Renegade drop offs in Sa Pa

It is unbelievable how beautiful the road to Sa Pa was. Once again, I was taken by the intense scenery with tall lush mountains, waterfalls, clouds covering the tops, it was gorgeous dotted with bamboo trees, rice terraces, water buffalo, etc. Pictures can't capture the depth and beauty of the mountains and valleys that we can see from our hotel which are very similar. I can't tell if I like Sa Pa so much because of itself or in comparison to the previous place we were at. Sa Pa is a quaint village with lots of shops and people from the Black Hmong tribes selling embroidered items and jewelry. It's somewhat reminiscent of an Alpine Village, but its in Vietnam, with lots of ethnic minorities, and rice terraces around. The French founded this town, and made it a vacation spot back in the day. It's definitely a refreshing difference from Paso.

Yesterday we were summoned to meet in room 211 with an empty day pack. We assembled and started packing our 'inconspicuous' bags with childrens clothes, candies, toys, medical supplies, and headed down the hill. Since we weren't having much luck distributing items due to the strict commie oversight, we were going to trek into villages in the mountains and go into their homes to distribute the goods - a renegade mission! It was super fun, but not as renegade as we thought it would be. Some of the villagers spoke English pretty well - mostly due to the tourists that visit the area. It was still neat to venture into the hills, see the people and talk with them, and distribute items. Another crazy thing was taking a motorscycle back to up the twisty road, up the mountain, into town. We didn't feel like walking all the way back up, and there was a motorcycle stand that was offering rides for $1. So, who could resist? Nevermind that I have never been on a motor bike before, when we took off, I had to close my eyes. He was driving really fast, and turning on an angle at each of the turns! After a little while I got used to it, and saw the amazing views. We almost got run off the road by a van, and a herd of water buffalo, but again - made it safely back to home base. We will be visiting more villages today, but this time not so undercover. It was a fun experience.

My wallet got a little exercise in this town as well. My two friends, Pam and Kim, and I met a 6 year old Black Hmong girl who was super sweet, and we were walking around with her. We bought her a whole new outfit (from head to toe), because her clothes were in such bad shape. She was beaming afterwards. It was a great experience, and we saw her later that evening wearing the clothes.

Finally, I can't believe how long this trip feels, and that I have 2 more countries to visit. Some people in our group will be leaving in a few days when we return to Hanoi, and the rest of us will trek on to Cambodia, and Thailand - where we'll meet the Yellow Leaf. It feels like we've been traveling for months, time has been really interesting out here.