During my trip in Vietnam I visited Sapa in the northwest region of the country. As it is the end of winter it is absolutely freezing there, I even had to buy a new NorthFace Jacket! Sapa was worth every shiver though, because trekking through the rice patties all up and down the mountains was one of the most beautiful landscapes I have seen on my trip thus far. I thought I had seen and experienced vast amounts of rice fields in Bali, but I have to tell you Bali has nothing on Sapa. We did most of our trekking through the mist and clouds only beginning to see the landscape when we descended to the valley underneath the cloud cover. The journey was also so joyous because of the wonderful friends I got to hike with over the 3 day period. Jocelyn, Geeske, Constanza, Smiljan, and Valérie were the best group I could ask for to explore this amazing terrain. I cannot be more grateful for the wonderful friends I have been making on this trip, and even though we only spent a day or two together you will forever be in my heart.
The trip to Sapa was not all butterflies and rainbows sadly. There is a really annoying side to this beautiful place that will probably prevent me from coming back: it is the indigenous women of the Sapa villages. If there is any one place in Vietnam I have felt like a dollar sign, it was here. I fear this will be Sapa's downfall, something that these indigenous people I fear will not grasp until it is to late. As a tourist you are constantly badgered by the women of Sapa to buy little trinkets such as: bags, wallets, coin purses, bracelets, decorative wall fabrics, etc. When I say they will not leave you alone until you buy something I mean it. After 3 days of this you get so fed up, and the only words out of my mouth when I had to walk through town was "No Shopping, No shopping, No!". These women will hike with you for hours on end, and follow you around town as you are trying to enjoy time to yourself sometimes for 45 min or longer trying to get a sale out of you. Even when we were eating during our trek through the villages we would be badgered by "shopping? shopping? buy something from me? why you buy something from her and not me? shopping?", and they would be constantly be shoving products in front of you trying to get you to buy something, anything. Even the small village children would be selling stuff, mostly bracelets. It was kind of sad to see that these kids were following us all day to try to get a $.50 sale when they should have been playing and acting like kids! I remember Constanza on our 3rd day of trekking asking our guide to please tell the children and women to go away and stop trying to haggle us, but she would not only saying "they understand English, tell them yourself". I suppose they just do not understand that they are digging themselves into a hole, and soon tourists will not come because they are like flies to honey. You are only seen as money to them and after a while it becomes to much...it is so sad because Sapa is one of the most beautiful landscapes I have ever seen.
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