Just keep trekking....Sapa, Vietnam

And trekking through the beautiful countryside of Sapa continued for two more days…over the past four days we have trekked over 50km…to say that it is difficult to sit down is an understatement, but it was well beyond worth it. Mao, our guide from the first two days, stayed with us for the next two and she was amazing. Definitely made it all worthwhile and opened our eyes to so many different things.

Southeast Asia

On our third day of trekking, we actually trekked through rice paddies which was just beyond cool (don’t you love my use of big words…I think I’m still in shock from how beautiful everything was). Trekking through the rice paddies was really interesting because you are literally balancing on the walls and praying that you don’t fall into one of them, especially since these families spend weeks grooming and planting the paddies. Half of the time you are only looking down planning your next step, then you remind yourself to look up and quickly remember that you are in one of the most beautiful places you will probably ever see. Trekking through the Ma Chai village was my favorite because you start at the very, very top of the mountain and weave your down – jumping over rivers, walking through bamboo forests, balancing on numerous rice paddy walls, saying hello to the adorable children – to finally come to the other side and truly be able to appreciate its beauty because you literally walked the entire thing and were able to witness all of the little things that make the beautiful masterpiece before you.

Being surrounded by all of the amazing views, it is easy to forget about the families whose livelihoods depend on these beautiful views. All of the rice paddies that we saw were solely for the families that live there…none of them were for making money…it was only to be able to provide for their family. Most of the homes we walked by or even in, didn’t have much to them other some mud walls, wood and firewood for cooking…but honestly, it was the children who always brought a smile to our faces and made us realize how unbelievably happy and content, not complacent, everyone in the villages were. Our favorite little boy was Pacho. Pacho is six and lives in one of the villages with his family. We saw him walking along one of the trails with the most adorable walking stick (of course, I died and had to talk to him). He honestly was the nicest, happiest and most polite little boy we had ever met. We offered him some water…but he didn’t want the water…so we offered him the plastic water bottle and there are no words to describe the joy and smile on his face. I am sure at first you are wondering why, just like we did…but that plastic water bottle meant that he could bring drinking water for him and his family while they were walking in the rice paddies. I don’t think I will ever look at a plastic water bottle the same again.

After our beautiful encounter with Pacho and another successful hike, we headed to the local market with Mao. Mao so graciously offered to have us in her home for dinner to cook an authentic Vietnamese meal together and of course, play cards (her favorite thing to do because she wins 8/10). After visiting the market (no pictures for this because honestly we would prefer not to remember the original products and just remember the delicious food we consumed…don’t worry Dad, we made sure everything was cooked well). Dinner was AMAZING!! Surprise, surprise, we are pumped about food. But this was just not any food…it was the Vietnamese version of grape leaves. For anyone that does not know, I can down grapes leaves like I can down cannolis…no one gets in the way of me and grape leaves/cannolis. So I let Kyle and Mao get full off of the delicious local beer (please note in the picture the awesome Mini Mouse bowl we were drinking beer out of), while I consumed more Vietnamese betel leaves. I will absolutely not admit how many I ate. After dinner, some of Mao’s friends joined us for cards and rice wine. It was beyond a perfect evening and truly made us feel like we were experiencing Sapa and its people.

Our last day in Sapa was probably the hardest and longest trek…but we did it! Some of the trails were so steep going down that we weren’t shocked to see all of the Water Buffalo crap at the bottom…I almost pooped my pants too…kidding, well kind of!

After an amazing four days, we made our way to the train station where funny enough we ran into two guys from Darden! What an insanely, small world! They will be leaving on June 18^th and when they said that, it really sunk in that we will be still be travelling for three months after that!

All in all…Sapa was more than either of us could have imagined. And while we know we will have countless more amazing experiences, Sapa will always be a special place for us.

Time to go and stick my head in ice water to cool down from the insane heat in Hanoi!