Stuck in Sa Pa in the middle of storm No. 3 Yagi, male tourist Hoang Van Trinh (born in 1996, from Yen Bai) and 5 siblings in the group had to stop their travel plans.
On September 5, Trinh's group went to Muong Hum village, Lao Cai to visit relatives and on September 6 moved to Sa Pa with the plan to visit and explore until September 9.
When arriving in Sa Pa, the group initially looked for a motel to stay for 4 days and 3 nights. However, the cost of staying at the motel was higher than the group expected.
Luckily, Trinh saw a post about a hotel that provided free accommodation and meals during the disaster. "The room was spacious and clean, our group of 6 people divided into 2 rooms. Besides, we were also supported with free meals and drinks, the staff were always enthusiastic in helping us," he added.
"It was raining heavily, I was also very anxious because my hometown was flooded, severely affected, the whole family had to evacuate following the government's call. In Sa Pa, we also did not have time to visit tourist attractions or take souvenir photos," the young man said.
On September 12, Trinh's group decided to leave the hotel and return home when the weather improved. The road home was not yet clear, so his group left at 9am and returned home at 4:30pm.
Not only the hotel that welcomed Trinh's group, dozens of accommodation establishments, from small to large, in Sa Pa, supported tourists and locals with free accommodation and meals amid the severe flood and landslide situation.
Ms. Thuy Hang, owner of Anh Tu Hotel in Sa Pa, said: "There are a total of 12 rooms with guests staying for free at our hotel. Because of the storm, the hotel only has one employee left to take care of the guests, the remaining staff also had to return home to support their families. In addition to supporting accommodation, we also prepared drinks and instant noodles for the guests staying."
Trinh and many other tourists expressed regret that the rice harvest season in Sa Pa and many places in Lao Cai was seriously affected by floods and landslides.
A tourism business owner in Sa Pa said that this year tourists will no longer have the opportunity to fully enjoy the golden season in Sa Pa, because terraced fields in many places have been destroyed in natural disasters.
On September 13, the People's Committee of Sa Pa town officially reopened tourist attractions after carefully reviewing and assessing the safety level. Attractions such as Sun World Fansipan Legend tourist area, Silver Waterfall, Ta Phin Stone Garden, Golden Stream - Love Waterfall, Ham Rong Mountain and Cat Cat Village have welcomed visitors back one after another.
Sa Pa is actively overcoming the consequences of storm No. 3. Along with stabilizing life and restoring production, the town also pays special attention to restoring tourist attractions.
Lao Cai Department of Tourism has proposed many practical solutions to support businesses, research and develop new tourism products, promote tourism promotion and linkage activities. At the same time, it calls on agencies, organizations, people and businesses to unite and join hands to renew the village landscape.
To facilitate the rapid recovery of tourism activities, Lao Cai's transport sector has focused on repairing damage on roads, especially routes to key tourist destinations such as Sa Pa, Bac Ha, and Y Ty (Bat Xat).
As of the morning of September 17, Lao Cai had 515 landslides on National Highways 4, 4D, 4E, 279; causing traffic jams at 71 locations. To date, 69 locations have been resolved, the remaining 2 locations are being repaired to ensure traffic in step 1. Provincial Roads 151-162 have 825 landslides, of which 10 are blocked. Currently, 2 locations have been resolved, the remaining 8 locations are being repaired.
