Throwback Travel Thursday: Sapa, Vietnam

Hi friends,

I hope you all had a fabulous day!

I went to le Nordik Spa with my mom, aunt and middle sister - the little wee one was missing. That's what you get for going to school in a different city I guess ;)

Note: If you live in the Ottawa region and haven't been to le Nordik yet, well, you just haven't lived. 

Fix it. Go. ASAP. 

Throwback Travel Thursday: Sapa, Vietnam 

I'm going to keep riding the Vietnam train for another throwback travel Thursday post. Today's focus is the amazing Sapa. 

Snuggled up in the northwest region of Vietnam, Sapa is certainly not to be missed.

It is an absolutely gorgeous area, full of the epic terraced rice fields. 

We organized a 3 day trek with a tour company in Hanoi - there are TONS of places, so we went to a bunch and went with one that had good reviews and was reasonably priced. 

We cheaped-out and took the overnight sleeper bus instead of the train. Although it wasn't completely terrible, I wouldn't recommend it. 

I didn't actually end up taking any trains while I was in Vietnam since I had good ol' Bessie. 

Anywho, our guide came and met us at the bus, took us and our bus-bedraggled selves to get some pho,  and then we headed for her house. 

It was a fantastically beautiful walk - we passed by small houses and expansive rice fields. 

It was about a two hour walk to her house, where we had our own room with mats on the floor. The family also fed us all of our meals - so delish! 

We went out for a looong hike around the area with the mom the next day, and then decided to do a 'pub crawl' in the local village. 

Note: There were only two little 'stores, so we went back and forth, and then bought a crate of beers and lugged them up the mountain back to our home stay. The dad loved it, and an entire bottle of rice wine (aka wine whiskey) ensued.  

One of the guys even ended up getting an outfit made for him - it was amazing! 

On the last day, our guide took us a new route - which turned out to be the hardest trek of my life - back to the town of Sapa. 

We stopped in at the local market - it's the best to go on a Sunday since that's when ladies from all the surrounding areas come to sell their beautiful handmade wares. 

Overall, Sapa was one of the most beautiful areas I saw in Vietnam - which is quite a feat since the entire country is fantastic.

I would definitely recommend going for 2 or 3 days. You can stay at a wonderful home stay and do different   treks depending on your fitness level. 

If not for the amazing hospitality, the beautiful hand-broidered goods, go for the majestic landscape - terraced rice fields as far as the eye can see!

• Have YOU been to Sapa before? What did you think? If not, is it now added to your 'must-see' travel list??