The first day of our trek was spent hiking around the hills and stopping to visit Hmong and Dzao villages. The landscape was so green and beautiful. We wished our cameras could really capture the beauty of the Sapa. Our group included two guys from New York and a couple from Australia. As we hiked around, the Hmong women and children would suddenly appear out of bushes or come bounding down the hill to talk with us. They followed us as we hiked, and as soon as we stopped to rest, they would try to sell us purses or handbags that they had sewn. One of the guys from New York became a major attraction to all the little Hmong girls. He had a crowd following him around and chanting, “Buy from me. Buy from me.” They followed him for hours until they finally gave up.

Sapa is beautiful! There is a thick mist that lingers over the mountains in northern Vietnam. I think it is the first time we have actually been cold on our trip. We spent our first morning in Sapa hiking and learning about the black Hmong villages that are located in the hills. The people dress in beautiful outfits that are dyed with indigo, and many of them walk around with blue hands from the dye. The people farm rice and corn on the hills by using terraces. I can’t believe how quickly they can walk up and down the hills. It made us feel out of shape. We’re excited for our two day trek tomorrow, where we will stay out in the villages with the people.

We arrived back at our guesthouse with enough time to eat and grab our bags before we headed out on a night train to Sapa. We decided to get a sleeper car so we could actually get some sleep. My Vietnamese-sized bed was located on the third bunk, and there wasn’t even enough room to sit up. However, when I laid down, I felt certain I would be able to sleep just fine. That was until a Vietnamese family came pounding into our car. They miraculously fit two people in each of the beds and stayed up all night talking, laughing and smoking. Needless to say, we were very tired in the morning, and our throats hurt from all the smoke.

When we arrived in Hanoi, we decided to stay in the first guest house we found. It is actually very nice, and I was just glad to finally have a bed to sleep in. We spent our first day in Vietnam at Halong Bay. We actually didn’t get to spend that much time on the bay because we were stuck with a group who was planning on staying several days out on the bay, so the workers spent several hours trying to get their paperwork together. I can’t believe how much paperwork you have to fill out to do things here in Vietnam. I was disappointed that Sonja didn’t really get to experience much of the bay because it was one of the highlights of our trip last year. We still enjoyed looking at the limestone and cliffs and exploring the cave in Halong Bay.

That evening we left on our 24 hour bus trip to Hanoi, Vietnam. We weren’t too excited about the long bus ride, but it was actually better than we had anticipated. Eight hours of the trip was actually spent sitting at the border waiting for everyone to get their visas and pass through customs to get into Vietnam. We couldn’t believe how long it took. We were definitely the last people out of all the buses to get our passports stamped. This was probably due to the fact that we were the only Caucasians. When we walked out of the building after getting our passports stamped, the bus and everyone on the bus was gone. We were a little confused, but after walking for a while we finally found everyone and waited another four hours before we actually hit the road again.

On Sunday, we attended the branch in Vientiane. There are about 100 people who attend the branch, and everyone was so excited to see foreigners at church. One of the ladies gave us yellow corsages that she made out of ribbon. One of the young women translated everything for us and invited us to attend YW with her. After church was over they rolled out mats and started bringing out food and kept bring out food. We had a great lunch of sticky rice, fish soup, fish salad, cucumbers, and vegetables. The people in Laos usually eat with their hands. They pull off a piece of sticky rice, roll it in a ball, and dip it in sauce or use it to scoop of vegetables. We are really enjoying the food here. One of the members told me that I could stay in Laos since I like the same types of foods as they like.

When we arrived in the Vientiane, some other tourists helped us find the area with cheap guesthouses. After we settled on one, we spent the rest of the evening at the Blue Banana eating and using the free internet. The next day we walked around the city and then spent the afternoon with the Oldhams, a service missionary couple. We went to a concert of one of the members, and then they took us out for smoothies and helped us find some treats for our 24 hour bus ride to Hanoi. We had some money that we needed to use before we left Laos, so we ended the day with a wonderful massage. The lady was really nice and extra careful with my knees.