Sapa

I was welcomed to my hotel in Hanoi with a cold drink , my room wasn’t quite ready so i had a walk around the local streets. Who knew dodging mopeds and jewellery hustlers was my speciality? And you wouldn’t believe what Vietnamese people are willing to have on their mopeds! Family of 6, pet dogs, 7 foot long pallets of glass, the list is endless! My hotel wasn’t far from Hoan Kiem Lake so i decided to take a stroll there, also in search of some friends. The lake was picturesque with beautiful local women posing for photographs. I had a wonder around before heading back to see if the room was ready, grabbing a pack of cigs on the way, 80p! My room was finally ready, on floor 6 (not ideal after a 14 hour flight) my balcony was a complete danger hazard and i had a bland view from my window of red and green buildings, looking at the ground surface i could see piles and piles of litter. I quickly felt lonely, like the only communication i had was through my phone. I decided very quickly the best option was for me to check out early, forget hotels and walk to a near by hostel. Hanoi City Backpackers. i felt relief, tables of backpackers chatting within themselves. After paying for my £4 shared dorm i started chatting with two girls from up north, Libby and Polly. We went to a close by cafe for some beers and i tried a famous Vietnamese baguette, cheese and tomato, it was as good as everyone said. I finished with a Nutella and banana crep followed by a G&T. They invited me on their next adventure to Sapa which they were leaving for that night so me and Polly went to another hostel where they originally booked it, we booked the two day tour around the incredible rice fields with the local families. I explained to the hostel receptionist at City Backpackers what was going on and he said i could use the night I’ve paid for when i got back.

I changed into something comfier for the night bus before we all met up, the bus was nothing to what i expected, 3 long rows of bunk beds with a double one at the back, air conditioning and a working toilet. I slept through most of the journey, it was still dark when we arrived so we stayed in the bus until around 7am then we were welcomed into a hostel to wash up and have breakfast. The first thing i did was have a ciggerette and a coffee, one thing i learnt in Vietnam was that western food was never delivered to how it was in England, i could barely recognise half the food on my plate, its always safer to go for a more cultural meal. Before heading off we put a change of clothes and necessary supplies into a smaller rucksack, leaving our big bags into a room upstairs, we headed to the nearest shop for some water and bug spray, not that bugs had been a problem so far but the word ‘trek’ made me feel the need to purchase it.

Ta Van family homestay offered a lush breakfast which treated me well, while eating our tour guide arrived to tell us todays plans. We had some time to get ready and then we set off to Bamboo forest, Lib decided to stay at the homestay for this one. The forest was small and spectacular, after we set off to a huge waterfall which we used to cool down and stop for pictures, we stopped for a big lunch of noodles with veg at the top of a huge hill. I remember a Vietnamese child was there with ginger hair, something id never seen before, she was gorgeous! Me and Polly had a cig outside while taking photos of another adorable baby. We took a shortcut home and unfortunately on the way back i got to hear the dreaded sounds everyone had heard the night prior, yuk! It took me by surprise that it was happening in a shed opposite a restaurant but hey, i guess thats third world countries for ya. After getting back to the homestay we chilled and had tea before heading onto the bus to get back to Hanoi.