"There's a whole world out there, right outside your window. You'd be a fool to miss it..." Charlotte Erikson
In the name of Allah, the Beneficent, the most Merciful.
Hello readers,
It's time for Sapa Valley part 2.
I took a walking tour that required me to walk about 12 km throughout the Sapa countryside, through its indigenous villages. The people living on these hills are nowhere similar to the city in Vietnam. Their dressing and language is entirely different. What remains the same though I find, is the warmth they all exhibit.
This is Mr. Kim. His family was not pictured but the entire Kim family joined the tour as well. He was very friendly and I gather, extremely wealthy because he tried to pay for me when I bought some souvenirs in the villages. He was fascinated that a Muslim woman had decided to take a walking tour alone (actually NIN was sick so she couldn't join me).
The sky was beautiful
I started my walk down the hill which was about 4 km away from the Sapa Valley, this was about halfway to reaching the village
Paddy fields or decks, they would call it as the paddy here are grown on hill slopes
We descended further into the valley. The views, as you can see are absolutely stunning.
And we have reached the first village!
little baby ducks!
The village was amazing. There were little goats, pigs running around.
We went through the village and descended further into the valley. By this time it was super hot and even though I ran marathons myself, I was getting a bit tired. The kids in front are the kids from the Kim family. We stopped for lunch.
I had lunch in a villager's house. Literally, like smack dab in the middle of his house. As a matter of choice I make a point to never pick a muslim tour when I travel. Had I picked tours such as that, I would never have arrived at this place. Most of the time I would be the only muslim in any group when I am travelling (plus NIN of course). It takes you out of your comfort zone, it gives you a better understanding of other cultures, faiths and teaches you how to respect and most importantly to not judge others. It is customary for every home in the villages here to have a dog and this one had a free reign in the house I was eating in. The dog was so friendly but I supposed was also taught not to get to near to the tourists haha. The family was very welcoming and so warm and the food was delicious. I had all the vegetables, simply cooked but was wholesome and flavourful. What I find delightful is that people would just sit down in the same table as me and did not find it arkward although we could not speak the same language.
After an hour passed after lunch (the people here are laidback and the tours almost never finish on time) I walked some more.
At the base of the valley, there were more paddy
A water mill at one of the village houses. I have not seen this since I was a very small child. Tetiba teringat zaman kecik di kampung hehehe
More countryside. How awesome.
The tour ended after about another 4 kilometers and I was totally knackered. But my word, this place was beyond amazing.
Sapa Valley and its indigenous villages is a must visit if you go to sapa. The guide will be the villagers themselves, trained by the government to speak english and they will be dressed in the village's unique traditional dress, which is different for each village.
Put it on your bucket list, travellers! hehe
Love from Airiel and I.
Peace and love to everyone.
