The North West route Yên Bái - Lai Châu - Lào Cai

Thác Bà reservoir - Yên Bái province

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I was back to Yên Bái city at the end of the trip and
 took this chance to visit Thác Bà hydropower plant. It's 
located 12km away from the center of the city. The boat
 ride on the reservoir was one of the highlights
 on my 7 day trip.

This is Part 4 and also the final part of my 7-day solo trip in the North West of Vietnam by local bus and motorbike. Friday morning (July 20), I got a mini bus from Lai Châu to Lào Cai at 9am (115km). On this section I went on Hoàng Liên Sơn pass (altitude 2,030m) which is one of the most dangerous passes in northern Vietnam. The pass is 45km in length and shared by both provinces Lai Châu and Lào Cai. It was so misty on the Lai Châu side, while the sun was shining on the Lào Cai side. The mini bus also passed by Sapa which is a popular tourist destination in the North West region. I have been there twice, so I decided not to visit it on this trip.

After I got to Lào Cai city, I went to a train booking agent. I hoped I could get a ticket and take a night train to go back to Hanoi on the same day. A local guy at the agent told me that all the tickets were fully booked in advance as it was close to the weekend. I decided to change my plan. I would go by bus back to Yên Bái city (my first destination on the trip) for visiting Thác Bà hydropower plant. It was a very old bus, perhaps the oldest bus I’ve ever traveled in Vietnam.

On the way from Sapa to Lào Cai

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I traveled by mini bus from Lai Châu to Lào Cai (115km).
On the way the mini bus passed by Sapa. I have been to
Sapa twice so I didn't see it this time.

 Fortunately, nothing happened when I was going up and down the moutain road. I met two young people on the bus ride. They are from Yên Bái city and they offered me a great help. The girl took me to a good guest house in the center of Yên Bái city, while the boy invited me to a dinner with his friends and next day he was my free tour guide. We went to Thác Bà hydropower plant by bus (12km away from the city) then rented a boat (US$17) and cruised the reservoir. Thác Bà hydropower plant was the first ever hydropower plant in Vietnam. When the hydropower plant was built, the mountains were party submerged in the water and they became islands. This is one of the three largest man-made lakes in Vietnam. The view of islands and boats from the main dam of the hydropower plant was so stunning. Tourists are not allowed to visit the hydropower plant, so I couldn’t see its turbins. After visiting the reservoir, I returned to Highway No. 70 and got a bus to go back to Hanoi.

Thịt trâu cuốn lá lốt (buffalo meat)

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Buffalo meat and onion are put onto the leaves then
olled on. Fish sauce is used for eating this food. This
shot was taken at a restaurant in Yên Bái city. (Thịt trâu
 xào tái với hành cuốn vào lá lốt rồi ăn cùng nước mắm).

This is the last blog about my 7 day solo trip in 3 provinces of the North West region. When I was planning the trip, I had almost Zero information about the places that I wished to visit. I had searched information over internet, but couldn’t find any information about distances, car rental or guesthouses. I only had a train ticket from Hanoi to Yên Bái in my hand, as well as my wish of seeing Suối Giàng, Mù Cang Chải and Lai Châu. On the way I always asked drivers about names of locations because they were experts of the routes. Whenever I got to a new place, I asked locals where I could find a guesthouse, how far it was to my next destination, and what time the bus would leave. As the towns are small, the bus stations sometimes are located right in the center of the towns. I decided to stay near the bus stations as I could easily get a bus and move on next day.