Hien met us at 9pm. We quickly finished our breakfast, checkout from the hotel and on our feet towards the valley. Not to forget to mention here was the magically treat of Cinnamon stick. Hien introduces us to the Cinnamon stick. It was almost 1cm thick...guess tenth fold of what we normally use in kitchen back at home. He said that this spice can cure sore throat. So I got my share. It has mild sweetness and a little menthol and anesthetic effect...cooling and a little numbness. I proved to be at help for me.
The moment we stepped out of the hotel, we were swarm by the ladies in black/blue. The scenario was as though as we are honey and bees are all after us. The early of our journey was along tarred road downhill to the valley. The scenery of the valley from the high up was good. I could imagine that it would be better if the crop has yet to be harvested. Anyway it still worth our visit here. Along the way, we passed by the Rose Valley. It was empty as well all the flowers have been harvest for the Women Day.
Along our way, we met a lot of LIB. There were old and young. Some were too young to sell but yet she could still carry along a baby on her back. These children are really poor and forced to skip school over few dollars each day. :S We came across a pair of siblings that were farming on steep hill side, could be about 45 degrees. At one point, he almost slipped and some shouted out in fear for him. After about 4km, we started to dive on a muddy path.
I didn't have difficultly hopping around avoiding the mud spot and natural fertilizer until a steep slope. I tried my best to descent slowly but with my nike air sneaker, it was not helpful at all as compared to their rubber slipper. On the muddy path, my sneaker turned out to be a ski board. the narrow lines were filled with mud. So there I slipped and fell. Quickly, I was back on my feet again. 
Then my 2nd fall followed, it really hurts. My reflex system did exactly like what KS done during our Balik Pulau field trip. I held my camera high and allowing myself to fall hard on my buttock. It hurts this time. After the 2nd fall, I decided to keep my camera safe in bag. Looking at my 2nd humpty dumpy fall, Hien offered to carry my precious camera for me.
I continued the rest of my hike with her help...shitly I fell again at another narrow and steep path. Ouch...my buttocks!
After 1 and a half hour and 3 falls, we finally arrived at flat land. By then we have already arrived in the Black Hmong Village. She showed me her house from far, it seem simple and small in between those paddy fields. So after purchasing some pricey souvenir from her, we bid farewell.
We finally stopped at a local operated restaurant by the river side. That meal was remarkable. It top our list of worst meals in Vietnam. The noodle soup has very strong meat smell despite having pork only. The pork taste 10x smellier than what we usually have. I have to force myself to swallow the noodle dry...avoiding the meat, soup and the bad aroma from it.
After the noodle, we were back on track. On our way through the village, we passed by a primary school and hospital. Those children were worries free. They just love his company. The remarkable part of the hospital was the small steel box right outside, looked like a post box, hanging on the pillar was in fact a condom distributor point. The government gave out free condom and encourage them to use it to curb their over populated issue...Bravo! This project should also include STD transmission prevention into its' objective.
Moving on into the 2nd village, there were less LIB. Most ladies are dressed in bright colour. This village also seem less crowded and has more business opportunities. There were many shops selling locally crafted souvenirs. There were also slight change in terms of the architecture, more cement and concrete were used.
At the end of our trek, we passed by another primary school and a community hall. Those ladies and children seemed to be enjoying their time around their family members there. We headed back to our hotel at Sapa along steep and narrow winding road.
Then we were back in Thai Binh to collect our luggage and head to the Hoang Ha Hotel for shower. Glad that our agent already made arrangement for us to have shower there. It was so nice to have hot shower without have to worry about burning the hotel down. Then it was another less delighting meal at that hotel.
By 6pm, we left Sapa on a packed van through winding road downhill. Thanks to the reckless driver, I experienced the latitude sickness...my ear almost burst and I almost throw out. We reached Lao Cai at about 8pm and have to wait long till our train SP4 arrived at the station.
So this was my day. After the 3 falls, my whole body ached and hurts. I have to resort to take the lower deck in hope for a comfy sleep.
For more photo, please refer to fb
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