Travel Blog Chapter 13: The climb up Fansipan

The new family guesthouse that I have checked in was problematic as well. Everything was alright on the surface but when night came, it was creepy crawlies land. You see this guesthouse was located at the foot of another mountain in Sapa so what this meant was that after closing all the windows and shutters, there were still crevice small enough for all the creepy crawlies to make their way into my room. That night to my horror as I woke up in the middle of the night, my bed was covered with flying ants with crickets on the ground and all other kinds of miniature bugs you could imagine. Half awake and disgusted at the same time, I took out my poncho, my face mask and covered myself like a cocoon and tried to go to sleep. By morning, most of the bugs were gone but this was the final straw. I went to Queen Hotel after breakfast and as luck would have it, there was room 2 days later. I made an advance reservation and got ready for my climb up Fansipan that day.

Room full of bugs at night

Appearances are deceiving

Entrance into Fansipan

Reloading Supplies

The trek up Fansipan would take 2 days 1 night. Some people were able to accomplish in 1 day but it was going to be seriously difficult as I found out later. For those of you who are thinking of doing this climb, I would recommend 2 days 1 night. If you have time and money to spare you can even consider 3 days 2 nights where you can really climb at your own pace and do a lot more sight seeing around the mountain side. My hmong guide was punctual and came to my guesthouse to pick me up on his motorbike. The start of the climb was outside the town and the ride there took around 20 minutes.

I would get to know my guide better along the way. He told me he was 40 years old and have gone up Fansipan countless times. We stopped at the entrance into the climb for him to reload some supplies. He carried a hand weaved huge basket on his back while I was going to be climbing with my backpack. I realized later that this was going to be slowing me down alot. Most climbers I met later on the way climbed with little to nothing on them. My guide offered to carry any other things I felt would be too heavy but being the overly-heroic novice trekker that I was I declined his offer politely. It was cold and i had on my thermal wear but my guide was very thinly clothed and was climbing with sandals. I have read that it was madness as he shrubs would scrape your ankles raw but he was perfectly fine. After scouting around the bushes for some makeshift walking sticks from bamboos we were off.

First Campsite

View during the climb

Another view

Posing on the incline

My super fit guide

Campsite

Another view of campsite

My guide was strong, fit and agile for a 40 year old. I was able to keep up initially but after awhile it was too much for me and I had to tell him to slow down. Negotiating up and down the forested mountain side and crossing shallow rivers, we eventually reached our first camp site around 4 hours later. By this time, I was beat and I cannot understand how anyone can do this climb in 1 day. It was more strenuous than I thought. It was afternoon and on the way to the campsite we met another trekker and his guide and to my surprise he was a Singaporean. The weirdest place to meet your fellow men. He told me that he was giving up. They have started the trek at 5am hoping to finish the whole climb in 1 day but mid afternoon he realized that it was going to be impossible as to do it in a day, he has to do the steep inclines at a running pace and in his own words, "Singaporeans are not made to climb Fansipan in 1 day."

At our first campsite, my guide unloaded our supplies and went to prepare lunch. A few moments later, we were joined by another trekker with his guide. He was Finnish and when I talked to him I found out that he had quitted his job to travel for a year as well. I would realize that every traveler has an interesting story to tell. Gathering around a small wooden table we had our lunch and it was one of the best lunch I had. My guide was a great cook or maybe it was just that everything taste better after a strenuous activity. My Finish companion advised me to not do the climb too fast and told me to set my own pace so that I can appreciate the scenery. I heeded his advice after that.

Trekking up

Clouds shrouding the mountain

Giddiness

 No man's land

More photos..

photos..

Taking a break

The climb got more challenging and tougher after that. It was so steep on some points that I have to go on all fours and scale the rocks. At some point during the climb, there were man made railings as the path was dangerous and you would topple over the mountain without hand-railed support. I was starting to feel giddy every time I stopped. I was wondering if I was ascending too fast and if that was altitude sickness. But it passed and I was alright after that. We reached the second campsite early evening and it was going to be where we would be spending our night. The moment we stopped, the cold set in. I was freezing in a few moments. Another group of climbers came in with their guides after half an hour when we were at the campsite. I was surprised that these were Singaporeans as well. This pair of girls would be climbing the mountain in 3 days 2 nights. I would realized that you can find Singaporeans everywhere.

Second campsite

Cooking place

Supplies..

The temperature dropped below 10 degree Celsius that night but with my thick sleeping bag, thermal wear and sweater I was warm. We slept in a shed and the whole night we could hear the wind howling outside. The night passed uneventfully and I woke up to my guide telling me my breakfast was ready. The plan was to summit that day late morning and it was very doable. I bade the Singaporeans goodbye and set off with my guide after breakfast and finally just before noon, we reached the summit. It was the first mountain I have climbed and it was a good feeling but the downside was that the fog was thick around the mountain taht morning we could not see anything. But my guide told me if the weather was good, the sight would be one of the most panoramic sights. From the top, we supposedly could see China, Dien Phien Phu, Cambodia and Laos if there was no fog.

Summit

Accomplishment

Looking disheveled

Foggy summit

Standing on the edge

Eventually we made our way back down from the Summit to more flat land and arrived at the entrance where we started from via a shorter route 4 to 5 hours later. I was tired and beat after this. There was a minibus to bring us back to Sapa Town. I was thankful that this was more comfortable than a 2 wheeled mode of transportation. I checked into Queen's Hotel and washed up. My clothes were filthy and mud-caked. I had to start washing clothes but the level of fogginess in Sapa made drying any clothes difficult. That same day I made a reservation for bus transportation back to Hanoi. Thank God that I could go back by bus and I did not have to take another train. That day I pampered myself by dining at a more expensive European restaurant. I had a very sound sleep that night after the whole climb and I look forward to hitting the road again.