Brooke is a funny American girl, chubby face, deep eyes and always smiling. Her blonde hair was back, slightly messy but graceful as it fell to one shoulder. She was amused when I said, “The weather can affect personality.”
Brooke always has funny stories or funny gestures to tease people. With her is Sam, an English engineer with the same length of hair as her. They are special companions with us during the journey to conquer Fansipan mountain in Sapa Vietnam. We greeted each other and chatted for a long time while waiting for the rain to subside before we started climbing. Tram Ton road is probably the easiest way to go and also the route that clearly shows the impact of people compared to Sin Chay and Cat Cat roads in Sapa Vietnam. The entrance to the forest is led by a concrete ladder flanked by sparse forest trees, sparse grass, wooden bridges or even neatly paved stones on the path through the stream. The steep slopes with steep cliffs will be supported by iron stairs, the dangerous path that crosses several hills all have handrails… Still going up and downhill continuously from mountain to mountain different for sedentary delta people like us is a whole problem. Porter – the guide and porter – of the group is Tro, a 24-year-old Hmong ethnic man in Sapa Vietnam. Tra has a tiny body, carries a backpack of food about ten kilograms on her shoulder, and walks through the mountains like nothing.
Tro said the way to the top he could go in 2-3 hours and return in the same day if he went alone. Not to make up for it with us urban kids, who were out of breath after climbing a few steps. The journey starts in the middle of the day and what anyone looks forward to above all is going to the last stop of the day to have a meal and a deep sleep. However, there is still a lot of things to push yourself to a higher level. That is when looking back at the road traveled and suddenly gasping because the scene that appears now is worth the laborious trade-off: the mountains of the majestic Hoang Lien Son range are wrapped in a woven rattan scarf with a little light orange yellow of the afternoon sunset. So beautiful!
