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Published: June 28th 2009
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Today is my last day in Sa Pa - tonight it's the night train from Lao Cai back to noisy, crowded, hot Hanoi.
I spent my leisurely last day by taking a walk. I picked a road and followed it out of town for over an hour. It was a rewarding way to go.
All the scenery nearby is beautiful, so that did not disappoint. The locals were not trying to sell me anything so instead I got a lot of nice smiles and "hellos" with absolutely no strings attached, as they passed me on their way back to their villages or into town.
A little mama dog popped up at me about ten minutes into my walk and escorted me all the way downhill until we reached what I assume was her home town, where she ran off and started eating off of a big stinky pile of garbage. Must be nice to be so easily amused!
Along the way I passed a pond full of water buffalos. They were lounging around just like I would in the pool, snorting and whipping their tails around and generally just wallowing.
I also had to dodge chickens
the whole way, as they run pretty much wild and free and you never know when one will pop up in front of or next to you.
Sa Pa has been a welcome relief from the craziness of the rest of Vietnam that I've seen so far. It is much more laid-back, although the middle of town still has a patina of chaos that shines through particularly when you're trying to sleep through the hammering at 5:30 or the Communist-slogan-shouting van at 8:00, or the horns honking around the clock.
And I did get ripped off yet again when I checked out of the Queen Hotel, where the manager conveniently forgot that he had, and later swore that he had never, offered me the room for $8 a night. After arguing with him for a while (but trying not to lose my temper and lose "face"), he agreed that I would pay $8 for the first two nights and $9 for the second two. I suppose that honesty is a mutable thing here in Vietnam, but mostly I just find it exhausting to have to go through this again and again.
Still, it has been a chance
to recharge in some fresher air, where I can cross the street without fear of my life, and where I can walk outside for more than five minutes without feeling like I need to shower again. And once you get away from the city and the people, it is some of the most gorgeous scenery in the world.
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