Sapa

After our visit to Halong Bay, we returned to Hanoi with just enough time to eat and repack our overnight bags to go to Sapa via overnight train! The first night train and was it ever a doozie! We had a small cabin for four which was nice because we didn't have to sleep with any random people but it was old and dirty! The train ride was 11 hours so after some cards we turned of the lights for the bumpy sleep ahead! When we arrived at the train station, we took a mini bus for another 45 minutes up the winding hillside to Sapa. This place was spectacular and no picture will ever do it justice! My friends opted to rent scooters to rip around the countryside and I opted for a
3 hour walking tour through some of the hillside villages. My guide's name was Chi and she took me through two villages. We also stopped at her house that was nothing more than a bamboo hut with an open fire and a Tupperware wash basin! Along the way, Chi showed me how the rice is beaten and cleaned. She also showed me how the local women pick the hemp, weave it and then dye it indigo to make their traditional clothing. Many. Of the Hmong women had purple hands from this dye! Wandering along the path, I also saw the local school. Chi explained to me that the kids were on vacation and that they learn Vietnamese in school and not English. This was surprising because many of the local kids sure could speak English when they wanted you to by their stuff :) Of course, responsible tourists do not by from kids because it encourages begging! I also saw how the locals dry the corn kernels to make popcorn seeds. This made me think of my Dad and his love of popcorn for supper! Overall, my little tour of Sapa was beautiful and taught me a lot about how the locals live.


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