Sa Pa, Vietnam

We had heard the weather was bad in Sapa so we put it off for a few days then made the trek.  It was a fun overnight train ride and we had a sleeper with comfy beds.  Unfortunately the weather was not ideal.  It was a bit rainy and foggy almost every day.  I found a super cheap guest house that was nice and served the best pho I have had thus far.  Queen Hotel.  We did a little shopping there as some things are super cheap.  There are a ton of North Face stores with cheap gear and a market selling everything for a cheap, once negotiated price.  You know you aren’t getting a good deal unless the person is pissed with you by the end of the transaction.  Only then do you know for sure that you got a decent deal!  Instead of hiring a guide through the guesthouse we picked a young girl from the crowd that mobbed the bus upon arrival.  It was something about her smile and positive energy that drew both of us to Yay.  She is a 15 year old Hmong girl and the oldest in her family.  She took us on a trek that was meant to be two days but we did it in one.  About 15km through trails with no other tourists.  We passed through three different hill tribe villages before we got to her village where she proceeded to cook us a late lunch at her house.  That was amazing.  Her mother was there, her younger brothers were running around and we were just posted watching her cook for us some delish soup.  This was OG….totally off the radar and super cool.  As traditional as it gets.  Open fire for cooking, etc.  At one point her youngest brother grabbed a burning stick from the fire and set her other brothers hair on fire….which was pretty funny but not at the same time (y’know).  On the way home I sported a traditional scarf-type thing around my head, fashioned by Yay….I think it might be a female thing though because not only was everyone staring at me but a few muttered ‘lady boy’ under their breath as they walked past.  I liked the colors and didn’t mind the mocking much.  We were so happy with her that we developed some photos, wrote raving reviews about how awesome she is and then had them laminated for her.  I hope she makes loads of money as she is super sweet and super fun to hang with.  Her English was decent too!