The Journey of a Lifetime Continues!

 After 3 days in the busy capital of Hanoi, the CBT Vietnam team has finally arrived in SaPa!

With all of our supplies, luggage, and filming equipment, we hopped on an overnight train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. We all forgot about the rough 10 hour ride once we woke up with breathtaking views, cool weather, and refreshing smell of the mountainous area of Northern Vietnam.  What a change from the humidity of overcrowded Hanoi!

Once we arrived in the town, we checked into the beautiful SaPa Eden Hotel. While we waited for our rooms to be ready, the team headed to the rooftop restaurant for breakfast. It also gave us the chance to finally snap our own photos of this magical landscape!

For the next 10 days, the team will be staying in TaPhin and Lao Chai working on different projects, including homestay training, product development, and environmental training for kids.

We are all very eager to connect with the community and deliver the training we have been working on these past few months. Everyone is excited to stay in the homestays and build lifetime memories with the locals.

Did you know the project now has Instagram? Follow us at http://instagram.com/cbtvietnam!

Stay tuned with the CBT Vietnam blog and social media channels for more details on our work in the villages!

One Month Countdown!

One month countdown before the CBT Vietnam Team from Cap U board the plane to Vietnam! 

When the Capilano University team met last week our arms were just recovering from the visit to the travel clinic. Now with the shots out of the way and the rest of the necessary preparations from our checklists nearly completed we went full speed ahead with completing the itinerary.

The itinerary is packed full of things including; gathering supplies in Hanoi with the help from Hanoi Open University student volunteers and funding from PATA, riding a motorcycle to Tavan with a stop in Lao Chai, continuing with the CBT Vietnam project planning and building strong relationships with the Black H'mong communities in Lao Chai, taking the night train to Sapa where we will spend the week before we host the ladies of Ta Phin back on the night train to meet with tour operators in Hanoi. We also have an exciting pottery crafting experience planned in Ba Trang village, for these amazing women, that will ensure they return to their own village inspired with a special self made souvenir in hand.

Let us not forget that we have planned many meetings including community meetings and meetings with the Sapa Government, tour operators, teachers, and follow up meetings with the homestay owners and village CBT Management Board Members.

Anyone up for a train ride?

Have you ever been on an overnight train through beautiful, exotic countryside?

Have you ever wanted to travel this way?

Well I most definitely have.

This is one of those things I've dreamed of my whole life, like many people, and in just a few short weeks it's finally going to happen. If you’ve read Nic’s recent blog post you’ll know that we will be travelling from Hanoi to Lao Cai by overnight train and then on to Sapa for the Capilano U / PATA Foundation tourism training project.

We'll be buying our tickets from Footprint Vietnam Travel, an amazing company who was started in 1999, by two entrepreneurial students from Hanoi Open University.  Footprint has become known for taking you “off the beaten path” to truly experience the culture and what Vietnam is all about. They have also been touted as a leader in responsible tourism What ever type of trip you're looking for they offer; cruise tours, trekking tours, cycling tours, community based tours, volunteer tours and so much more! 

Maybe Footprint Vietnam Travel can make your travelling dreams come true too?

Thanks Footprint for your continued support of the project and in the villages!