18.3. - Sa Pa

We booked a trip to Sa Pa a few days ago. 2 days and one night, with trekking to the rice fields and a cable car to Fansipan.

According to the organizer, the journey to Sa Pa will be made in a 'Luxury Limousine'. As it turns out, it's a minibus outfitted with thick seats arranged in pairs. We'll be travelling for about six hours, with two stops, to reach Sa Pa.

Once there, we'll have lunch and check into our hotel. Afterwards, we'll walk through the rice terraces and villages of the Hmong. The Hmong also live in Laos and they fought alongside the Americans against communist Vietnam during the Vietnam War. After the war, the Americans evacuated the Hmong to the USA and left them there alone. This is also discussed in the film Grand Torino by Clint Eastwood (Source: A retired anesthesiologist from Saigon living in Germany, whom we met at breakfast).

Throughout our trek through the rice fields, we will be accompanied by a group of these Hmong. Their goal is to sell some of their handicrafts, which Katja falls for. She now has a new handbag (photo to follow).

In the evening, we have free time and use it to stroll around Sa Pa and - surprise! - go out for dinner.

By the way, Sa Pa is quite dreadful (hence no pictures). It consists only of shops, restaurants, hotels, and tourists. (Let’s support the Vietnamese economy)