Beach Bums

Today we woke up back at the normal time of 8am. We were planning to buy a chair at one of the resorts for the day and say there all day so we wanted to get an early start. We grabbed breakfast at Joe's Live Music Bar, which also happened to be a hotel/resort. We walked all the way through the restaurant and were able to sit right by the ocean. 

Such a beautiful town! There were people doing yoga in an open space right behind us while we were eating breakfast. We totally would have joined in but we didn't have workout clothes (or we actually are just being lazy bones). 

After breakfast we headed to the resort. We drove right up to the main entrance and were denied at the front desk...we were so confused because the guy by the chairs told us we could buy a chair. We realized he probably was going to pocket the money and it is against the resort policy. I was a little bummed and felt like a loser. 

We walked down the block to our stomping ground from yesterday and set up camp. We laid around for awhile and soaked in the sun. The water today was a little cooler but honestly felt better and cooled us down a little more. I got some sun burn yesterday so after some sun soaking I complained enough that Alex let us go grab lunch and get out of the sun. 

We ate Bunh My again and chilled at our bungalow. This time we got three instead of two, but they honestly don't fill you up much. So delicious tho. After lunch we did some quick laundry and relaxed (wrote, read, and played cribbage). We headed back to the beach for a quick dip and then of to the red dunes. It was getting late so we made our way to the dunes, took a quick look, and went back to our place before it got too dark. 

We're going to see the white dunes tomorrow, which are much bigger (and high on the Trip Advisor list) so I wasn't too worried about rushing the red sand dunes. 

We ate at a cool seafood places right on the water. Good food, we got steamed chicken and green cabbage because we're sick of everything being fried and getting stomach aches after. We walked back after dinner and pick up some trinkets. I finally found a worthy hat to replace the Vatican Museum hat I lost on a train. Losing my brown Vatican Museum hat has been a tragic event for me. It took us a week or two to find a good enough hat. 

(An example of what we saw while walking to dinner)

At any rate, we headed back and called a couple people and packed up. We're planning on getting up at 6:30 tomorrow morning for the dunes, and are leaving for Saigon around noon. 

One interesting thing we've noticed is that all the locals are always wearing pants, and usually wearing long sleeves. We honesty don't get it. We can't handle the heat when we're wearing our bathing suits, how do they go about their business in all their clothes. And these pants aren't like super light plants that actually keep you cooler, they're like jeans or khakis. It's absurd, but I guess their blood is thinner down here. 

Anyways, I'm off to bed, it's already later than is hoped it would be for our early morning tomorrow. 

"Travel does not exist without home....If we never return to the place we started, we would just be wandering, lost. Home is a reflecting surface, a place to measure our growth and enrich us after being infused with the outside world."

- Josh Gates

Fairy Spring

From 10/29

Today we woke up when we wanted to at about 9-9:30. We didn't really have any plans for Mui Ne except to chill at the beach and enjoy the water. There are a couple things we wanted to see because Lonely Planet tells us to. 

We of course got a motorbike for the trip and headed to where we thought was beach. There are literally resorts everywhere here! Any beach is owned by a resort I kid you not. One spot we thought was public access was actually just owned by the resort across the street. We should have made up our room number. We rode up and down the main drag and could only find one small plot of beach that was available. 

Needless to say it wasn't a bad spot. There aren't really and bad spots. We got really hot really quickly and then jumped in the water. The water here is perfect! It's warm, but not so hot that you don't want to be in it. It's like cold bath water and it feels amazing! Cools you down just enough but it's warm enough to stay in the forever (or until you get pruney).

When we rented the motorbike our host asked if we could do him a favor and be back on the property at 2:30. He's having a local newspaper lady come by to talk to him about being an Airbnb host. She wanted to be able to talk to guests so we reluctantly said sure. So after a couple hours of beach we headed to grab some Banh My and back to our bungalow. We ate on our front porch and enjoyed the peaceful property. 

The host and the news lady came up shortly after and asked us questions about Mui Ne, the specific property, the food, and the sights in the area. We had only been to the beach so far, so it made us sound kind of lame. However, there were a couple sights we knew we wanted to see that our host had recommended. 

(Our interrogators)

Once they freed us, we headed off to Ferry Spring. It was the number two "thing to do" on trip advisor so I had high expectations, and I think it met them. It's such a unique land form/waterway. 

(Waterway on right, red sand on left)

You take your shoes off and walk all the way down the creek. It's about one kilometer long and runs into the ocean. The coolest part is the color of the water, and the softness of the sand. It's not like a typical creek where you could step on something sharp, because everything around it is just sand (compared to sticks, old railroad metal, etc.). Along with the red sand there were some beautiful land all along the way. 

(White and red sandstone rock)

(More detailed view of what the rock looks like)

We didn't walk all the way down to the ocean because we were in a time crunch. The sun was starting to go down (sets around 5:30 here) so we headed to the old fishing village for the sunset. It was gorgeous! 

There were so many boats in the water it was crazy. You could see all the fisherman and women getting into there boats and prepping their nets for the night fish. It's wild to think that Mui Ne used to be a small fishing town and has now turned into a huge resort town. 

(View of the people and the town)

Once the sun set we hurried back to the bungalow before it got too dark. We grabbed a snack on the way as an appetizer before dinner. It was some pancake with egg and veggies in it washed down with some Bia Siagon. We headed over to the Strawberry Restaurant (just a name, they didn't have berries) and had some delicious kabobs. The sun tired us out along with the beer so we headed back and didn't even write. We read for a short bit and called it a night. 

The heat is nice to have as long as there's water to jump in. We're thoroughly enjoying the heat here, but know it will get interesting when we're in Saigon... 

"Some beautiful paths can't be discovered without getting lost."

- Erol Ozan

Train Day

Today was our long day on the train. We woke up around 8, did a little reading, and headed into the restaurant car for some breakfast.

The night before we forgot to get snacks, so all we had was two large carrots, six cookies, and about 10 sweet potato chips. We got to the cigarette smokey restaurant car and sat down. The server gave us both coffees, and we asked for food. She just shook her head. 

(The cig smokers)

No food? We were relying on this for breakfast and lunch. She showed us a packet of shrimp flavored Ramon (Asian equivalent) and we reluctantly said yes. We were eyeing up other options but there wasn't really much. 

(Our breakfast...)

We ate the Ramon, which wasn't all that bad, and stocked up on the few snacks they had. The hotdog looking thing in the noodles was disgusting - we both threw it out. We found a cup of weird kettle corn (not the same flavor as US kettle corn), waters, and chips. We didn't understand why they have this big kitchen and don't use it??

We went back to our cubbie and hung out. We entertained ourselves with the usual cribbage, reading, and writing. Someone opened out door randomly around noon and it was the lunch man! So they do actually use the kitchen. It was rice, some cabbage thing, and fake meat (edit from face meat). We told ourselves it was tofu to help get it down. We also got a ear of corn. This ear of corn is a perfect representation of the food quality on this train. 

(What is going on?)

Although it wasn't delicious, it was better than nothing. We'll eat some good food tonight to make up for it. 

The afternoon was filled with more of the same and an eagerness to get to the beach. Once we got to the train station we got a cab to take is directly to the airbnb. 

We hopped in a cab and headed straight for the Airbnb. It wasn't a long ride, about 40 minutes and we were there. I thought it was on the beach, but it's across the street and down a ways. Really not the end of the world, plus the property is really nice and relaxing (I'll get pictures in the next post).

The property is a bit tucked away from the road, which isn't a crazy busy road, but is somewhat touristy. Our host saved us the best and more beautiful bungalow (does he save the worst one for someone?). The bathroom is an open air bathroom And the main room has air conditioning. It makes me feel like a diva saying that AC is necessary, but it really is in order to sleep in the otherwise 80 degrees and humid weather. 

After grabbing a bite to eat on the ocean, we headed back to our room to hang out and plan our next couple days. Looking at the lonely planet book and trip advisor this place seems like mainly a beach and chilling kind of place. There are some things to see like big dunes, but the reviews made them seem just average. 

We'll see what we're up for in the next couple days, but whatever happens we will definitely be getting in the water!

"Nobody can discover the world for somebody else. Only when we discover it for ourselves does it become common ground and a common bond and we cease to be alone."

- Wendell Berry

Hue Day

After finally getting some good rest on the train we made it to Hue. Alex has been sleeping great on all the trains, but last night was the first good night's sleep for me. I think having such a full day and being in the sun for so long definitely helped. At any rate, it was nice to start a day at a normal hour (8ish) and be ready for a full day. 

We started at a breakfast place called Mandarin Cafe. It was a delicious place with wonderful hosts. After our meal we bought some post cards that were photographs actually taken by the owner. As we were leaving a man walked up to us and asked us how our meal was and if we liked the post cards. 

This man ended up being the owner and he was a very proud man. He told us all the post cards were his photos, as well as the photos on the walls. They were beautiful pictures! He talked to us about the war and that he actually worked for the US during the war as a fire fighter. He started the business since 1991 (year we were born) and has been in Lonely Planet since 1995. He's obviously doing something right. There's something really cool about talking directly to the owner in a casual conversation. He made it comfortable and not intimidating or rushed. He runs an ideal small business, sign me up. 

We weren't sure what to expect in Hue except a citadel, which my understanding is an old city center with a ton of history. At least, this one had a lot of history. 

There is a 1.5 square kilometer area that is surrounded by a moat that is considered the citadel, or old city. It's now called the Imperial City. This was around when Hue was the home of the capital for many dynasties in Vietnam. Within the walled off city there was a walled off area for the royal family to roam. 

(The first of two entrances needed to reach the Imperial City)

(The entrance to the Imperial City)

Basically this emperor was a boss and didn't let anyone mess with him. There were different plots of land designated for different activities like relaxing, housing the mother and mother-in-law, entertaining guests, and whatever else the emperor wanted to do. By areas I don't mean rooms, like we have today, but big buildings and open spaces. 

(One of the areas used to relax for the Royal family)

(Some of the renovated part, but the space was the same from when it was originally built)

The coolest part is that this stuff made it through the two major wars in the 1900's. There have been a lot of renovations to keep things up and running, but there were also some ruins that show what some of the original structures looked like. It's crazy thinking how many people have been in the same space that I was in (if that makes sense?). I also love thinking about what it would be like if I was in that same spot but in the hay day of Vietnamese dynasties. I definitely wouldn't survive long but it would be cool to see. 

(Some old walls of the buildings)

(Old fountain and door)

The citadel is also our second UNESCO Heritage site of the trip. 

(Some old floor that was in the middle of a field between patches of grass - so crazy!)

Hue is way better than Ninh Binh was in terms of walking around and having things to do. There was obviously the citadel, but there's also lots of shops, parks, and safe looking restaurants. Don't get me wrong, Ninh Binh was beautiful, I just wouldn't spend more time there than I already did. 

(Cool views in Hue)

After the citadel we walked around for way too long. We both got hangry at each other and really should have eaten earlier. At any rate, after looking in the wrong spot we found the restaurant that we were looking for. It was definitely a local place because we were the only tourists there. It's cool, but we definitely get our fair share of staring and it makes us think we're doing something wrong. We probably are eating the food wrong but at least tell us how you recommend eating it. 

After lunch we found a cafe to chill for a bit, do some writing and reading, and just sit down. The last two days have been a lot of walking with nowhere to call home, so it's nice to just sit and chill. We played cribbage and I'm finally starting to win, which Alex isn't too happy about. But don't tell her I said that. 

When we were there we were stared at and talked to as well. Not many people know English but they were intrigued by us, or by the cribbage board. The language barrier is definitely a thing here - it hasn't been too bad most of the time except in Vietnam. It makes things interesting and it's cool interacting with people that you can't use words with. 

Once it started getting dark we headed over to our hotel to grab a bite to eat before showering. We had Pho and a cold beer. We walked across the street to our hotel, showered, and changed before the train. I'm currently sitting in the train station waiting for the train (obviously...not sure why I write some things that I write). 

The weather here is noticeably hotter than Ninh Binh, and definitely Sapa. I can only imagine what it will be like tomorrow and more importantly Saigon. At least in Mui Ne we can go in the water to cool down, Saigon we will be surrounded by hot vehicles and lots of people. 

At any rate, we're heading into our last overnight train of the trip. It's bittersweet, but it will be nice to be on the beach tomorrow night. 

"We live in a wonderful world that is full of beauty, charm and adventure. There is no end to the adventures we can have if only we seek them with our eyes open."

- Jawaharial Nehru

Caves

From 10/26 (quick post, grammar edits will be made don't worry)

Our train arrived at 4:45 into Hanoi this morning and we waited for our 6am train to Ninh Binh. I don't sleep much on the train. I'm bummed because I can sleep I cars and on planes sitting up, but I struggle to get good sleep laying down with a pillow and blanket in a train. 

We were put in hard seats, instead if soft seats, which was whatever or the short ride, but why? No AC and the seats hurt the booty. Luckily it was a 2 hour train and not an overnight. 

We arrived in Ninh Binh at 8:30 and found a great hotel right across the street. This is the first time we've just shown up and asked if we could store our stuff at their place for the day but they said yes! Super convenient and perfect that it was stored in a hidden room, not a room labeled "bag room" that's left unlocked and un-monitored (our Hanoi hostel). 

We were also able to get breakfast and a moped at the place. Literally everything we wanted across the street from the train station. After breakfast we hopped on the moped and headed out. We mapped out the things we wanted to see beforehand so it was really easy to get going right away. 

Ninh Binh is not known for what's in the actual city, but what you can find outside the city. We first drove out to a couple pagodas that were in out to do list. The buildings themselves weren't anything special, but the landscape is unbelievable. 

(Example of how the landscape goes from flat to limestone rocks capes)

It's all limestone chunks of rock. I wish I knew more about how they became what they are today, but I just know they look awesome. 

(Example of the landscape from the road)

We found ourselves a good hike up 458 steps to the top of this pagoda. The steps definitely aren't within code, but it's kind of an "at your own risk" kind of country anyways. 

(The steps)

(Al starting the climb)

The views from the top were phenomenal as expected. It's always worth the workout and the sweat when you get to see the views. 

(Facing Ninh Binh, it's a little to the right of this picture)

(Facing the other way)

On the way down we actually counted the steps, which is why we know and it's not just one of my exaggerations. After the stair stepper we got back on the bike and headed back into town for lunch. We missed all the good Banh My in Hanoi so we were craving some sandwich love so we found the first spot we could (it was already passed noon).

The Banh My was really good, an bread was delish, but there wasn't a ton of stuff in the sandwich. This just means that we have to go to anther Banh My place in another city. I have no problem trying sandwiches everywhere. 

Since we had such a limited time here we quick headed off to the next destination called Trang An. We really weren't sure what to do in all the destinations because we didn't have much time to plan for these one day destinations.

When we got there though we decided to go on a 2-3 hour boat cruise trough the limestone rocks. We figured it would be a much better way to experience the wilderness than on a motorbike. 

Little did we know, since we can't read anything, that we were going into caves. Small caves. The first cave was 350 meters long and, thank god, was the longest of all of them. 350 meters doesn't sound long, but when the cave closes in on you and you aren't really sure what's going in it gets a bit scary.

Thankfully we both made it through alive but drenched in sweat. Well that was the first of probably eight caves! They got easier and easier, and by the end we were extremely happy we decided to do the boat ride. The lighting was average for pictures, but it was an unbelievable experience!

(Before we knew about the caves)

(A pagoda in between caves and mountains)

(Leaving one of the many caves)

We met some cool people that I think were local Vietnamese. They could communicate with the boat guides and not with us. We had a lot of fun with them despite not being able to speak the same language. When I say that I mean zero English besides yes and no, and I don't know any Vietnamese. 

(Me and my new friend - he asked for the picture)

The ride went for about three hours and it started getting dark so when we landed on shore (thank god) we rode right back into town. We were going to explore a bit but we ended up going right to the hotel before it really got dark. 

We returned the motor bike, ate some dinner, and they even let us shower; so necessary after hiking up all those stairs. 

We are so glad we went to Ninh Binh instead of Ha Long Bay. It sounds like the geographic formations are the same, but Ninh Binh is less touristy and on the way to our next destination. We're waiting for our overnight train again that leaves at 10:20 this evening and gets into Hue tomorrow at 9:30am. Luckily we aren't waking up at such a crazy time, so I hope to get some decent sleep tonight. 

A very unexpected busy day today, hopefully tomorrow will be a pleasant surprise as well! 

"There are no foreign lands. It is the traveler only who is foreign."

- Robert Louis Stevenson 

Enjoying Sapa

From 10/25

After a night full of nightmares come true, we woke up later than usual. We decided not to go for a hike and instead slept in and chilled for our last day in Ta Van (small village we were staying in near Sapa). 

We both got our favorite scrambled crack eggs for breakfast and hung out. Alex packed while I wrote a bit, and then vice versa. We had clean laundry which is amazing! I started to pack when our favorite friend My (pronounced Me) sucked me into playing chase and hammock boat and fake kitchen. Literally played with this nugget for at least an hour. 

I really wanted to pack, but how do you say no to that face? I eventually had time to pack stuff up before Alex and I walked into town to grab train snacks and milkshakes. We chatted with our South African friend at the milkshake place and he told us all about Ninh Binh and how awesome he thought it was (this is our next destination). We said our goodbyes and headed back to our homestay. 

We just chilled for the afternoon and evening just reading, napping, and writing. I'm really gonna miss this place. The hosts, Andrew, Lan, and My are the best. They really took care of us and made some amazing food. They're really down to earth and honest people which is so refreshing!

(View while eating breakfast from their front porch)

After taking our last shower for potentially three days, we ate dinner and were off in our cab. The next couple days we will be homeless. Tonight we're taking an overnight train to Ninh Binh. We will walk around Ninh Binh for the day and then hop on an overnight train to Hue. We'll do the same thing in Hue - walk around and explore for the day before getting on a night train to Mui Ne. Thankfully in Mui Ne we have a place to call home for three full nights, and it's on the beach. Needless to say, I'm going to try to write these blog posts on the train and post them at breakfast or if we're at a cafe. 

We're really gonna miss Sapa and the beauty of the countryside. 

(Village about a ten minute walk away)

"The very basic core of a man's living spirit is his passion for adventure. The joy of life comes from our encounters with new experiences, and hence there is no greater joy than to have an endlessly changing horizon, for each day to have a new and different sun."

- Christopher McCandless

Cockroach

From 10/24

We rented a moped today so we woke up early to make the most of it. We ate a quick breakfast and headed into Sapa. The beginning of town was pleasant, but once we got into the main part of town we didn't really like it. 

There was a lot of construction and a lot of people. We were pumped we didn't book a place right in town because it wouldn't be that relaxing. At any rate we stopped at a copy shop and I sold them a copier quick. Haha jokes. We just printed off our train tickets 

We headed to the market to check out some stuff and maybe get lunch. This market was a lot smaller and had a lot less diversity than other markets. It is a smaller town so it makes sense, but I had high hopes for Sapa. We looked at the crazy food/dead animals and wandered through the goods. Al got some bracelets and I burnt myself on a lighter. It looked like a flashlight in a gun shape. I played with it and it had a laser pointer for the trigger, and I clicked the reload thing and it torched my fingers. 

(It's hard to see but I promise it hurt)

It isn't actually that bad but it killed! Probably another reason I didn't like this market. Also everyone says "buy from me" and "you buy something" - I wish they understood English so I could tell them that won't work. As soon as you say that I'm NOT going to buy something from you. I prefer the quiet ones that don't need to hassle you to get you to buy. 

Anyways, we headed to find a coffee shop and somewhere for lunch. I got to ice my hand finally and it made a world of a difference. After filling up with some noodles we hopped on the moped and headed towards the waterfall. After the big waterfall in Luang Prabang we always set the bar low for waterfalls. It's hard to beat that massive waterfall with all the beautiful layers. 

The drive in this area was beautiful, but it was fairly foggy and cloudy. Pictures are impossible to take but the mountains are amazing. The roads here are kind of crazy. They don't have guard rails and there are sections the end of the road is literally a drop off. Needless to say anytime another car came we pretty much stopped. I'm not trying to get bumped off a cliff.

We made our way up and down the steep mountain roads and got back to our Homestay safely. Since we had been sitting down the entire day we decided to go for a run. It was about 6km of all up and down. We definitely looked like outsiders with our white skin and our exercising. Not many people go for casual runs there, I'm guessing partially because their jobs entail a lot of physical work. Regardless it felt amazing to get some endorphines (maybe spelled right?) and move around. We got our favorite banana chocolate shakes on the way back. 

We played some cribbage until dinner. This time it was a smaller group: us, a Swedish couple, and one Chinese guy. We had some great conversations about gun laws, refugees coming into Sweden, and government. According to our unnamed Chinese friend, the Chinese government can kill people and get away with it. He compared it to House of Cards and said it actually happens.

Our Swedish friends also had some corn wine, which is essentially liquor. The guy had some petty good peer pressure tactics and got all of us to have a shot or two. It was fun to have dinner with a smaller group and really get to know them a little more. 

After another delicious dinner we headed off to bed. We were looking forward to tomorrow and planned to do one last hike. However, taking one last bathroom break before bed we found a cockroach climbing on the INSIDE of our bug net! What the eff?! 

We were seriously freaked out, and surprised I didn't pee my pants, but opened the door and had to think what to do. Our Chinese friend was sleeping in the main room and asked what was going on. He joined in on the fun/horror. I grabbed some shorts to grab the cockroach and threw the shorts in the main room. We were all standing there and our Chinese friend (I wish I remembered his name) moved the shorts. It wasn't there...

Totally freaked out at this point I knew the cockroach was outside our bed. I climbed into the bed and quickly tucked in the bug net to make sure it couldn't climb up it from the ground. As I was lifting up the mattress the bug started crawling again! It was under our mattress AHHHHHHH! Wtf?! 

I put the mattress down and ran around in circles. Our friend gave threw me a towel to grab the bug with. We counted to three and lifted up the mattress. I grabbed the squirmy cockroach and wrapped the the towel. One of the hosts woke up and helped us open the door and throw it out off the balcony. We saw it crawl away and took a breath, but then ANOTHER COCKROACH crawled out of the towel we used?! Whatttt? Why?? 

Literally scared to death we got back into bed, unsure if we would ever actually fall back asleep. 

That is a completely candid picture I took and it perfectly describes how we were feeling after all the commotion. It was terrifying. Never again. We did, however, proceed to laugh at this picture for the next 10 minutes, which made us feel a little better. 

We both had to read for a bit to get our minds off the bugs, but eventually fell asleep. Terrifying night, but were alive to tell the story. 

Pray for no more cockroaches. 

"If you reject the food, ignore the customs, fear the religion, and avoid the people, you might better stay home."

- James A. Michener

...James forgot to mention the bugs...

Riverside Trek

Sleeping in is amazing, and I don't feel guilty that I should be out doing things in a low key place like this. We were still up by 9ish and out the door by about 10:30. I had the banana honey pancakes and Al had the scrambled eggs. The eggs at our place are unbelievable. I don't know what they put in them but I swear it may be crack. 

Our host Andrew told us how to trek around the area and that it's very doable by ourselves. We're located on a river so when in doubt go to the river. 

We started off ok but then got up a little higher than we expected and it was awesome. 

This picture best shows the texture of the landscape and rice fields. It's such a different look than anything I've seen. A lot of the areas are cloudy because we're in a pass between the mountains, but we can still see a lot. 

On our way down the mountain we hiked along a waterfall. It was super steep and slick but we managed with decent shoes on. However, the locals did it with little to no footwear. 

(Bottom left you can see a lady, she has NO shoes on...)

(Boys going up what we can down...in flip flops)

We walked along the river on the other side for awhile looking up at our Homestay and the area we started walking. We realized we were past our Homestay and needed to find a spot to cross the river...there was nowhere! We tried and tried but nothing seemed safe enough. 

The river wasn't raging by any means, but regardless we didn't want to get soaked. There were some sections that had a pretty strong current as well. We eventually found a group of rocks and had to jump across a section that in reality probably wasn't that far, but seemed like it with the water rushing under us. 

We headed back to the Homestay, ate some lunch, and relaxed for a bit until dinner. The group at dinner was a little more animated tonight compared to last night. There were a group of three Israelites that we hilarious and taught us all a card game. 

(The dinner table)

The game's called Shit Head. It reminded me a lot of our friends and how we play cards all the time. This will definitely be a game we bring back, so be ready friends. 

We played until later than we usually stay up, but then headed up to bed. We are renting a moped tomorrow so we want to make sure we get our money's worth and start early. We're going to head into Sapa city and check out some waterfalls and wilderness. 

I didn't know where to put these pictures, but here is the wildlife we saw during our trek:

(A goat and his chicken friend)

(Pigs having a cuddle puddle)

(A duck checking in on its rice fields)

That's all for today! I'm loving to the low key relaxing. 

Long quote but it's exactly how I feel!

"But that's the glory of foreign travel, as far as I am concerned. I don't want to know what people are talking about. I can't think of anything that excites a greater sense of childlike wonder than to be in a country where you are ignorant of almost everything. Suddenly you are five years old again. You can't read anything, you have only the most rudimentary sense of how things work, you can't even reliably cross a street without endangering your life. Your whole existence becomes a series of interesting guesses."

- Bill Bryson

Sleepless in Sapa

Literally was one of those nights you don't feel like you slept at all. We shared a train berth with two others that we couldn't communicate with. It was already like 10-11pm so we pretty much went to bed once it started anyway. 

(Before the top bunk members joined us)

I fell asleep alright but was woken by a random, sketchy looking guy opening our door and peering in. He looked at our bags then at us and back at our bags. I think he saw the guy above me was awake and he shut the door. He came back like 10 minutes later and did the same thing. I asked him what he wanted, he probably didn't understand but just seemed shocked and closed the door. I was super sketched out so I slept hugging our valuables and didn't really fall back asleep. 

We made it to Lao Cai at 5:30 and met our driver. There were a ton of locals asking/hassling us to take their minibus to Sapa but luckily we didn't have to deal with that. It was about an hour drive from the station to our Homestay. It's somewhat smoggy from the burning they do of the forests (to use the land for rice) but it cleared up during the day. The landscape is gorgeous. 

(View from the hammock)

It's not the best lighting but I'll get you better pics tomorrow while we hike. We arrived and were welcomed by our host Andrew and he gave us the lowdown. They made us breakfast ($3) and we showered and took much needed naps. 

We woke up around 10:30 and walked into the village. It's cool because we're about 9km from the town of Sapa, so we're actually in a mountain village. There are local minorities (meaning one of the ethnic groups) that try to sell you stuff and if you buy from one of them, you will get a large group of them following you and hassling you. We were advised to just ignore them because it can be a headache to deal with. 

It's really weird just listening to these people and not responding at all. Definitely not in my nature, but I'll do it to avoid being taken advantage of as a tourist. Anyways, we walked through town and grabbed some snacks for tomorrows hike. 

We got back and did some much needed reading, hanging out, and soaking in the views. It's a bit colder here and I put socks on for the first time this trip. We headed down to play cribbage and were bombarded by this little one!

That's My (pronounced Me) and she's the owners daughter. A two year old that will steal your heart. We played with her and danced with her for probably an hour or two until dinner was served. It was a family style dinner with all homemade food. Yum. We got chatting with everyone else here and there are three other people from the west coast (Seattle, Vancouver, Victoria) and one from Minneapolis. Small world. 

Dinner was a super fun environment and good food. We chatted for a bit about everyone's travel and lives and then hung out inside. It is nice to get a break from the heat, but now I'm wishing we didn't ship back our sweatshirts and soccer pants. 

Sapa (or Ta Van to be specific) is a wonderful quit escape. The views are unbelievable and the ability to relax is amazing. We really have done the trip right so far by mixing in these calm days. Tomorrow we'll get back on the exercise wagon and hike up and down some mountains. We've done a lot of walking but not enough to make up for the eating of fried, and double fried foods. 

That's that for today, but more pictures to come tomorrow. 

"I wandered everywhere, through cities and countries wide. And everywhere I went, the world was on my side."

- Roman Payne