Sapa Don't Preach (I'm In Mud Knee-Deep)

HELLO AGAIN from Hanoi, Vietnam!!!! I just got back from the trip to Sapa this morning, via overnight train, and had an amazing time up there. Sapa is a small town up in the hills of northern Vietnam, surrounded by gorgeous mountains covered with rice paddies - the views were pretty spectacular. Our room at the guest house opened up onto a balcony overlooking the scenery all around us - it couldn't have been better. Since it was higher elevation, the temperature was a bit cooler and the clouds & fog seeped over the mountains and into the town sporadically, adding to the experience. On our first day, Zack and I went on an afternoon hike down the hill to a waterfall. The interesting thing about Sapa is that there are numerous hill tribe villages that populate the region; many live in Sapa as well as the surrounding region. So, everywhere you look there are local village people in their traditional dress (head to toe in dark colors, with intricate designs embroidered everywhere). The funny thing is, they have lots of goods to sell to you (whether you want to buy anything or not), and are more than prepared to walk the entire length of a 2-day hike through the mountains alongside you in case --- at any given moment -- you feel the urge to buy one of their handmade goods. So, we had about 10 tourists, 2 guides, and about 35 hilltribe people as part of our huge posse. It was quite a scene trekking through the mountains. Since they're so accustomed to hiking the same trails day in and day out, they've gotten to be quite skilled at navigating the more treacherous parts, namely the steep muddy hills. By lunchtime, I was more than happy to buy bracelets and bags from the ladies who so bravely held my hand down the hill and prevented me from falling. :-)

We slept in a village - there were 8 of us in our group, a Dutch couple (with whom I will meet up again this September), a girl from California, a Kiwi girl, and a couple from Singapore (plus Zack and me). Luckily, I had my iPod speakers (THANK YOU KIM!) So it made for a really fun night of music, cards, singing, and lots and lots of rice alcohol. Yummy. For those of you who know me too well, I'm not the biggest fan of taking shots...but rice alcohol goes down nice and smooth. We all had lots of fun, and since we were in the middle of the mountains, we got to bed pretty early for a good night's sleep. The next morning a thunderstorm greeted us with pouring rain, which luckily stopped in time for us to begin our trek for the day. Basically, hiking through the mountains of Sapa is an adventure in navigating up and down through the rice paddies. If you've never seen rice paddies, they're about as scenic as you can get. Picture a mountain cut into stairs; each stair holds water that eventually growns tall green stalks (grass) that contains the rice. When the paddies are filled with water, their metallic-like quality makes them a perfect mirror for the surrounding landscape. And when the paddies are filled with grass, the lush green color is the perfect compliment to the scene. All in all, a muddy, slippery, sliding adventure - I think we were all covered head to toe in mud. Excellent. :-)

Last night we caught the night train back to Hanoi and arrived early this morning (4:30 am). Zack and I lugged our bags back into the old quarter and found a guest house to get a few more hours of sleep before we attacked the day. Today was all about relaxing and getting some last minute things in before we leave Vietnam tomorrow: massages, shopping, internet, etc. All very essential. Especially the massage. hahaha. Tonight we're going to check out the water puppet show, which is unique to Hanoi, so we'll get a bit of culture in before we leave.

SO - as this is the last of my 29 days in Vietnam, I think it's time we embark on our second Top 10 of this trip:

Top 10 Best Things About Traveling Through Vietnam

10. Pho Bo (rice noodle soup with beef) [this was a close one between Pho Bo, Vietnamese spring rolls and Vietnamese pancakes]
9. Seeing the same travelers as you go from city to city on the open tour buses (and subsequently becoming good friends with them!)
8. Crossing the street in HCMC and Hanoi (don't look, just GO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)
7. Dam Sen Amusement Park in HCMC (totally random, completely amazing - especially the ice sculpture house)
6. "Mot Hai Ba --- YOOOOOO!!!!!!!!" (The Vietnamese way of saying "1, 2, 3, CHEERS!!!" -- and then you drink your shot of rice alcohol)
5. Walking the streets of Hoi An along the river at sunset. (It felt like being back in time 100 years!)
4. Sunset at Halong Bay (stunning, breathtaking, 'nuff said)
3. Learning a country's history and seeing the impact of an American war from the other point of view.
2. Passing children on the street from your motorbike and screaming "HELLO" to them after they wave and smile and eagerly say "HELLO" back (also: playing with the kids when you're on a break from riding your bike)
1. Easy Riders tours (Dinh and Hung as the best tour guides, specifically)

So that's it - I think I've said all I can say about how much I've loved being in Vietnam, and how fortunate I've been to spend 4 weeks here. Next stop is Laos. Tomorrow Zack and I fly to Luang Prabang. I don't really know what to expect, except that Laos is supposed to be COMPLETELY different from Vietnam. I have about 2 weeks or so in Laos. Bring it on.

Speak to you again soon!!!!!!
Lots of love always!!!!!!!!

PS - Zack and I got a kick out of this blog title, for any old-school Madonna fans out there. I hope it makes you laugh!!!!!