Sapa Day 1

Silver Falls outside of Sapa

Now that I'm back in Hanoi after another overnight train from Sapa, I can finally take some time to reflect on the first few days of the trip. Sapa proved to live up to its reputation of majestic natural beauty and fascinating culture. All over the village, the local "minority population" of indigenous Black H'Mong people go about their business and sell their crafts. The women are dressed in indigo tunics, adorned with bright red, yellow, green and white embroidery, while the men wear more subdued dark outfits with off-white collars. We visited the local market, which was full of all sorts of food, artifacts, clothing and all the necessities and nick-knacks for tourists and locals alike. There are constant offers from the crafts-women to "buy blanket" because they have "best price". This was a good place to hone our haggling skills, and it turns out that threatening to go to the next stall is fairly effective at ending the conversation and getting the price you're looking for. We worked up an appetite walking around for a bit more, and went to a great little restaurant with bamboo-backed menus. We shared what has so far been the best meal since reaching Vietnam, consisting of venison stir fried with lemongrass, and a goose dish with honey served on a hot plate. Leaving behind clean plates, we then ventured out to take a tour of the landscape just outside of Sapa. We hired a tour van with a guide, who took us out to see Silver Falls, an amazing waterfall splashing down into the valley, and then upwards to Tran Ton pass, which is a mountain pass providing spectacular views of the lush forests below. The deep greens contrasting with the blue sky and billowing cloud formations kept us there snapping photos for some time. After returning to Sapa, we had a quick dinner of Pho Bo (beef noodle soup) and then stopped to play a game with some high-school aged guys in the street that involved juggling a shuttlecock-like ejectors like a soccer ball in a circle. We then stopped at Kau Bar to grab a quick beer before returning to the hotel and resting after another long day.