No better time then to update my blog, I am currently sat at the airport as our flight has been delayed 14hours! Hope the next 7hours go quickly.

The Vietnamese refer to SaPa as the city among the clouds, the surrounding mountains are the highest points in Vietnam.

We arrived in the early hours on Thursday morning and were transferred to the Grand View hotel were we had breakfast before meeting our guide for the next couple of days. We embarked at 9am on an 11km hike down to the H’Mong village of Lao Chai. The rain persisted making our descent of a muddy and slippery hillside slightly harder - there was hardly room for error for the next 3km or so—we hiked along the mountainside on a trail barely wider than a bike tire. What was embarrassing was that many of us relied on the assistance of elder women and young girls to keep from falling down the mountain. Lan our guide pointed about 4km into the distance where a river ran through the valley near the village school. She told us that was where lunch awaited us.

While we hiked in our walking boots and laced running shoes, the locals hopped and skipped along the trail with all the gear they wanted to sell in simple rubber sandals. What a resilient people.

“You buy from me,” they’d say, all 10 of them gathered ’round with fists full of handicrafts for sale. Embroidered pillowcases and scarves, hats, purses, tin earrings, bracelets and necklaces. The little girls put bracelets on our wrists, declaring us to be friends. “We are friends,” they’d say with a smile. A little while later, they’d say, “We are friends, so you buy from me.”

After feeling guilty we bought souvenirs from the ladies for their help along the way which saved me from slide down on my bottom! After lunch we would hike to an adjacent village where we had an option of an easier 45minute walk or an hour harder route through the mud. On a clear day the harder option would have been my preferred choice but as we were above the clouds that masked the view of the valley Lan decided for the easier option so we weren't forced to do more shopping at the next village.

We arrived at our home stay for the night a simple concrete and wood structure with the the bedroom on the second floor for all 17 of us. They had proper duvets which kept us warm and the hosts were typical friendly Vietnamese who served us lots of food and even more rice wine!

We even got a lie in! With a pancake breakfast at 9am to set off trekking at 10am. The rain had lifted to reveal the beautiful views and both Bobbi and I were determined to complete the trek unassisted - Bobbi was more successful then I. The route was shorter but a lot muddier then yesterday and we finished at a waterfall where we got to wash out shoes before a short uphill walk to our lunch stop.

We arrived back at Sapa at 3pm where we checked into the Grand View - we can now see why it was given that name.

The sun made an appearance for our final day of trekking. We visited Cat Cat village located at the bottom of the Muong Hoa Valley and near the stunning Cat Cat Waterfall 3km from Sapa town. This is an age-old village of H'Mong ethnic group remaining unique customs and practices that are lost in other villages. This was a great way to finish our Sapa tour before heading back to Hanoi for our final day in Vietnam.