Storms, Waterfall and Karaoke!

The next day the storm was once again crazy over night so we were feeling pretty dead in the morning but up we get and go for a trek to a near by waterfall. Now as I said Sa Pa is very touristy and if the locals see you walking anywhere they insist on walking with you, act like your guide and then insist on you buying something from them. The walks around here are super easy and all very well laid out. A lady insisted on doing this to us and from the beginning I told her I will not be buying anything as we have no money and we can't carry things in our luggage (we actually haven't bought anything for ourselves as we only have our small backpacks!). She didn't believe us and just followed us the whole way! It was actually very uncomfortable and made the journey quite unpleasant knowing we were constantly being followed. We met 2 guys along the way so it was nice to chat and get advice for Indonesia from them! As predicted when we got to the waterfall she wanted us to buy items and wanted money and shot off as soon as she realised she really wasn't getting anything from anyone. After the waterfall we went on a bit of a detour back, I fell on my ankle (it's ok, just slightly swollen) and to cheer me up we went for a hot chocolate 😊 Will had a mulled wine! Just what the doctor ordered on a slightly chilly day.

In the evening we passed a homestay that advertised family dinner outside so we decided to join and had an absolute ball of a time!! They had huge amounts of food and a bowl that looked like it had water in for cleaning your fingers. We soon realised the bowl was actually full of "Happy Water" and throughout the dinner the host would say "Let's go swimming" and everyone would drink a shot of local rice wine. It was very fun. We met a really friendly guy called Jamie and chatted to him all night! After dinner the karaoke started, it was so much fun. Will sang Backstreet Boys and I sang the Karaoke classic Unbreak My Heart. It was a such a good laugh.

That evening it absolutely poured it down, but to be honest I slept like a baby! When we woke in the morning there were actual blue skies and we were so excited, but we got excited too soon... While having breakfast the heavens opened. Good job we had planned to have a simple day! The plan for the day is to move from our little village Ta Van Văn to Văn to the tourist centre of Sa Pa in preparation for a big hike up Fansipan on Saturday. Fansipan is the biggest mainland mountain in Indochina. We are a bit nervous and the weather isn't great but hopefully it will be awesome anyway!Read more