Vietnam, Sapa – Hiking and Rice and Everything Nice [Part II]

Hi friends!  

So sorry for the delay, but I’ve finally returned to Seoul after an intense few months of work + business tripping and I’m SO happy to be back to my bloggy world.  I’ve missed this.

Now, let’s go back to Vietnam.

***

Day 2 in Sapa, we awoke to a sunny skies and a lazy breakfast on the porch of Dat’s home.

 The morning was spent running around with Dat’s two cutie kids as we stuffed an obscene amount of banana pancakes into our tired bodies.

Overall, the home-stay was an extremely positive experience- we ate delicious local food, drank mysteriously powerful “Vietnamese happy juice,” slept quasi-comfortably on a mattress protected by mosquito netting,

and most importantly, had a great time with Dat’s family.

When we finally had our fill of pancakes and babysitting, we packed our bags and headed onward and upwards (seriously, the whole day felt like a long and humid incline) to the heights of Sapa’s rice feilds.

The photos really don’t do it justice – so you’ll just have to believe me – the views were utterly breathtaking (and not only because we were utterly out of breath).

We hiked over rice paddies and through small villages – meeting beautiful people and soaking up the sublime scenery along the way.

6 hours later, we (barely) reached the end of the hike, DRENCHED in sweat, exhausted, and ready for a long bath and a good meal (read: strong drink).

Luckily, we had booked a room at the AMAZING Sapa Rooms Boutique Hotel for the night, which provided everything we wanted and more. (Do not forgo their watermelon cocktail – I am STILL dreaming about it.)

(Photo found here)

Dat kindly dropped us off at the hotel, pointed us in the direction of a magical shoe store that took our hiking boots from mudfest 2012…

to brand spanking new (for all of $2!!!!)…

and told us to expect a much easier hike tomorrow.

SPOILER ALERT: Lies, lies, lies!

(Note to self: When planning an itinerary with a tour guide, do not insist on doing the hardest hikes the area has to offer.  Dad – I blame you for this!)

Tune in this week for the grand finale of our Sapa adventures- where things get muddy(-er).