Hey, everyone! I have spent the past week in two incredible places: Ba Bể National Park and Lao Chải Village in the Sa Pa region. My start in Vietnam has really started off with a bang – I’ve seen some killer views so far.

A few housekeeping things:

1) If you’re interested in my art, have a look at my merchandise on RedBubble!
2) If wanting to read my first novel, Eclipse Me, you can find the link here.

Hà Nội to Ba Bể

I briefly mentioned this in the last post, but after Hà Nội I took a shuttle bus to Ba Bể National Park. It was about five hours, with some stops along the way. One thing with the shuttles here: they are not only a means of transporting people, but transporting local goods as well.

The ride was easy enough and by noon, I had arrived at my homestay. While I’ve stayed at “homestays” before, this felt like my first PROPER homestay. The hostel was run by an older Vietnamese couple who didn’t speak a lick of English. We used Google Translate to communicate with one another.

The homestay was located over rice fields and fringed by some small mountains. It was a beautiful, relaxing location. I had a private room with air conditioning (yay!).

There was another couple staying at the homestay, from Italy. They were there doing a two day tour with a local named Viet. Viet asked me early on if I’d like to join them on their boat tour that afternoon. It was a four hour affair and less than USD$10. Because I had no plans, I accepted.

I had heard Ba Bể was a good, quiet location to get into nature. I was hoping it would have a lot of nature trails for me to walk on my own, but this didn’t really seem to be the case. It didn’t have the proper infrastructure for it – like Malaysia or Singapore. So, tours would be my saving grace.

Boat Tour

Before the tour officially started, Viet, the Italian couple, and I went for a quick walk around Pác Ngòi, the village we were staying in. He was planning to take us to a viewpoint. To get there, we walked up stairs to an under-construction building on top of a hill. I kept chuckling to myself – what an interesting start to our tour. Clambering over bricks and construction materials to get to the top of the unfinished building, where we could overlook the town and the fields yonder. Wild.

After having lunch at the homestay (which was DELICIOUS – all the food was so damn good!), the Italian couple, Viet, and I began our boat tour. We walked a few minutes to our small boat. Ba Bể has three large, interconnected lake systems that branch off into different rivulets. Some of them go as far as Red River, which is in Hà Nội. Viet explained that these lakes sat at the highest elevation of any other in all of Vietnam. Cool!

The views along our boat tour were wonderful. We cruised along the three main lakes and then went down one of the rivers for a few minutes.

After, we moored our boat and began a quick walk to Fairy Pool. Along the way, we passed a number of merchants who were imploring us to check out their goods. Peanuts, dried fish, tea, etc. Many of them offered us tea to drink, hoping we would stick around and buy something from them. On the way back, I did end up buying some roasted peanuts because the lady gave us a sample and they were damn good.

Fairy Pool was a small pond tinted green by what I am assuming is algae. Along the edge sat a couple of rafts made out of bamboo. Viet asked if we wanted to go for a little ride. I was hesitant, thinking we would probably fall in but reluctantly agreed. Viet and the Italian man used makeshift oars to paddle us out a few meters. As we floated along, I noticed a number of spiders hanging out on the bamboo. Little huntsmen and other dudes just tucked on the sides of the bamboo pieces.

Thunder clapped off in the distance and I wondered if we were about to get rained on but we lucked out. On the way back to shore, I helped with the paddling. It was quite difficult! I would have sat down, making it easier on my back, but my shorts would have gotten wet from the water coming up inbetween the rods of bamboo.

Returning to the boat, we had one more stop to make: a nearby children’s school for the H’mong. I’ll talk more on H’mong later.

We got off the boat and entered the schoolkid’s “hostel” – many of the kids stay there long term and visit home every now and again. Their homes are too far away to make the daily commute. The conditions weren’t excellent but could have been much worse. The Italian couple had known this was part of the tour and so before coming, they brought a handful of coloring books and markers which I thought was terribly thoughtful. The kids seemed shy but in the end, grateful for the gifts.

We decided to walk back to our homestay from there – it was only about 30min and our skipper seemed eager to get back before us. The Italian guy, like me, was hoping to see a snake while we were walking around. In particular, he kept mentioning a king cobra which was a funny throwback for me since I had just been looking for them in Singapore. We didn’t spot any snakes, but I did manage to point out some large orb-weaver spiders to him and his wife. They were fascinated by them. Between Australia and Asia, I’ve seen plenty.

Our group made it back to the homestay just as sunset was finishing up. The lighting was lovely.

After relaxing for a bit, we were called out for dinner. It consisted of the owners, Viet, the Italian couple, and myself. The spread was incredible! Snails, buffalo meat (allegedly lol), spring rolls, veggies, and more. Really, really good. The owner pulled out shot glasses and some rice wine, offering shots to all of us. Luckily, the Italian man wasn’t having any either. It felt kind of shitty to decline since they were trying to be hospitable but obviously I’m not going to start drinking just because someone offers me a shot.

With dinner finished, I retired to my room for a moment and then went out on a night walk. Earlier, I had seen a roadkill snake so I thought maybe they would be around. I didn’t manage to see any snakes but saw some fireflies, bats, and scariest of all: a HORSE. I hadn’t seen it and then all of a sudden heard a loud neighing next to me. Scared me so bad, my heart was thumping out of my chest lol.

I never did learn the Italian couples’ names, but that’s how it goes sometimes. The following day, they were going on a motorcycle tour to check out a nearby waterfall and then they would be heading to their next destination. I unfortunately wouldn’t be joining them on that tour as I’d planned a full day trekking tour instead.

Trekking Tour

Around 8.30am, I was picked up outside my accommodation by Huan, my trekking guide for the day. We drove about ten minutes to his office where I had tea before we began our adventure.

Immediately, Huan seemed more like a friend than a tour guide. He was so kind, forthcoming, and knowledgeable. Such a great guide!

AND we had a bonus with us. Beam, a dog from the office, ended up joining us on our walk. THE ENTIRE TIME! We started at 9am and finished around 4pm. Beam stuck with us the whole time! How cute is that?!

After walking for a few minutes, we exited the village and crossed a river. We passed through farming fields and then began the ascent up into the mountains. As soon as we walked onto the trail, I felt glad that I had a guide with me. It would have been very difficult to navigate the area without one.

Early on, Huan warned me about two types of caterpillars we might see. One was going to make me itch. The other was going to make me burn. He was quick to spot a few of the itchy ones in quick succession. I was impressed by his spotting skills, especially since he had only been guiding for about a year.

Huan also spotted a beautiful, iridescent green beetle. Cute!

He cautioned me that he has only seen monkeys twice in his year of guiding. And I don’t think he had ever seen the langurs that were technically within the park. There are other notable creatures in Ba Bể as well, like the pangolin, but most are deep in the forest, nocturnal, and it’s even rare for conservationists to find them without camera traps.

After walking to the top of the forest, we passed through a small village and into a corn field. There, a very small snake slithered quickly away from Huan (who was leading) and right past my feet. It happened so quickly, I wasn’t able to snap a photo. I have literally no idea what kind of snake it was. Its colors were quite bland so I’m thinking maybe it was an Indo-Chinese rat snake or similar. It had to have been a baby, it was so small. Huan seemed bummed that he missed it. It was so fast, I suppose there is a chance I hallucinated it… but I don’t think so. There was no reason for me to be hallucinating and I think I know what a snake looks like at this point haha.

We climbed even higher before the land leveled off some. There were some really gorgeous views along the way.

We would pass by streams every now and again. Beam was eager to “tank up” on water every time. Sometimes she’d even lay in the river if Huan and I were taking a moment to catch our breath.

There was a small rice-terrace farm that we passed by but I have to admit I wasn’t particularly impressed. It was such small scale compared to those I’d seen in Bali. And in retrospect, compared to Sa Pa (where I am now)… it was NOTHING. Still pretty, though!

Huan gave me two options – we could continue up a paved road to get to our lunch spot or we could trek through the jungle. I said I didn’t mind either way and could do what he wanted. He didn’t mind either. We started to walk towards the paved road but then Huan mentioned he has done it so many times. “Well, let’s change it up and do the jungle portion.” So, that’s what we did!

I’m glad because the shaded jungle was a nice break from the sunshine.

Once we came out of the jungle, we still had about thirty minutes left of walking to get to our lunch spot. It was maybe 1pm at this point and I hadn’t had breakfast. I pulled out the roasted peanuts I’d bought the day prior and shared them with Huan. He shared a banana with me. Pre-lunch snack. We stopped off at a village and Huan pulled out our lunch: rice and pork(?) that had been wrapped in banana leaves. He also gave me a satchel of soup powder, which I was confused about. “What’s this for?” He told me I could dip the pork pieces into it to give it a little more flavor. And damn, was that a good idea! So yummy!

There were a few cute things to observe at the village: water buffalo being chased off the road by villagers, dogs and cats barking/meowing at one another, chickens clucking about while cautiously examining us.

We began our descent and the final leg of our trekking journey – just in time for a light rain. It felt perfect. We were able to cool off from the heat of the day but I was keeping my fingers crossed it wouldn’t turn into a torrential downpour. We still had a while until we were back at the office. “It looks like it’ll just be a 30min shower,” Huan predicted. He was right. A light shower where my shoes hardly even got wet. So lovely.

We walked along the trail. This one was certainly busier than the trails we’d been on before and it also included the addition of motorcycles. We often had to step off the trail to let the riders pass by.

After a long time, we made it back to the spot where we first had ascended up another trail to enter the forest. Right around that area, we stumbled upon a small creek and what appeared to be a butterfly haven. There were SO many butterflies fluttering about – it was incredible! All different types, too. Was I back in Singapore Airport’s butterfly garden?

Huan wanted to walk along the water edge to help me search for snakes. He spotted some kingfishers across the river but before I could reach for my camera, they flew away. We also heard a noise and Huan said, “do you hear that? That’s a sound a frog makes, only when it’s being eaten by a snake. Probably a big snake.” I was like mmmmmmm IDK if I am buying that but okay. It was on the other side of the river and there was no easy way to cross over.

Instead, Huan said, “wait here,” and ran a few meters away from me. He came back holding a massive grasshopper in his hands. Crazy dude! I love when tour guides are so good at their jobs. Huan had commented a couple times, “I guess we’re unlucky today” in terms of finding wildlife, but I wasn’t that disappointed. I love my wildlife but I had such a fill of it in Singapore (and Malaysia. And Indonesia) and so taking a break is fine. Just enjoying nature for nature’s sake.

We returned to the office and after a beat, Huan drove me back to my homestay. Fun!

In the evening, I started making plans to depart a day earlier. I didn’t want to pay for another tour and felt there wasn’t much I could do in the area on my own. As mentioned a few sections up – there just isn’t the infrastructure for people to go exploring on their own in Ba Bể. And while I could have just taken a day to relax, I decided I’d rather make the journey to Sa Pa and do some relaxing there as needed.

I joined the owners for dinner again. This time, the other guests were all Vietnamese as well. I was at a table with six other people who spoke no English and were continually taking shots of rice wine throughout dinner. They kept trying to offer it to me but I declined. Had I thought they cared about the reason I was declining, I would have translated it on my phone but they didn’t. I have to admit, I did feel like an asshole for that reason. I felt they were trying to share their culture and a drink with me and I was just refusing. I pointed to my stomach, basically saying “I can’t handle it,” but they weren’t too interested. It felt a little frustrating for me.

After dinner, we had sliced pear for dessert followed by some tea. I was hesitant to have the tea because when they’d offered it earlier in the day it was literally the most bitter tea I’d tasted in my life hahaha. But it was fine.

I ended up wishing them a good night and retiring to my room.

While I was only there two nights, I did enjoy my time in Ba Bể. To be honest, I had initially wanted to go there because I THOUGHT I read it was a good spot for wildlife. I think actually what I’d read was that it was a good, quiet spot for nature. Not many tourists, more rugged. That, it certainly was. It was very out of the way, though. To go to either Sa Pa or Ha Giang (the two destinations I had planned after Hà Nội and Ba Bể), it was going to take two or more busses.

Ba Bể to Sa Pa

My shuttle bus from Ba Bể to Thái Nguyên wasn’t, unfortunately, going to be arriving until 1.30pm. I had a whole morning to kill. I ended up sleeping in and having lunch at the homestay. Around 1pm, I gathered my things and went downstairs to pay my outstanding bill. USD$20 for a two night stay, two dinners and a lunch? Not bad… not bad at all, Vietnam.

I thanked the hostess and she told me I could sit at the front while waiting for my bus. She waited with me until I got on it.

The shuttle bus (AKA van) was a little awful if only because by the time it left Pác Ngòi, it was filled with people and I didn’t have any leg room. Every five minutes, the bus would stop for another five minutes to load more goods into the van. The trunk and the sides of the van were filled. Bags of corn, small tanks of… rice wine? Gasoline? Unclear.

What should have been a 2hr45min ride ended up taking closer to 4hours. I ended up missing the bus I was hoping to take from Thái Nguyên to Sa Pa. Luckily, I hadn’t booked it yet.

Making matters worse, my phone was acting up and my cellular data wasn’t working. It’s a good thing I have recently taken to marking all the spots I am headed to on my GoogleMaps just in case I don’t have data. That way, I can still used GPS to help me get from point A to B as needed.

Just after 5.30pm, I arrived at the bus station and went up to the ticket office. The cashier didn’t speak English but I tried to translate. I was asking if the 5.30pm bus definitely departed already and if not, can I find out how much a bus ticket is to Sa Pa later that night? After some back and forth, she figured out that I was inquiring about the price of the bus. She called someone to come by and she told me that the driver was going to come speak to me. The cashier asked me to have a seat.

I certainly didn’t expect the bus driver to be what looked like a 16 year old girl wearing pajama pants. When she arrived, the cashier left her station and came over to where I was sitting. The three of us tried to sort things out together. With Google Translate, I asked if the bus had air conditioning, if it was a sleeper bus, etc. They seemed to be laughing and while they were speaking in Vietnamese, I can only infer that they were saying, “what kind of shit service does he think we’re offering here?” Of course they had air conditioning!

The price was 250,000 VND which was far better than what the 9pm was showing online – at nearly 600,000 VND. 600,000 is about USD$30, which is fine but half that is… really good.

The driver, standing near her motorbike, wanted me to pay cash but I was like – wait, don’t I get a bus ticket or anything? I found the whole thing a little odd. Why wasn’t I getting my ticket from the cashier at the ticket office? Why was I giving cash to this girl in pajamas three hours before the bus departs? I didn’t feel good about it. When I tried to tell them that any other time I’ve taken a bus anywhere, I get a ticket, the cashier went behind her desk to find something to give me.

I began thinking that maybe this wasn’t the right ticket office at all. It seemed there were some more vendors on the other side of the building so as the cashier continued looking, I just decided to walk off. It seemed shady!

As I walked outside, I saw that there were all kinds of little shops selling various bus tickets. The two women had kind of chased me down and the driver ended up taking me to her stall to show me what the situation was. Maybe a minute later, the bus arrived and she was able to get a receipt booklet from them. Then and only then, I handed over the money. ALL I WANTED WAS SOME KIND OF PROOF, PEOPLE. Is that crazy? I just didn’t want to hand my money to someone on a motorbike and then have them drive off and not even have a ticket to get on the bus lol. Call me mistrusting but hey, better to err on the side of caution.

Anyway, after dinner and some dessert, I went back to the kiosk and sure enough – the bus ended up leaving at 9pm and she was the bus driver LOL. Fuckin’ crazy.

This was my first “sleeper bus” experience – basically an overnight bus. It was scheduled to arrive at Sa Pa around 4am. Yikes. It was unfortunate timing.

I gamed on my Nintendo Switch for a little, read a book that I decided I hated and have since switched out for another at the Sa Pa homestay, and tried to sleep. The bus was navigating through winding roads and because my bed was on the top bunk, I was feeling ALL the movement. I felt like Harry Potter on the midnight bus.

I did manage to sleep at one point (for how long, I can’t be sure) because I remember waking up to them announcing Sa Pa. I gathered my things and started walking to the accommodation. It was quite a walk but the temperature was perfect. Without the sun, it was kind of brisk, but much better than the alternative.

I took a couple of breaks along the walk to eat snacks and set down my luggage for a few minutes (it was a long walk but I didn’t want to take a Grab). Ten minutes out from my hostel, the sun started to rise and I got my first glimpses of the rice terraces.

So, I know I saw them in Bali already but Sa Pa is supposed to have some REALLY incredible rice terraces that basically line the hills along the valley. And let me just say, they most certainly lived up to my expectations. Surpassed them, even.

I was so happy I made the decision to come here. I was a little on the fence because I thought, well, surely I’ll see some more rice terraces in Cambodia, Laos, or Thailand. Even in other spots in Vietnam. Should I go out of my way for Sa Pa? Well, I did, and I’m very glad I did because it has been awesome here.

At 6am, I arrived at my hostel. I had time to kill before I could officially check in, but the owner allowed me to hang out on the patio where I typed up my last blog post and ordered lunch. Lunch was INCREDIBLE, as has been all the food at this accommodation.

I couldn’t believe the place. To be able to have a view like that from my homestay was unreal. Basically parallel to the ocean views at Moalboal in the Philippines. Just looking out and seeing… beauty. I love it! And I was excited to get down IN the valley and see the rice terraces up close.

Once a few hours had passed (putting the blog together takes a decent amount of time anyway), I was finally able to check in to my room. I set down my things and took a much needed 3hr nap. I needed to muster some energy before I could bear to explore further. But I made it to Lao Chải Village, as I had planned.

After my nap, I decided to walk further along the main road to get a different perspective of the valley. Along the way, I passed a number of homestays, markets, children playing, chickens, and even water buffalo.

The sun began to set as I found a spot to sit down. I watched the light change, dim, fade and was generally in awe of the breathtaking view in front of me.

I couldn’t wait to explore further the following day. Before nightfall, I returned back to my hostel to have pho for dinner. Delicious! The hosts were very good chefs.

Lao Chải & Tả Van Village

There were two main villages I was set to explore in the Sa Pa region – Lao Chải village (which I was basically on the outskirts of) and Tả Van. A few months back, someone had recommended I stay in Lao Chải. I honestly can’t remember who it was – it may have been someone I met at the hostel in Taiwan, Claire, or Lucie. Who knows. Anyway, on my GoogleMaps I had Lao CAI saved, not Lao Chải. Boy, would that have been a mix-up! Lao Cai is a city bordering China, NOT known for the rice terraces. I’m glad I looked into it more because otherwise I would have made a grave mistake.

After a complimentary breakfast at my homestay (delicious), I began my morning adventure. I passed down the winding switchbacks to get to the bridge at the start of Lao Chải Village.

It was still early and not all the vendors had finished opening their doors for the swath of visitors that would undoubtedly be visiting the village throughout the day. The villages are known for being home to the Black H’mong people – an ethnic group that came over from China about 300 years ago. There is also another branch called the Flower H’mong – their clothing is all dyed bright colors and they tend to use floral designs in their wares.

As I zig-zagged through the village, I wondered if I would get a chance to be up close and personal with the rice terraces. Many of the views were blocked by the buildings in the village and I wasn’t sure which trails I was able to go on as a tourist. I could have done a tour but most tours departed from Sa Pa city – since I was already in the village, it didn’t really make sense. Before long, I saw a group of people doing a tour and I decided to just kind of trail behind them, seeing where they went. They walked from Lao Chải to Tả Van, and then even further.

I intended to keep following them, but was distracted by a store called H’mong Girl, a small shop with beautiful designs from the H’mong people. I had a look around and told her I would return later because I had my eye on a little coin purse.

Because of my detour, I’d lost the tour group. Damn! I hustled along. The road forked into two sections and I wasn’t sure where to go. But then I spotted a white girl with a H’mong guide to the left and thought – OK, follow them. That was the absolute right move. Not five minutes later, we were walking next to beautiful rice terraces.

To my left, to my right, in front of me, etc. And they were beautiful up close. I came at a good time because some sections of the terraces have started to be harvested, others haven’t, etc.

There is a nice color contract between the gold of the harvest and the green of the grass/foliage lining the terraces. Stunning!

We arrived at a rest stop and I decided to sit down, too. I ended up talking with a few other tourists and they mentioned how they were going to the bamboo forest and then to a waterfall. I had seen these attractions on GoogleMaps but I also read reviews that they were a bit tricky to get to – AND they seemed far from my accommodation, so I was likely going to skip them. But now I was close enough, I might as well.

I continued along. Sometimes I would pass by a group, not wanting to irritate the tour guide thinking that I was sneaking a freebie. Which essentially I was, but I wasn’t getting any of the cultural information being shared with the paying tourists because I couldn’t hear the conversations. But anyway – I passed a group just before entering the bamboo forest and after entering one of three trails, I learned how easy it was to (probably) get lost. I backtracked and then found another group to follow LOL. The bamboo forest was THICK – many bamboo plants growing in the area. Something I forgot to mention earlier – Huan had told me back in Ba Bể that the Vietnamese planted bamboo along the borders of China because bamboo is very sturdy.

Being in the bamboo forest was relatively short-lived. Soon, I was on an incline and reached a viewpoint overlooking the valley below. I then continued along, downhill now.

After maybe 20min, I began to see the upwards section of the waterfall. Five minutes more and I was at the base, next to a restaurant. A number of people were swimming about, tourists and locals alike.

I hadn’t realized it, but I’d already been hiking for a few hours. I decided to grab lunch at the restaurant and enjoyed the view. Anyone seated at the restaurant had at least three Black H’mong women coming up to them, trying to sell their goods. Sigh. It’s a bit relentless, honestly. Even earlier, at one of the viewpoints, I had a woman basically telling me I couldn’t continue on the hike without having a guide/buying something. But I get it – they are poor and trying to make a living. Their items are very beautiful but I also don’t like being hassled/pressured into buying things.

After the waterfall, I decided to take a different path back to my accommodation.

(Top left: rickety bridge, top right: an “ancient stone” with old carvings.)

I weaved through the nearby village and then climbed uphill to get back to the main road again.

Again, the views continued to impress. I am seriously obsessed with these goddamn rice terraces. Even as I’m typing this on the sleeper bus to Ha Giang, they are lining the valleys and I keep having to stop to look at them with admiration.

I returned to my accommodation and had a shower and a nap. One negative to hiking around the Sa Pa region is that you’re exposed to the sun the whole time. It’s funny – I have been in some HOT places since I’ve gotten to Asia but this is the first time I’ve actually gotten sunburnt. My whole neck is red haha.

Once I’d finished resting, I decided to go on an afternoon hike. I wasn’t going to initially but after looking at the places I wanted to visit the next day, I realized that the things I wanted to see were in a completely different area and would likely take up a good chunk of the day.

I began walking on the main road again but this time in the other direction – towards Sa Pa city. I will say… much easier to come down from Sa Pa than to go back up. It is at a slight angle the whole duration. So on this particular afternoon walk, I was on a slight incline the entire time. With the afternoon sun beating down, I was sweatin’.

I wasn’t even sure what the viewpoint was going to be. All I saw on GoogleMaps was “Check-in point” and I don’t know why, but that was calling to me. I’m very glad I went.

Some of the views overlooking the terraces were unparalleled to what I’d seen already.

Taking switchbacks down the mountainside, I was pulling my phone out to snap pictures probably every five minutes. The trail lead next to the river at one point – it was nice to walk alongside it.

There was a large suspension bridge crossing over the river.

Finally, I’d arrived at the bottom of the mountain. That offered one of my favorite photos in the area.

By the time I got back to my hostel, I was pretty exhausted. I ordered not only chicken soup but also a side of French fries (my homestay makes the best French fries, with powdered cheese sprinkled on top!) and then relaxed for the rest of the night.

Final Adventures in Sa Pa

On my last (full) day in the Sa Pa region, I had an ambitious list of things I wanted to see. To start, another waterfall. I don’t know why I was going out of my way – the waterfall the day before hadn’t impressed much and there were other random waterfalls along the main road that were more photogenic without having to hike. BUT I suppose it’s nice to have an objective.

Reviews online made it seem like a struggle to find the waterfall itself but I was determined. I walked along the main road for 40min and then branched off to a small village, with steep trails leading up to the waterfall. I asked some locals for directions – trickling my fingers in a waterfall motion. They pointed me in the right spot.

I passed by narrow sections of the waterfall at points, knowing I was on the right path. After maybe another thirty minutes, I made it to what seemed to be the pinnacle of the waterfall. The trail looked quite narrow and overgrown with foliage. I tried continuing up the road for another minute, thinking maybe there was another vantage point but it dead-ended at someone’s home. I returned to the overgrown trail.

I trudged through the bush for just about a minute, cautious not to step on some camouflaged snake, and then found myself at a section of the waterfall. I wanted to get closer, towards the pool of water at the bottom, but I was having trouble finding the right trail to get there. Finally, I realized it was on the other side of the stream. I crossed some rocks to get to the other side and then was able to get a good, unobstructed view.

Then I returned down to Tả Van village. I passed through the town itself and made a return visit to H’mong Girl, where I bought myself a coin purse in the Black H’mong style. After asking, the employee told me that her mother makes the pieces. However, I noticed there were some Flower H’mong designs in there as well so I’m not 100% on that. Maybe her mom makes the Black H’mong styles but she buys Flower H’mong from the markets or from friends or something. Unsure. Anyway, I know they’re not mass-produced pieces because I was comparing the items and none of the designs looked exactly the same. Imperfections, etc.

From the shop, I walked back through Tả Van and then took a side trail through the farmland. I passed by chickens, crickets, water buffalo, naked children playing in the river. It was cute but it was also hot out. I’d been diligent to keep reapplying sunscreen so as not to make my sunburn worse. (It ended up being fine.)

After the trail, I grabbed lunch at a place near my homestay. Fried rice and French fries with a view! In hindsight, I should have just eaten at my accommodation again. That place was A+ in terms of meals.

I initially intended to do a Batik workshop that afternoon – basically making my own designs by drawing with wax onto cloth. The cloth then gets dipped into indigo dye (the Black H’mong way). By the time I’d arrived back at my accommodation, it was later than I anticipated. I wanted a shower and to just chill out. I decided to read a smutty vampire book on the patio, looking over at the valley below in between chapters instead.

I treated myself to a big dinner – fried noodles with veggies, French fries (honestly could not get enough of those cheese-powdered French fries), a banana smoothie and a chestnut cake. All of it was presented so professionally and tasted incredible.

Once it was dark out, I retreated to my room for the rest of the night. Packed up my things and after a quick breakfast in the morning (mango crepes drizzled in chocolate syrup), I prepared to book a Grab back to Sa Pa city to begin my journey to Ha Giang. Before I did so, I thanked the hostess for such incredible meals/hospitality. I exited the door and she ended up running after me, presenting me with two little souvenirs. How adorable is that?! I will cherish them.

I LOVED the Sa Pa region. I felt like I was in the world of Minecraft or something. I couldn’t get enough of the rice terrace views. One of my favorite terrains since being in Asia, easily. I probably could have stayed at that hostel for four more days, walking around and not getting bored. But, as is the trend, there’s still so much I want to see in Vietnam!

Miscellaneous

Huan had shared a story with me while we were trekking. This is a naughty story so get ready. In the jungle, there were some larger leaves that had perfectly round holes in them. He told me that customarily, women were expected to be virgins until marriage, and so when they went to bed at night, they would put these leaves over their genitals. Well, when they’d wake up, there would be all these holes in the leaves! I am a little unclear on whether this is supposed to mean they were sexually assaulted in the night or if the women were fully consenting and this was sort of their way of getting around losing their virginity. “Look, Daddy, I was wearing the leaf!”

Reflections

I am moving a little faster now. Instead of immediately booking five, six, seven nights at one location, I am trying to do three instead. See if I like the place, move from there. In the past, I’ve felt stuck in certain places because I initially just bulk-booked the hostel dorm. This feels better. If I want to extend, I can extend. If I want to move on, I can move on. At times, I need to go slow but other times it is nice to move along. I think I’ve found a good pace currently.

My next destination is Ha Giang, where I will do the iconic Ha Giang loop tour. It is a four day, three night tour, where I drive along the back of a scooter around the gorgeous terrain. I’ve heard it is many peoples’ absolute favorite experience in Vietnam and sometimes in Southeast Asia in general. That should be fun, although I’m sure my ass will be killing me after riding on a scooter all day for multiple days in a row. I will definitely need some rest after that haha. In preparation, I have two nights in Ha Giang to relax before starting. I’ll also have two nights afterwards to recover. WE GOT THIS, PEOPLE!

Vietnam is proving to be really amazing so far. Up there with Indonesia, but in a very different way.

Until next time, sending you all my love. x