SAPAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

After traveling roughly 8 hours on the train, we reached our destination – Lao Cai, where it rain all day.  I couldn’t believe how cold Vietnam can get and how cold the rain was in Sapa in comparison to Ha Noi.  The winding roads up and around the mountains in the rain was not very pleasant because every turn the driver makes, I can only imagine one wrong turn and off the cliff we go… but we made it to Sapatown in an hour! We quickly settled in our cozy Pinocchio hotel and we off to eat brunch then head to the “Dragon’s Claw”!  The view and scenery during our hike up the cliff was magnificent! The air was cold and with a light sprinkling rain, nature has never been so beautiful!  As we climb stone staircase higher and higher, the views from above looking down to the town was pretty cool!  Plants and flowers filled the surroundings with natural rocks surrounding them.  It made me feel peaceful and calm walking around the Dragon’s Claw.  The fog that lingers around us made it feel mystical and surreal to witness such beauty.  However, these views were nothing in comparison to the trekking experience to Ban Ho the following day. 

Mud. No pave road.  Grassy. Slippery. Rocks. Bamboos.  SCENIC!  We left for our trekking excursion at 8am with our two Hmong tour guides. Trekking through the mountainous path was a scary and heart-pounding experience that I have never experience in my life.  There were no path on which we can follow except small dirt trails created by Hmong people and other travelers who trek through the mountains.  It was a battle climbing uphill and a bigger challenging going downhill because it was very muddy and the dirt were extremely moist which creates unstable grounds for us to walk by.  I’m pretty sure I killed a good amount of plants while I was trekking because I was holding on to the nearby plants for some support just in case I may slip and plunder down to my death. Of course, I survive but in those moments, I felt as though one wrong step I make will result in severe consequences. Hence, my follow EAPers and I were quite alert walking along the trail.  One thing I notice while we were trekking was the friendly Hmong girls and women from the villages follow us and helped us walk through the difficult trail.  A young girl named Muoi –if I spelled it right, helped me walk through some really dangerous path and she made trekking seem so easy!  I was quite impressed by her graceful balance walking between narrow space and her eagerness to help us like the rest of Hmong girls.

Although trekking was quite scary for all of us and many of us ATE it hard with the ground, it was so scenic and beautiful! I think it was the most beautiful and untouched place in Vietnam I’ve visited yet! It’s definitely breathtaking! There are many small water streams running down and around the mountains that we encounter with to rinse our dirty feet. After 6 or so hours of trekking we arrived at our home stay at the Chu Xin.  It was a pretty nice place where giant mattress and mosquitoes nets laid ready for us… I was expecting to stay similarly to our visit to the Bahnar village but it was more modern and spacious.  Our host was very kind and generous to us.  The food his wife and he prepared for us was tasty and we quickly devour it!  The night in the village was very peaceful without much light lit in the village or motorbike noises. It made me think about how Ha Noi has changed from a village into such a huge city filled with cars and lights.  I wonder if Ha Noi was as pleasant and peaceful as the night in Ban Ho village years ago.  Does development contaminate the beauty of a simple life and peace?   I thoroughly enjoy our stay in the village where we aren’t distracted with finding a “night life” in bar or club.  We got to get out of normal city life routine and just enjoy each other company.