Korean Job Discussion Forums

[djvink]

Hey,

Anyone been able to cross at this point. I am travelling North to South and want something close to Sapa so I don't have to backtrack further south. Any information/advice is greatly appreciated.
Cheers

[curiousaboutkorea]

You're traveling North to South, but don't want to go south? I'm confused.

If you could clarify about your idea for a route, I might be able to give you some hints. I haven't done this border crossing, but I have traveled in the Northwest Vietnam (more than just Sapa/Lao Cai), including Dien Bien Phu (the town near the border).

There's some info here http://www.travelfish.org/location/vietnam/northwest_vietnam/dien_bien/dien_bien_phu . Also check the Getting There and Away link.

I can tell you this much, the roads in the region can be pretty rough and the buses are often extremely overcrowded and drive dangerously. On 2 different legs of my journey there, a 20-seat bus was carrying 30 people plus luggage.

Do you want to go from Sapa to the border? You can go via Lai Chau and Muong Lay. Be careful, those are the new names of the towns. The new Lai Chau is the old Tam Duong. The new Muong Lay is the old Lai Chau. There's also a new Tam Duong somewhere. Muong Lay is set to go underwater in a few years due to flooding the valley for reservoir; it used to be the capital of Lai Chau province but is no longer, thus the name change.

From Sapa you can go a few hours through the Tran Tom (spelling?) pass. You go up pretty high and see some pretty wild scenery/mountains. You arrive in Lai Chau a few hours later. Stop tehre if you want to take it slowly. It's not a very exciting town; it's pretty dusty and going through a lot of construction. I forget the hotel I stayed at, but it's the big one in town the guide books recommend and it was pretty decent for 150,000 dong a night (2 beds). It's right on the main road. People in town were pretty nice, though.

From there go onto to Muong Lay (or go directly there for a longer trip from Sapa). Muong Lay is maybe 3-4 hours from Lai Chau. There's one hotel in town, the Lan Anh. It's a surprisingly nice hotel, about $10 a night for a room with 2 beds. It has internet service (the only other place in town with internet service is the post office). There's a small trickle of tourists in the area (I was there 3 nights and saw foreigners on 2 of those nights). The hotel seems mostly to cater to businessmen involved in the to-be reservoir in the area. The hotel can hook you up with motorbikes to tour the area. It's an awesome area to explore. The town is tiny, and foreigners are a bit of a novelty despite the few that come through. The hotel can give you some rudimentary hand drawn maps of the area. The town is in a beautiful valley and you can take bikes up the mountains and see some spectacular stuff.

After Muong Lay, go to Dien Bien Phu, another few hours away. Check out the town. Cross the border.

Be aware that on the whole, outside Sapa, much of the region doesn't have much in the terms of tourist infrastructure. You can definitely get around easily enough, though.

[djvink]

extremely helpful thanks a lot...sorry I am going South to North....thanks for your suggestions. I think I will follow one of your itineraries from Sapa.

Cheers

[curiousaboutkorea]

Happy to help. If you have anymore questions, please let me know (you can pm me if you want).

NW Vietnam is one of my favorite parts of SE Asia. It's incredibly friendly there. You'll be met with lots of hospitality, including tons of tea drinking, dmoking the waterpipe (tobacco) and doing shots of the local moonshine . It's very untouristed, save for a small handful (just a few) war buffs in Dien Bien Phu and a handful of or bikers or hardcore cyclists. Have fun and take your time. There's a few other towns you could probably stop at, too.

[guro]