Blue green, dark green, frog green, bilious green, mud green, charming green, grass green, ripe green, innocent green, spinach, indigo, light green, fir green, water green ….
What do you do on a long holiday weekend when all the Vietnamese leave the city to enjoy a bit of leisure time? Well you join the club. At least that’s what I did. So I surely did not end up to be the only one in the rice paddies that can be found all around in Sapa. So me, some hundred other international travellers and half a million Vietnamese tried to find peace and tranquillity in the hills surrounding Sapa. The whole thing became really funny after it had been raining throughout the night and all day. So the planned hike through tribe villages and rice paddies turned into a mud slide. I basically just survived because I had some helping hands from our wonderful guide Lam (a wonderful woman with a loud vice and a charming smile) or some other girls who accompanied us on the way. For this kind of help they wanted some service in return, so I ended up buying things I really don’t need. Guess that’s the way it works this way ….
On the trip I met two wonderful men from the beautiful city of Roma: Marco and Maximo. We had a very good checking out the local food stalls for lunch. Both were very cautious of the kind of meat they were offered since they did not desire to eat either frog nor dog, both delicacies are offered, apparently. I was out of the game being a vegetarian. At the end we got a great little lunch and met a wonderful Vietnam family. Very friendly people.
I’ve also met a very nice Swiss couple: Barbara and Patrick. They travel the world and have this month Vietnam on there plan. A good chance to speak a bit of German and talk about travel in general and in particular. Hope to see them again somewhere along the track.
On the last day I hired a motorcycle plus driver to take me around. We made it almost to China going all the way up into the mountains passing beautiful waterfalls and getting great views into the valley and up the mountains. I really enjoyed that ride and I regret that I cannot ride a bike myself. Well, maybe I learn it while I’m here …
