Sa Pa

After taking the night train from Hanoi to Sa Pa, in a luxurious soft-sleeper, we arrived in Lao Cai around 5:45. From there we took a minibus up into the northern mountains to a quite touristy town of Sa Pa. It's a bustling city set in the rice fields among minority tribes of the H'mong, Dao and others.

Our guide Gom, a 17 year old woman from the Black H'mong tribe, took us on a small hike to Cat Cat, a couple of huts in the valley, where we visited a family living off the land, eating rice for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They also process the hemp plant (no, we did not smoke any off it :) to make clothes and dye them with the indigo plant into a magnificent dark purple.

The afternoon was spent visiting the busy market of Sa Pa, buying beautiful silk scarves and other materials for unbelievably low prices. We had to keep ourselves from stocking up on too much, since the main trek was still ahead of us.

Today, we are hiking approximately 14 km to the minority village of Tan Van where we will stay with a family for the night. From there it's back to Lao Cai, via some other villages where we catch the night train back to Hanoi.