SAPA is STRANGE (Mixed Emotions) 🇻🇳 VIETNAM by MOTORBIKE Ep:9

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I'm currently in Sapa having spent the last 4 days here and you missed the best thing about the area. It's not the town itself which in general is just visited by Vietnamese from other areas such as Hanoi who come for the cooler climate. The real beauty of Sapa is the local villages surrounding the town that make up the Sapa region. And I do not mean Cat Cat village which is also purely a tourist trap. I spent two days trekking with an ethical company who invest in the Hmong tribe, to provide education and a way out of poverty. We trekked through rice fields, met a 95 year old shaman, slept in a local's house and ate with their family. We had a life changing experience and it's a real shame you didn't see that side.

Hmong people usually have a lot of kids, and they can’t make a living just by working on the rice terraces, so Sapa is a good place for them to get some more money from the tourists. If Hmong couples only have 1 or 2 kids, they wouldn’t be in such a difficult situation. Kids working to support their families is a normal thing here. There are poor kids who have to work everywhere in Vietnam, regardless of their ethnicity. You could easily see farmers’ kids helping on the fields or take care of the animals. Children in Vietnam are helping their parents with their home businesses or their food stalls. Even kids in bigger cities have to do household chores or even cook. As long as those kids are going to school, it’s all good. Hmong children gets free education if they go to school. But as you can see, they’re surrounded by mountains, so it’s really hard for them to go to school and back home everyday. Teachers up their really care for the kids and they’re willing to stay at school and take care of them, but it would mean that the kids can’t come home, work and support their families. Of course many of them will choose money over education. And as a result, those kids will follow their parents, get married early and have many kids. If you’re not a Hmong, you will be in j ail for up to 20 years for having s*x with someone who’s under 16. But you can easily see 14, 15-year-old Hmong mothers. The British left India in 1947, and the Indians are still using Ganges River for fishing, irrigation, and bathing. And the river is also swollen with bodies. Cultures and beliefs are extremely hard to change, especially for people from ethnic minorities like the Hmong. We have to be patient and gentle, otherwise they’ll feel like we don’t respect their cultures. There are people from ethnic minorities that are going to school and even in university. The number is increasing steadily. And I believe at least some of them will succeed and become the inspiration for others, and then more and more of them will realize the importance of education. Once they are more educated, they will have more opportunities, either get a proper job in Sapa or work as a tour guide or even open their own homestay business. Our mission is to provide them education but they will be the ones who gets to decide which parts of their cultures should be kept and which ones should be abandoned.

If talking about the most beautiful landscapes in Vietnam, people cannot bypass the stunningly beautiful rice terraces lying on gigantic mountains in Vietnam, especially in Sapa. Possessing 1,000 hectares, Sapa rice terraces particularly Vung Lung Sung field with the famous stair of 121 steps are one of the most amazing landscapes in Vietnam. In Ha Giang, it's best to drive a motorbike to enjoy the breathtaking scenery of the loop, but in Sapa, you have to trek for kilometers of trails between indigenous villages to take in the mesmerizing beauty of Sapa rice terraces. From July to September every year is the best time to visit the stunning bright green rice terraces in Sapa. However, the rice terrace fields reveal their most captivating beauty in the early September when the bright golden yellow rice fields are spectacular and magical completely covering the grandiose mountains under the blue sky. Just like a 3 - 4 day tour of Ha Giang Loop, to enjoy the mesmerizing beauty of Sapa rice terraces requires the same amount of time 3 - 4 days. Just go and see this place ... It's beyond your imagination.

Hey Paddy, my wife and I, are very obsessed with your Vietnam videos 😅. We are currently in Sapa and we feel the same way you felt, with mixed feelings. And the weather is not helping us either to record our YouTube videos 😢 Thanks for sharing your journey with us! 😊

Its a shame you didn't actually go to the villages up in the mountains with the rice paddies and incredible hikes/views. I completely skipped Sapa town and just found myself a super nice homestay in Lao Cai village for a week and it was one of the most beautiful and relaxing times I had in Vietnam. I agree with you about seeing the kids working but unfortunately I think that's just a cultural difference us westerners are lucky enough to not have to do. I'm sure all members of their family are working every day to keep money flowing and I'm sure they are grateful that they at least have the possibility of a tourist town nearby that can provide the villages with more money, albeit not being the best situation.

Stunning scenery! That being said, I appreciate your honesty and your heart for those children. I would feel the same way. Thank you for sharing your adventures with us and safe travels 🙏💝!

“do the Ha Giang loop every day of the week and twice on a Sunday!” outrageous and glad to see your honesty of the heart versus this is great and everything is hunky dory…looking forward to your next vid!

Am very shocked to see so many negative comments here and so many supporting child labour as a cultural right! Child labour is a consequence of extreme poverty and no one in any culture is going to support this as an ideal, except those who benefit from this form of exploitation! Any parent in any culture wants safety, security, health and education for their children and the situation Paddy is illustrating does not provide these things. Please do not romanticise poverty but read the comments here from people living in this region explaining how education, child labour and poverty interact and research what is actually happening in regions you visit then support projects that aim to make education and healthcare more accessible and reduce exploitative labour patterns. Thank you Paddy for your informative episode, and also all the more rural ones you have already made showing other ways of life different from those in this episode.

Another great experience Paddy! Thanks for allowing us all to experience this vicariously through you. Beautiful!

It's your heart and honesty that keep me watching, thanks for being you. Oh and for always being as scared of heights as me!!!

Awesome videos, Paddy! The views are truly next level. I have to say, I'm glad you removed the flagpole thingymajig that you glued onto Super Dreamy. It was obscuring the views. Looking forward to the road trip to Ninh Binh.

Ahhh thanks Patty. So much for Sapa! I have watched other travel vlogs on Sapa and thought it looked so picturesque and quaint with the French influence BUT I really appreciated your take on the “actual” reality of the experience there. Cheers

Paddy, you've missed out. One of the highlights of our Vietnamese Trip, and one of my travel highlights from anywhere was trekking with a lady (Little Chi) from the Sapa sisters. Staying with a Mong Tribe village etc. An incredible time!!! I'm worried that your slightly sniffy review of Sapa might put others off from going there, and these beautiful people need our tourist support. So anyone reading this, please explore this!!!!

Thank you for sharing this. Been looking for info about Sapa. Hoping this year, I could visit it.

I've watched a few of your videos in prep for my tour of the north and this was particularly enlightening. It's good to hear (and see) an honest review of a place, warts 'n' all. Thanks 🤗👍🏼

Paddy, you are adoringly entertaining. Even just looking at the photos my legs would wobble so absolutely certainly not going on that long cable car ride. Best of luck with your enviable adventure.

Great video fabulous sites. I think the cable car is awesome amazing trip. I think Sapa is an amazing place and with the budget they did a great job with such a beautiful place.

The "to be continued" clips were very gorgeous , love how u review Sapa honestly , looķing forward to the famous Nin Binh vlog..

THE INTRO DRONE SHOT IS PHENOMENAL !! Vietnam is sooo breathtaking! Love from Thailand 🇹🇭🙏❤️