I surprised myself by finding a new layer of happiness off the beaten path.
When we last "spoke," I was heading on a mysterious adventure somewhere else in Vietnam. If you follow me on social media, then you already know that I visited an area called Sa Pa, or sometimes written as one word Sapa. It is in Northern Vietnam, near the China border. I vacillated when planning this part of my trip. I read about Sa Pa, and everyone raved about it. But I am what you might call a bonafide city girl (#satc4life). Trekking did not appeal to me. At. All. But something was pulling me to Sapa. I decided not to ignore my instincts and settled on doing a day trip so I could experience it for myself. After some research, I realized that it's too far to do as a day trip. It requires at least one overnight, and that's really pushing it. Well, damn. So I caved, and this city girl signed up to go trekking in Sa Pa.
I really was up there, wasn't I?
Monday Night: Overnight Train Ride to Sa Pa
On Monday night, after a day of some much-needed R&R in Hanoi, I was escorted by one of the doormen from my hotel (I told you that hotel was amazing!). He took me in the taxi to the train station, and he even walked me all the way to my train cabin. In the end, I was actually grateful for the help because it may have been a bit overwhelming otherwise.
To be honest, the overnight train was much better than expected! When I first started my research, I was way too scared to take an overnight train alone in Vietnam. After all, I didn't want to be murdered, right? But it honestly is safe and a great way to travel. It was boiling hot in my cabin though. I woke up occasionally in a pool of sweat and I had to take some tablets for motion sickness, but that was about the worst of it.
The train station in Hanoi.
On my way to the platform.
My train, where I would be sleeping for the night (lead by my escort!).
The bed was clean and much more comfortable than expected! Unfortunately, it was way too hot for all that bedding.
#nomakeupselife - I settled in for the night in my top bunk...
...which I was grateful for, as I am not Vietnam-sized. I was able to stretch my legs on top of the luggage area, as I only traveled with a tiny little backpack.
This was everything I packed for the 2-day journey! Look at me!
Our tiny little bedside table. They provided water and bananas for each of us in the cabin, along with other snacks we could purchase. I came prepared with trail mix and granola bars, so I didn't buy any snacks. I was glad I packed my own snacks, as it was mostly junk food for sale. (I like to eat a pretty healthy diet.)
Tuesday: Trekking to the Village Home Stay
When you go to Sapa, you don't actually take the train all the way there. Rather, you take a train to Lao Cai, and then either a shuttle bus or hired car the rest of the way to Sapa. I met a man that had my name on a sign (yay again!) and climbed into a van with many other travelers. We were dropped at a hostel, where most people seemed to be staying. I had signed up for a home stay in a local village for that night, so I had breakfast and waited for my tour guide to arrive. They offered showers to us, but I didn't really see the point. I was already wearing fresh clothes and was about to spend the rest of the day trekking, so I just enjoyed sitting down on the semi-comfortable furniture and charged my phone so I could have plenty of juice to take pictures. About an hour later, my guide arrived and we set out!
The other side of the overnight train.
It felt good to stretch my legs and get some fresh air.
The area outside was a bit chaotic. Luckily, there was something waiting for me with a sign that had my name on it. I was so relieved that I didn't have to figure things out in this crowd.
The quaint town outside the train station.
My ride for the rest of the way to Sapa.
This may sound crazy, but as we started our journey, I gave myself a sort of pep talk in my head. I knew that this was going to be hard. I am physically fit and in good shape, but I am rather inexperienced when it comes to trekking, and I am not much of an outdoorsy person. I told myself that this was probably going to be difficult and maybe even miserable, but if the views are anything like the pictures I saw online, it would totally be worth it. It'll only be temporary, and then you'll have those memories for the rest of your life. As it turns out, I didn't need that pep talk. Yes, it was difficult. I don't have proper trekking shoes, it was quite steep and slippery, I even fell in mud... and I loved every bit of it!
The first day, we trekked 12 kilometers (that's a little less than 7.5 miles). When we first set out, we were wondering why there were women from the village walking with us. We thought maybe they were bringing supplies back to the village, or something like that. We quickly found out that they were there to help us up and down the steep and slippery pathways. My guardian's name was Su Su, and at one point, she was practically carrying me down the side of a very steep hill. She even caught me when I slipped and fell in some mud. Luckily, only my foot and leg went in, but if she hadn't been there, I would have been covered from head to toe! We later found out that they helped us for a price - they offered us their woven goods to buy. The prices were very high, especially for Vietnam, but I didn't try to negotiate because I felt that I owed Su Su. I only bought from her, which made many of the other ladies upset, but I honestly didn't have enough money with me to buy from all of them (nor did I need that many bags and scarves!).
We're on our way!
Our crew and the women who helped us.
We initially thought their packs were supplies for the village. We later learned that it was full of goods for us to buy.
This was one of the more manageable slopes. I didn't dare try to take pictures during the steeper parts. I was concentrating on not falling down the side of the ridge!
The rice fields gave the hillsides a ripply look. It was dry season when I visited, but I bet it's really lush during rainy season, when everything is all green and yellow. I still found beauty in the greens and browns.
The village women are master weavers. Many of their fingers are dyed from the indigo they work with daily, and many of them carry around strands of hemp to weave while they walk. The ladies wove a heart from some grass blades for each woman in our trekking group . I loved this. Sadly, I lost it at some point during the adventure.
There was a lot of bamboo on our trek. Many locals use it for a variety of resources.
This is similar to the pool of mud that I slipped and fell into.
There were some points that we had to turn and walk a different way because of the water and mud.
I am clearly a novice trekker. My old running shoes were super slick, especially after they were covered in mud. But it was the best this city girl could do on this trip!
And I was all smiles for most of the way :-)
I was so happy. I kept looking up from the challenging parts, and views like this just made me melt.
Midday, there was a small commotion among another group of trekkers along the path. Apparently, there was an accident and another trekker fell down the side of a ridge, breaking both of her legs. (I heard from someone that she messaging was on her phone when she did this... totally not worth it, if you ask me!) The male guide chopped and tied sticks of bamboo together, and the ladies pulled scarves from their baskets to create a makeshift stretcher. They asked for male volunteers to go up the side of the hill (it was a more advanced route than we had taken) to help carry her back to the road. Some of the men from our group went with them. We waited for nearly an hour. The wind was pretty intense here, but we enjoyed the break from the hot sun. Eventually, we started walking again and reunited with the men from our group. They had taken another path back to meet us. I was amazed and humbled by what I had seen - that was not an easy task, and they did it all for a complete stranger. Talk about faith in humanity.
Our waiting "room" while the rescuers were gone.
Building the stretcher out of bamboo.
Testing it out to make sure it would support the weight of the girl when they found her later.
Views while we waited.
I loved the fashion of the women from the village - especially their hats!
The views continued to astound me, despite the heat and the challenge of trekking up and down hills and mountainsides. By the time we stopped for lunch, we were all ravenous, and lunch was absolutely delicious! After we spent all of our money on goods from our escorts, we devoured plates full of chicken with peppers, rice, and eggs.
Go Gators!
There were small places to stop and rest along the way. I was relieved to find this place, as I had run out of water after our delay. This came about just before the panic set in.
Motorbikes came speeding along here, and a couple of them got caught in the rocks along the way.
The views while we rested and rehydrated.
May as well take a selfie while I'm at it, right? Such a happy tired :-)
I was happy for an actual road, but that also meant more motorbikes speeding past us.
We had to climb around this thing, which was challenging at this point in the trek because our legs were on fire from the inclines and declines, along with the challenge of the hot sun.
Our guide, La La, grew up in that house in the distance. Now she lives somewhere else with her own family.
More farmland in the valley.
One more bridge to cross to get to the village where lunch was served.
This was my guardian, Su Su. I bought a little pouch to carry my phone and a scarf. She later gave me a smaller change purse for being her friend. Her strong hands and sure footing made my trek possible, so I was happy to support her. Again, I was fascinated by their fashion. All of the ladies were dressed like this.
So good!
There were so many kind souls surrounding this table.
I think we were all relieved to find out that there was only one more hour of trekking after lunch until we reached the village where our home stay was located. As we walked along, we saw some village life, although some of it seemed to be a bit of a touristy presentation of village life. It was still nice though.
We finally arrived at our home-sweet-home for the night. It was a quaint little place. We were all a bit surprised because we had something different in mind when we booked a home stay. It was more like a hostel in the middle of this valley, and there were 18 of us staying for the night. When we arrived, someone mentioned that it would be great to have a cold frozen cocktail, like a margarita or a pina colada. Suddenly, that's all I wanted. I ventured out with one of my new friends, and we drank a cocktail while watching the sun sink over the hills around us.
Welcome home(stay)!
It was a big open room with a loft up above.
I was surprised to see a TV. The kids in the family watched it after dinner. There was wifi too, but I was so adamant about disconnecting that I never signed on to it. It was nice to unplug for awhile.
The family slept in the main room.
Our beds were upstairs, along the floor.
Each bed had a mosquito net, which provided a little bit of privacy from the neighbor sleeping six inches on either side of you.
Views from the balcony upstairs, where we slept.
Two calendars - one regular and one lunar, I think?
Drinks with a view. So satisfying after 12 km up and down hills and mountainsides.
I think most of you know how I feel about sunsets. This was so peaceful.
Cheers to new friends and sunsets!
We returned to the house for a snack at 5:30 and then had dinner an hour later. Again, I devoured my food because everything was so delicious. One of my favorite moments of the whole trip was when the last person joined us, and she asked where everyone was from. We went around the table: UK, America, Germany, South Africa, Israel, Australia, Denmark, and a country that I thought was France, but was actually somewhere else French-speaking (but I never caught the name). I was in such a euphoric state. So many new friends to visit around the world!
We were all excited to find out that there was a working shower. I hadn't brought soap, so I ended up just rinsing the layer of grime, but it felt good to wash the day off. Afterwards, it was fascinating to talk to other travelers and listen to their stories. What I loved about this group is it wasn't a competition to see who could list off the most places they had visited. Rather, we simply shared experiences and stories.
My friend and I saw a rat crawling on the wall before we went to bed, and I was worried I wouldn't sleep because of that sighting. As soon as I hit the pillow, I completely passed out. Turns out, my exhaustion was more powerful than my fear of a rat crawling into bed with me. (It never did, by the way.)
Lovely conversations with a great view.
Our snack was french fries. This made a lot of us giggle.
More deliciousness (family-style again) - pork, chicken, rice, tofu, and peppers
This was one of my happiest moments from the whole trip: My roommates for the night - many of which I would love to travel and visit in the (near?) future.
We were given "Happy Water" after dinner...
La La told us we had to drink all of it, or no breakfast for us - haha! I left it to the younger people to take care of business.
Wednesday: Six more kilometers with La La
At 6 a.m. the next morning, I woke up to a loud thunderstorm. I blinked my eyes open when a loud crash of thunder woke me. I heard rain beating on the side of the house. Oh, shit. We would be walking in that in a couple of hours... yesterday was hard enough... I fell back asleep as I decided I would deal with it when it was time to get up. Luckily when I woke up a couple of hours later, there was no more rain. Yay! We all gathered for a yummy breakfast of pancakes, bananas, and honey. Then we went our separate ways with our guides. It was very difficult once again for me, but it got much easier when La La made me a walking stick out of bamboo. Barbara, an Australian lady in my group, was absolutely amazing, and she helped me along the way with strong hands, sure footing, and very kind words of encouragement. She also taught me how to use the walking stick effectively. After some time, we took a break by a waterfall.
Delicious breakfast spread
Onward!
This walking stick was definitely a game-changer!
La La, our guide, gave us a lot of information along the way. I loved her smile.
After the waterfall, we continued our journey and ended up a hill that reminded me very much of my race in Kalaw. The six kilometers that day felt short compared to the day before, though it was still quite challenging.
We all had lunch together, and the company was lovely (but the food was just okay). After lunch we climbed onto a bus to ride back to Sapa. At one point we stopped because a truck had overturned and there were bricks in the road. We helped clear the road so that our bus could squeeze through. That was quite a unique experience!
Lunch time!
18 km of trekking in two days... I think I earned this!
A furry little friend
Probably my least favorite meal of my entire Spring Break, but I still enjoyed it because of the company.
There were a few interesting sightings on the way back to Sapa...
...including a road block...
...which we helped clear away!
There was a haze in Sapa. Apparently we visited at just the right time because bad weather rolled in shortly after we left, and it was rainy for several days afterwards.
I was grateful that I sprung for the extra $5 to take the smaller, luxury bus back to Hanoi. There was so much leg room and a good working air con. I felt bad for my companions because I still reeked, despite the quick rinse in the shower at the hostel. Taking the train is more efficient as far as travel time goes, but I am glad I experienced both the train and the bus on this adventure.
My luxury ride back to Hanoi.
So much leg room! Definitely worth the $5.
It even had a place to charge my phone! Though I wasn't necessarily read to be reconnected again...
The views were pretty much like this the whole way (at least until it got dark). I'm so glad we didn't have this when we were trekking!
When I got back to Hanoi, my belongings were waiting for me in my hotel room when I checked in. I really did love that hotel! It was so nice to have a hot shower (with soap!) and sleep in a warm, comfy bed.
Heaven.
Some take-aways and random thoughts:
- I now have some pretty amazing new friends all over the world.
- I mostly had no idea where I was going or what I was doing for the entire trip. It was a great way for me to let go.
- I was worried about my pace and ability, but I was fortunate to have a group that was so patient with me.
- I remember thinking this on the bus on the way "home" to Hanoi: I wish I could bottle up this feeling and save it forever! This blog will have to be the next best thing <3
Loved my experience, and I loved sharing it with these people!
A map from La La, to document our 18 km of adventure :-)
What a fabulous adventure and a great post!
ReplyDeleteThank you, David! I'm glad that the excitement transferred through my post :-)
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