Sept 29th : The ride up to Mt Fansipan

the HIGHLIGHT OF OUR TRAVEL ......

up at 3143m ..Mt Fansipan .......oops, one girl missing from the pic?

the Tugu Negara ??? 

Mt Fansipan, the roof of Indo-China, situated in the charming town of Sapa, north western region of Vietnam on the Hoang Lien Son mountain range.  Reaching an elevation of 3143masl...  the temperature can drop to freezing point but with an average of 4 - 6C in winter months and  15 - 20 C durian summer .... even though its end September, we still had to be prepared with our warm waterproof jackets as it's either drizzle or mist ....

the peak at Mt Fansipan

To get to this Mountain, we had to take firstly the mountain train from Sun Plaza in Sapa town...20 min cable car ride or a normal taxi to the cable car station called Sun World Fansipan Legend or Muong Hua Station. ...( taxi is cheaper if you have a group) . This cable car project is proud to be noted as the 4th longest single suspended cable car in the world ! Then the Cable Car (800,000 dongs return) which  has stunning view of the mountainous landscape below...unfortunately it was very cloudy all the way for us, we get to see nothing but fluffy white clouds....this  is 6.3 km long route through the Huong Lien Son National Park to the Mt Fansipan.  

and the last part is a funnicular train that takes you all the way up to the very top or you could just walk up 600 steep steps !

  

got the whole car to ourselves...

   

way to the cable car station.....

no queque at the cable car boarding station 

all in , ready to be swept off your feet ...

view from our cablecar, as it ascend

and other pictures taken , on our way

some more steps ahhh 

finally, reached Mt Fansipan ,my 2nd attempt...

OMG ...are we there yet ????

she say, " easier to come down backwards and look between your legs la ! "

it is the highest seated bronze Buddha statue in Vietnam at a height of over 3000 meters, with over 50 tons of copper with advanced technology and comprises of 3 floors...the upper floor is the copper great Buddha nested on a 8 meter tall lotus pedestal ...

Built in 2015, this bronze statue is 21.5 m tall. The pedestal is decorated with dragons and flowers... 

and so.......... ends our day with a good dinner down in Sapa town and a bit of last minute shopping ......and a spectacular view at a cafe called Viettrekking.com hotel 

Viettrekking hotel

modern hotel with a fantastic view of Muong Lien Mountain range and the monorail....amazing sunset 

and other homestays in the area , with same breathtaking view...

sapa town center

Sapa town center

and so we had dinner at Chusu Kitchen....fusion Viet /french???

Chusu Kitchen

delicious Viet fusion 

happy faces ...

and on to last min shopping ( cant get enough of ..)  before we return to Hanoi the next day.....