Day 8: Sapa

We wake up to another misty morning in Sapa and meet Quy after breakfast for another days hike. He takes both our packs on his motorbike to move them to the tourist office, while we trot after him.

One of the benefits of having a private tour is Quy can take us on a less traveled route and possibly a more difficult hike. Also we don't attract as many villagers who try to sell souvenirs to tourists. Quy instructs us to say politely, but firmly, to anyone who approaches us, "No thank you, no shopping today" and they will leave us alone. Otherwise groups of woman can follow you for an entire hike, as we observed from a passing group.

Yay! We survived the muddy jungle trek and stop for lunch cooked by a local family.

While walking through the village, we marvel at the ingenuity of the kids' toys.

A local school with the obligatory Ho Chi Minh portrait at the entrance.

We say bye to Quy and we're transported back to Lao Cai via the misty mountain road and await the overnight train back to Hanoi. Before the train leaves, we have a quick dinner of pho and I'm offered a shoe cleaning. Eh, no thanks, that's some suspicious purple liquid in that water bottle.

© Amy Lee 2013