Sapa and return to Hanoi

After a good night's sleep, we were served bread, omelet, and vegetables - nice to have something different than rice. We also had a cup of really good coffee - nothing significant to complain about.

Today's trekking route was through a bamboo forest, and since the weather was just as humid as yesterday, our guide recommended an alternative trail with less risk of slipping. We all managed that quite well, and since it was a bit faster than the others, we found a lovely place with coffee and drinks. We took a break there :-) before the last ten minutes of walking to the meeting point and lunch, where the others had started to worry that we had gotten lost 🙈

After lunch, we said goodbye to Peng and drove up the mountain to Sapa town. We were very lucky with the weather, as it only started raining and fogging after lunch. Good thing we didn’t have to drive on the rather narrow mountain roads in poor visibility. It was completely over for enjoying the view beyond a few meters from the car.

Back in Sapa town, we wandered around the indoor market and then found a café where we could play some cards to pass the time. We were fortunate to meet a couple from the USA - she had fled Vietnam as a child and was back for the first time. She thought we should try Durian, which is the world's smelliest fruit - and it really does stink indescribably, but it tastes surprisingly good. She also introduced us to Jackfruit, which was also really tasty. It's the world’s largest tree-borne fruit - it can grow up to 60cm and weigh 18kg. They also gave us samples of a small mirabelle-sized fruit, the name of which I can’t remember. The couple was so sweet and helpful - without them, we wouldn't have tasted those exotic fruits, and they were eager to chat with us.

Dinner was enjoyed at the outdoor night market, which is like a big street kitchen with many different stalls. We had octopus, frog, small meatballs, and many unknown dishes - all prepared on a grill located on small plastic tables. The corresponding small plastic chairs were very low 😂 - like children's chairs.

Now we are sitting on regular-height chairs waiting for the bus to take us back to Hanoi.