Sapa

Apart from waking up every hour, sleeping on the bus wasn't too bad. That was until it stopped. Just before 3am I thought maybe the driver wanted a little rest so the engine was turned off and therefore so was the aircon. Nearly 3 hours the bus sat there, gathering up masses of condensation and loosing valuable oxygen. People got fed up in the end and got off so we followed. Luckily, a man was there with our names on a list and sent us in a taxi to a hotel where we would be able to shower and have breakfast. I had bread and fried eggs which wasn't the best but I knew I'd need food. We also got a shower in one of the hotel rooms. Imagine some kind of horror film that is based in a hotel; that's what the rooms were like. I had the quickest shower of my life. 

At just before 9am a local girl came and introduced herself to us. She was called May and was to be our guide. Her English was excellent and we later learnt that she'd learnt it from tourists. At 19 she had never left the valley she lived in, which some people thought was sad and she was missing opportunities, but she told us how happy everyone who lives in the valley is. If you're perfectly content where you are, why change it?

We set off walking from the hotel, immediately taking in the breathtaking views, following little tracks up and down the edges of the valley. It was quite hot but nothing compared to Hanoi so it was perfectly bearable. Some local ladies tagged along on the walk with us as well. First I was a little afraid of speaking to them, thinking only that they wanted to sell us something, but they kept asking where each person was from and they were ever so friendly. Some of them also made little horses or love hearts out of bamboo leaves and gave them out. I decided that I'd look super cool with my heart (which also had a pretty flower on it) in my hair. I think I've started a new trend. The ladies also had lovely names like Susu and Lily. I was gutted when it got to lunch time and they whipped out things to sell to us from their basket rucksacks. There are also little girls that try to sell bracelets that they've made themselves. They look so sad but I reckon that's their technique: look unhappy and more people will buy from you. I would buy one but if you buy from one girl you have to buy from all of them. 

After a morning of trekking (if you don't like walking this tour is not for you) we stopped by a river for lunch. A restaurant which was in a very large old farm building. We avoided the meat as it was chicken but ate rice and potatoes and carrots. There wasn't much food though. I felt I needed more as I'd been walking all morning. And I hadn't had the best night sleep. 

We set off hiking again after lunch, passing villagers working in their rice fields, many bare foot and shin deep in muddy water. At about 3pm we arrived at our homestay. It was a largish wooden hut which was home to a couple and their 4 small children as well as the grandparents. It's custom for the youngest boy in the family to care for the parents when they are old. It was a very basic house but lovely. The kitchen had a fire pit in the centre for the cooking. There was a lovely shower and toilet for us to use and the whole of the top floor was covered in large mattresses with nets to cover us. 

Our group was quite large and consisted of 2 Brazilians, 2 Chilians, 3 Israelis, 2 Austrians and 1 German. Although it was a large group it was nice to have people from all over the world to talk to and learn from. 

The lady of the house made us a dinner consisting of rice, pork and carrots and onions, spring rolls and tofu for the vegetarians. We all sat together at a large table, chatting about different places and things we'd seen. 

I was in bed my 9pm as I was ridiculously tired but it had been a good day. The Sapa region is beautiful and unspoilt (apart from litter on many of the paths) and the people that live there seem happy and they love life.