Well we did get a small taxi bus to Sapa this morning. I had arranged for a bus to pick us up at the door at about 7-7:30 and it turned up at 8:30 after the hotel manager rang and organised it for us.
We are sitting in the Sapa Kitchen a little food shop with Wifi waiting for lunch. The bus man has already called us to see when we will be ready to depart.
The weather in Sapa today is very cold, wet and varies from bright to dull. The markets are very interesting and have all the main sections we have seen in other local markets. There is a special section here where the hill people all make their own products, mainly stitch work. The place is covered in trekking shops there are lots and lots of them,,,,,mostly North Face gear.
This afternoon we hope to get on a bus to Bac Ha that leaves about 3pm from ther bus station in Lao Cai.
We found the right bus at the bus station and yes we got on it. It had motorbikes on top as well as lots of other cargo. The bus fare is 50 000 V, the sign on the bus window says 42 000 v the sign in the bus staioin says 45 000V, the lady at the desk in the bus staion told us it costs 50 000V. The man on the bus told us it cost 100 000V.
The bus headed up the main street and stopped at the corner where another bus blocked our path. We then headed off another 50m where we again stopped and 4 tourists got on and things started to go awry. The man on the bus wanted them to pay. They asked us if we had paid and we told them we had not yet paid. The argument raged on and on. The tourist saying it costs 50 not 100. The shouting continued and got louder. The whole experience had changed and become very unpleasant. We had already decieded to give him 50 per person and barter from there.
We got off as the atmnosphere on the bus had become very unpleasant.
We will go to Bac ha in the morning along with all the other toutrists from SAPA, something we really wanted to avoid.
We are sitting in the Sapa Kitchen a little food shop with Wifi waiting for lunch. The bus man has already called us to see when we will be ready to depart.
The weather in Sapa today is very cold, wet and varies from bright to dull. The markets are very interesting and have all the main sections we have seen in other local markets. There is a special section here where the hill people all make their own products, mainly stitch work. The place is covered in trekking shops there are lots and lots of them,,,,,mostly North Face gear.
This afternoon we hope to get on a bus to Bac Ha that leaves about 3pm from ther bus station in Lao Cai.
We found the right bus at the bus station and yes we got on it. It had motorbikes on top as well as lots of other cargo. The bus fare is 50 000 V, the sign on the bus window says 42 000 v the sign in the bus staioin says 45 000V, the lady at the desk in the bus staion told us it costs 50 000V. The man on the bus told us it cost 100 000V.
The bus headed up the main street and stopped at the corner where another bus blocked our path. We then headed off another 50m where we again stopped and 4 tourists got on and things started to go awry. The man on the bus wanted them to pay. They asked us if we had paid and we told them we had not yet paid. The argument raged on and on. The tourist saying it costs 50 not 100. The shouting continued and got louder. The whole experience had changed and become very unpleasant. We had already decieded to give him 50 per person and barter from there.
We got off as the atmnosphere on the bus had become very unpleasant.
We will go to Bac ha in the morning along with all the other toutrists from SAPA, something we really wanted to avoid.
