap rice meals of cha gio and pho. For drinks, Café in the Sky was just in front of our lodging, prices are a bit higher, but they have a really nice rooftop café and they serve Bia Lao Cai, the region’s local beer.

A VIEW OF SAPA TOWN FROM THE ROOF DECK OF OUR LODGING, SONG ANH HOTEL

Song Anh became a very ideal basecamp during our stay in Sapa. Initially, we were planning on going down the villages and stay on homestays right on the mountain. But with the view we have, we decided to scrap that to oblivion. We wanted to do nothing but relax in Sapa. And that was exactly what we did.

 

Song Anh Cafe & Hotel
Address: 065 Fansipan Road, Sapa, Lao Cai, Vietnam
Contact Number: 0948-44-868 | 0972-511-148
Email:
Room Rates: From VND450,000.00
GPS Coordinates Map: 22.332424, 103.839319

►► BOOK A TWO-DAY TREKKING TOUR OF SAPA FROM HANOI