Mist Part II

Sapa, Vietnam

By mentioning part I, you could of only assumed there would be at least a second part, well here it is. Simply put, Sapa was like visiting a city moulded into the clouds. As so inconsiderately informed by our tour guide, during the dry season it was very rare in that Sapa not only was experiencing rain, but also was so misty, the views you were promised, suddenly have to come from your imagination (please see ironic videos). After the bumpiest and loud overnight train, we combined our 2 hours sleep with a one hour bus journey up the side of a mountain with the visibility of a bat, a wait of 4 hours upon arrival and then a 12km trek through the surrounding landscape. If there’s a time you need sugar cane and an adrenaline rush, it’s somewhere in the middle of all that. Upon the start of the tour, we were greeted quite weirdly by groups of tribe women wearing baskets as backpacks, “where are you going”, “what’s your name”, “where do you come from?”. All a carefully designed ploy to get you to their village (where we were conveniently going) and then sucker punch you with “you shop with me, yes?”. Upon the walk around the mountains groups and individuals started to cling to their ‘chosen ones’ in the hope of a sale; yes, they literally did the trek with us and didn’t leave our sites. If those of you reading know the film Despicable Me, then I can only relate these tribes women to the Minions; they sound and act alike, without being green and wearing massive glasses. On a walk we discovered many things including villages tucked well within the beautiful valley of rice fields. It’s strange seeing how people live; when you walk into someone’s house it’s how they live. I know this sounds strange in itself, but until you experience it, it’s hard to explain the feeling and reality check you experience. The desperation of making money to survive is mixed with a humble lifestyle within a landscape so adoring, you want to rap the whole town up and takeaway. Other Mentions: – If you see a bottle of green tea for sale, it could well be petrol – just on the safe side, pick another drink. If you see a similar bottle with no label, ironically it’s safe to consume as its obviously honey. – Vietnam is all miniature sizes, little cars, little people, little dogs, little clothes (the latter is impossible to shop as everywhere you are at least an XXL, unless you are a supermodel, then you might be an XL. – The swans they make up in the rooms are the towels you use to have a shower, for some people this may seem obvious, for us, it was probably too obvious we didn’t consider it as an option. – Vietnam organise tours very well, even if there is a lack of information at times, don’t worry, you’ll be looked after. – Orange juice is served warm – If you buy a train ticket through a tour company, you will have to collect your ticket from a person sitting outside a restaurant, it’s really dodgy but somehow this system works and it’s valid.