Vietnam: Sa Pa

So next on my journey in Vietnam were the beautiful rice fields of Sa Pa high in the northern mountains near China. I arrived in the afternoon with a sleeper bus. I had a very nice shower after checking in. It’s always such a salvation when I can enjoy a good shower again. The showers in Vietnam are horrible in most places. The showerhead is pointed directly in my face and the little stream of water is horrible to wash your hair in. So I washed my hair, enjoyed the amazing view from my hotel and drank a little too much Margarita’s.

One Margarita a day, gets you a hangover the next day…

View from my hotel balcony.

I started the two-day tracking through the rice fields the next day with a massive hangover. That flew out of the window the minute I saw the lovely and sweet guide who was joining me and the group for the twenty–seven kilometers the coming two days. No just kidding I had a headache for most of the first day. So be smart babies, don’t drink! I met the group of a total seven funny Dutch people, they where amazing. We bought some food on the market in Sa Pa town and started the eighteen kilometers of tracking on the first day.

The tour guide called Pink in the middle with four little ladies who tagged along trying to sell some goodies.

Some local food at the market.

The weather was very hot, the paths very slippery and my hangover pressing but the views were beyond amazing. The beautiful landscapes just kept on getting prettier and prettier. Every time I though I shot a beautiful video or picture and walked a little further the landscape just seemed so much prettier than before. We arrived at the homestay in the afternoon. The family that lived there was very nice. The first activity was a foot massage that was much needed. We had an amazing diner with a lot of fried spring rolls which we made ourselves with cooking class. We drank some beers and played a lot of card games. The group had such an amazing vibe. We all laughed our socks off. We went to bed early when the electricity went down.

The group and family from the homestay.

We had amazing rice pancakes for breakfast the next day before the start of the nine kilometers tracking back to Sa Pa town. Although I got used to the amazing scenery it was still nice walk besides the rice, haha. We had a nice swim in a waterfall. Or how the sweet tour guide called it waddyfallll. She learned to speak English by talking to tourists. She can’t read or write but she speaks quite good English, Vietnamese and her own cultural language. Impressive! We had lunch after the swim and walked further over the river to a bus station and took the bus back to Sa Pa town to visit a museum. I left soon after that because I had to head back to Hanoi and from there to Halong Bay.

There where buffalo’s like this one everywhere in the rice fields.

The beautiful rice fields of Sa Pa.

Tracking those two days was exhausting, but oh so worth it. So beautiful and so nice to get to know the culture from up close. I booked the trip with Friends Travel Vietnam. I would recommend them to everyone. Everything was perfectly taking care of.

Feeling happy on top of the world.

Are you excited about going there? Make sure you fix your visa for Vietnam as cheap as possible via Friends Travel Vietnam.

Koeskoes!