sapa trip from village to village

since i was too lazy to go for hikes in lao i decided sapa is one of the last nice opportunities to do so and signed up for a hike to 4 villages organized by my hotel... something i usually not do but it was worth a try, cost me 10 usd including a guide, lunch and ride back into town



we were only 3 people and a guide. 2 american/isrealis and a villager lady as a guide. on the trek were loads of other groups though and many villagers walking around (obviously selling stuff, but also chatting). english is spoken very very well by the villagers, especially kids, which is quite surprising as they don't learn it in school.

school is only vietnamese writing & reading btw, no math, no english, etc. teacher earns 500'000 dong a month, around 31 usd



the walk was amazing! rice terraces wherever you look, nice scenic landscape and funny villagers... everyone just joking around.the girls work tough around here.. while the men are loitering around the villages, repairing motorbikes or watching tv, the women are wearing their heavy dark dresses, guide the tourists and carry the merchandise they sell.



at the end of the trip we had a motorbike ride back to the hotel... i dont like mototaxis anyway, but on top of a mountain pass with a speeding driver who was racing the other motodrivers on a road with the occasional rock and river crossing... was interesting

but scenery absolutely stunning... i got rid of my fear by contemplating how it would be a nicer death than getting run over by a bus in hanoi for example hehe

i'm sitting back in the cat cat restaurant, typing this up, processing the pictures and in 2 hours will head back to lao cai for my 9pm train to hanoi



according to my good bye chat in the hotel i will go back there tomorrow morning at 6, eat some breakfast and get a nice new room where i can get some sleep... well i'm not too optimistic about all that, but we will see.

More Sapa Travel guide and information:
- Sapa travel guide
- Fansipan & Sapa travel guide
 
Source: (travbuddy)