While wandering the streets yesterday, a couple of Black Hmong came up to us, asking us where we're from and how we knew each other. For jokes, we told them that we were sisters, and in response to the puzzled looks on their faces, we explained to them that we share the same mother but have different fathers (for those of you that don't know us all, one of us is brown, one is white, and one is Asian). It seemed like they believed us initially because they continued to probe further for details...
Our last day in Sapa was cloudy and rainy. We trekked to Cat Cat Village, then didn't have much to do in the afternoon because we were soaking wet. We ran into the same Black Hmong again. They recognized us, and called out "sisters with different fathers!!!" and we all had a good laugh. And that is how we became known as the multi-colored sisters in Sapa town.
We were sad to leave Sapa, because that also meant we had to leave Diego, our best tour guide yet. He had the funniest stories. When he was young, he had a pet cat that he loved and cared for. One day he came home from school, and asked his parents where his cat was. They replied, "you just had him for dinner". Poor guy.
The overnight train back to Hanoi was much less pleasant than the way there. The air con wasn't working, and we shared a 4-person train car with a stranger. We made it through the night though, arriving in Hanoi at 5am. It was way too early to check in. What to do in Hanoi at 5am? Go to church. We went to St. Joseph's Cathedral and listened to their morning choir practice. We then enjoyed Vietnamese coffee by Hoan Kiem Lake, while turtle watching (there is supposedly a 200kg turtle that lives in the lake). After, we ate traditional Vietnamese Pho in an alley restaurant for breakfast.
We went to 2 temples after that, followed by a prison that housed Vietnamese prisoners of war. There, we ran into a couple of people from our class. What a small world!! We decided to go for drinks that evening.
Partying in Hanoi was more difficult than expected. No one could properly guide us go any bars or clubs in the area. The locals spoke minimal English, making it even more challenging. We walked through night markets and restaurant streets before we finally found a restaurant that served cold Bia Hanoi. At $0.50CDN per glass, we had a great time with good drinks and good company. With us was also this Moroccan guy that our classmates had met earlier. Near the end of the night, he told us about a travel blog he was creating, and revealed to us that he had recorded the entire night, both audio and video, via the button on his shirt. (THE BUTTON WAS A VIDEO CAMERA. W T F). We requested to not have our "video" posted on the internet. As it was his birthday at midnight, we gave him birthday bumps in the middle of the street.
The fun came to an end when police came at midnight to enforce a curfew - they urged restaurants to close and ushered locals home. As a result, we couldn't find post-bar street meat to satisfy our craving. The stark contrast between the hustle and bustle of streets during the day/evening with the deserted streets at night is enormous.
Next adventure = Halong Bay.
xoxo
EGF
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