5d4n trip to Vietnam

Vacay period: End of Jan to early Feb, 2026. Seasonal temp: Between 4 - 14C in Sapa, and about 15 - 22C in Hanoi.

This was (as memes would describe it) the friends trip that made it out of the group chat!

Here is a list of what, where, when of our trip.

Firstly, we actually had roles on this trip. Like how millennials are humorously described by the netizens, we made our travels into a project we must manage well. Nothing too complicated (except for arranging 2 Zoom calls to coordinate outfits and presenting dining options on slides), we were able to plan out our flights, train rides, hotel stay, and our coach rides for the trip without any arguments! 🤣 Our trip consisted of a project manager/tour coordinator, a flight purchaser, a treasurer, an outfit coordinator, a photo/videographer, 2 cuisine/culture planners.

Hanoi

Our trip started and ended in Hanoi.

Day 1: Evening walk around Hanoi Old Quarters. Dined at Quan An Ngon, a hawker-like set up in a restaurant, allowing us to try an array of Vietnamese dishes all in one place. It helps that we had local friends who hosted us for the evening in town.

Sapa

Took the night train on Day 1 from Hanoi to Lao Cai and arrived at dawn of Day 2 (7hrs train journey). Then sat in a van for another 2hrs to get to Sapa town. We stayed at Amazing Hotel, Sapa, which was located quite strategically in town, walking distance to shops in town.

Day 2: Breakfast at Le Gecko café. Best coconut coffee I've had, comes with a toasted and sweetened coconut flakes.

Then, we visited Fansipan. Weather was nearly freezing, windy, and foggy.

Do not underestimate the weather, the wind is the killer in this.

We took the cable car from Sun Plaza to Fansipan station. It was an absolutely breathtaking experience emerging from the fog into clear skies and mountain views while dangling in a metal box, transported on cables as thick as my thighs, hundreds of feet above ground.

The summit is about 3143 meters above sea level. There'll be a summit plaque you can pose with to commemorate your trip up. A buffet lunch was provided as part of the ticket we bought. The spread: some noms and some misses.

We ended our day with a walk at their night market, which mainly sold food and bags (just my type of market).

Day 3: Cosplayed at Cat Cat Village. Before you head into the village, there were rows of shops catering to dressing you up in different Vietnamese tribal attires. They can even do your hair and make-up. Depending on your ticket arrangements, this could be included or an extra cost.

The village gave a glimpse of what Sapa was before the town developed. Villagers there mainly thrived on agricultural products. They weave their own cloth using hemp, dye it with the unique, organic indigo they blend up from plants in the area. There were also home-farmed pigeon raised as food.

Nearing the end of the tour, we were ushered in to their village hall to watch and even joined their cultural performances.

The tour ended with an awesome ride in a big donut wheel down a huge colourful slide - Cat Cat Village Rainbow Slide! For an affordable fee, they also capture a drone shot of us zooming down the slide (alas, no audio though).

Then, we indulged in a spa (Halosa Massage & Spa) in the evening, before heading for dinner at O Quy Ho Sa Pa Restaurant, a hotspot restaurant.

Day 4: Took a ride up to the Rainbow Glass Bridge. It was again a very foggy weather, to a point we can't see beyond 3 metres. Apparently if the sky was clear, we could see Fansipan from the glass bridge. Too bad... But that didn't stop us from snapping pics after pics of ourselves.

After lunch at Little Vietnam (which I dined twice at our time in Sapa), we went for a thrill ride at Alpine Coaster Sapa, then headed to Moana Sapa, to do touristy things. Nothing too special here actually. Pics below:

Final dinner at Sapa before rushing our our night train back to Hanoi. Dined at Nướng Ngói Gia Bảo Sapa, a somewhat bbq place, quirky for their rooftile as the bbq plate.

The vege were so fresh! And their drinks are strong!

Day 5 (Final Day): Morning visit to Train Street and experienced train passing 1ft away from us. Also had our final sips of Vietnamese coffee and last-minute purchase of souvenirs that we actually packed into cardboard boxes for easier packing and transporting.

Kindly ask from the shopkeeper for boxes if you need, they will usually gladly prepare one for you.

All in all, it was a memorable group trip out of the country. Our first but hopefully not last one!