Trekking in Sapa

The region around Sapa was definitely one of the most beautiful places I've seen in Vietnam. However, it is also quite touristy here.

I looked for a small homestay in Ta Van, 8 km away from Sapa. It was a nice place to stay. But as soon as I sat outside the house, women in their traditional costumes kept coming by and trying to sell their goods. That was pretty annoying!

The first two days were quite rainy, so I spent a lot of time in the hammock reading. We took a tour of the surrounding area with the hostel owner.

On the second evening, we all had a 'family dinner', which is very common here. Guests and the owners and staff of the accommodations dine together. There were many different dishes, each one more delicious than the other. In addition, there were two large bowls of rice wine on the table. Every time the owner called for a 'swim', the glasses were dipped into the 'pool' and drunk. The evening was quite fun! :-)

On my last day, I took a trekking tour with an Australian girl from my hostel. We were led by a woman from the village. Because it had rained a lot in the past few days, it was sometimes very muddy and slippery. But the landscape was absolutely stunning! It is said to be even more beautiful when the rice is about to be harvested and the whole landscape is bathed in a yellowish-green color. After 16 km, we were happy to be back at our accommodation!

And now there is only one last stop before me: Hanoi!