Sa Pa (day 7)

Woke up to the pitter-patter of rain out our window on the metal roof. It was a fantastic sleep despite the rustic authenticity of the grandiose hotel... The bathroom floor was still completely wet from the bath last night. It was a luxury to have a soak in a tub, but it wasn't installed properly and they simply let the drain splash on the floor allowing it to find its way to the floor's drain in the corner 🤯 Silly A thought we wouldn't have to wear the provided flip flops to keep our feet dry when using the toilet 🚽🤔 On the plus side we've never had to use a squat style one so far 👍

By the time we met up with S for breakfast, the rain had stopped. We found a street vender selling Vietnamese sandwiches that we took back to enjoy with our coffees.

The roads were still damp as we started our travels. We followed the highways for a short distance before veering onto side roads, criss-crossing the river over the many narrow suspension bridges. The valley we rode through was fairly narrow, and rough. Passed through a lot of road widening constructions, as well as a couple hydro generating stations. One powerhouse was under construction with no fencing between the road and the works!

The narrow and wild valley gave way to a wider and more cultivated area. Eventually S chose a roadside diner that seemed sufficient for our mid day meal; pretty typical fair of steamed greens, ginger and garlic water Buffalo, and rice. You've seen the photos from previous days 😉

Our destination was roughly 40km away, but it felt like an eternity as we acceded the next mountain pass, and into the cold and damp cloud. The accent took us up 1600m where we passed a tourist location called Heaven's Gate. We didn't stop as the clouds was so thick you could barely see 20 feet ahead, but we could almost glimpse a golden multi-faced budda statue. The decent was challenging as the last 15km was under heavy construction, minimal signage, and poor visibility. Too bad we can't put the bike into autopilot and have a nap 😉

We finally made it to the hotel by mid-afternoon, and were thankful to stop due to the chill penetrating into us. The whole city of Sa Pa was engulfed in dense fog. There's a view out there which draws many tourists, but perhaps we'll not get a chance to see it. 😶‍🌫️

Our room heating isn't the best, but much better than noting! A was very excited to discover they have electric heat blankets for the bed too 🔥🛏️👍

We enjoyed a wander around the city and a cocktail at the a tourist bar with a small wood/coal stove for heat. We passed quiet a few other ones that looked utterly freezing ❄️🐻‍❄️. Since we were in the big city our guide treated us to non-local food: pizza and pasta! We enjoyed tasting local corn and apple wine to accompany it 🍕🌽🍷😋 We chose to retire to our room for relaxing instead of venturing to another chilly bar for another beverage.

Ride info
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