After reaching the entrance to the pathway to the Cat Cat village near Sapa, Vietnam, we showed our entrance tickets to the gentleman at the entrance booth, and off we went to explore the village through the well-paved and marked path to visit the village.

We walked down through the path following illustrated maps that were posted every several hundred feet or so. This village particularly had done a good job in setting up the village path so it’s easy for foreigners to navigate.

As we walked down the path, we passed a couple of souvenir shops on the side of the path that were set up, but weren’t seeing much traffic that day. One of them didn’t even have anyone manning the shop, only a dog that was sleeping near the merchandise.

It seemed like a very slow, and perhaps boring life there. But now, looking back from a very hectic life in big city, being in such a slow-paced place sounds great to me. I wish I could just be like that dog sleeping in a peaceful, quiet setting and not caring about anything.

The photo below showed the dog sleeping near the souvenirs — completely oblivious of anything going on around.

During the walk down the road from the town of Sapa, Vietnam, to the village of Cat Cat, we discovered another aspect of visiting ‘off the beaten path’ destinations on our own: being able to experience and enjoy the slower pace of life and the peaceful atmosphere.

Since Kristi and I went on our own, we didn’t have the ‘entourage’ of local women going with us to sell souvenirs. We pretty much walked alone, and once in a while we passed locals either on foot or on motorcycles (which seemed to be the preferred ‘public transport’ locally). But to the most part we could just walk and simply got ‘lost’ in the village environment.

When there was no other ‘noise pollution’ or visual stimulus that compete for your attention, you start noticing little things. For me, it was the gentle sound of water streaming down on the side of the road, as seen in the photo below. The foggy day added another interesting dimension to the sense of place. I think this is why people came to this area back in the French colonial days — to get away from the hustle and bustle of the city and to slow down and rest.

Cat Cat is a village close to Sapa, Vietnam. The village was one of the several villages that were becoming popular among tourists who came to trek and see the villages where the local minorities live.

Compared to the other villages, Cat Cat is among the closest in distance to Sapa, and the route to get there is pretty straight forward. As such, they have more visitors who come on their own (without tour guide). The local government also tried to capitalize on this by having a ‘toll gate’ where we needed to purchase entrance tickets before entering the only road that led to the village. When we reached the village, there was a booth where they checked for the tickets, and they had a well-laid out path down the valley and through the village, complete with a map that showed the points of interests along the way.

The photo below showed the checkpoint where our tickets wew checked before entering the pathway to the village.