Rice fields and blankets

Sapa township, very cute
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On the day we arrived in Sapa it was raining.  So we did some emails, ate some lunch hoping that it would finish.  After lunch when it was still raining we decided to have a little nap, then definitely go trekking to a nearby village.  When we woke up at 5 we decided it was definitely time for a beer.  The village of Sapa is so cute - perched on the mountain side with French buildings and nice cafes to waste the rainy days in.

The next day we did go trekking, having booked a tour the day before, to see some of the mountain landscape around  Sapa and a minority peoples village.  We were more interested in the landscapes, and wanted to do it by ourselves but couldnt find any useful information as everyone wanted to sell you a tour ofcourse!

The tour wasnt "trekking" so much as an easy walk down a mountain road ....

Rice fields and houses from the road above
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The tour wasnt "trekking" so much as an easy walk down a mountain road with amazing views over the valley which is terraced into rice fields.  The people of the area have adapted to the tourism like no-where else, continually pestering us to buy their bracelets, earrings or dyed woven blankets and bags.  Some of the stuff was beautiful but we had read that the dye in the material wasn't fast, so we didnt want to risk buying it and having everything we owned blue as well.  After a muddy walk through the villages we were picked up at the bottom of the hill for the ride back to the town.