VIETNAM

The airport in Luang Prabang had one plane and one terminal. We boarded in the late afternoon and an hour later we landed. The service on the flight was fast and cordial. I exchanged money at the aiport and pulled 5,000,000 out of my checking account. Too bad it's only Dong! It still feels nice to hold that much money in my hands Dong or not. When I walked outside I thought I was in Chicago. It was cold, grey and flooded with the sound of horns honking. Soon I spotted the palm trees and realized I was in Hanoi, Vietnam. We took a bus to the old quarters of the city. Then I was sure I was in New York. It was congested, dirty and full of people. The street cafes were a quick reminder that I am still overseas. It's misting rain and cold. Some of us ate at this cafe, and the food was delicious. We drank a lot of hot tea to keep warm. I ate grilled duck for dinner but was sure to leave room for dessert. I tried some young rice ice cream which was interesting and good. Isabel, Sam and I decided to get some snacks for the overnight train so we walked around a bit. Pedestrians are not safe here. People drive crazy and do not stop! It was a bit overwhelming since we have been in Luang Prabang for several days. It's definitely a change of pace. We couldn't find any food for a while. Suddenly we spotted candy and like little kids our giddiness got the best of us. We grabbed handfuls of candy. We were smiling and laughing; Isabel was grabbing pieces saying, "Yummy! Yummy! Yummy!" There were tossings of candies going on. Soon enough our bags were full of chocolates and candies. Our happiness was overwhelming. On our walk back to our bus we ate a lot of candy. Sam and I also purchased something off the street that resembled small coconuts. They were interesting and delicious! Our bus took us to our sleeper train. The vintage train was beautiful, and four of us shared a room. I roomed with Sam, Anna and Noam. Since we ate a lot of candy, Sam and I were bouncing off the walls...literally! We got our roommates to join in the fun and started hanging from our bunks like monkeys. We took some fun pictures and shared a million laughs. The train left about 35 minutes after we boarded. All of us passed out immediately. It was surprisingly comfortable.
Our train arrived at 5:30 in the morning. Another bus met us and took us up the mountain to the village of Sapa. This village is known for it's amazing views. Our hotel in nestled on a slope, but the weather is crap :( It is so foggy; there are no visible views. Since it is cold and rainy, we drink endless amounts of hot lemon water with ginger and honey. Some of us decided to walk around. As soon as we walked out of our hotel the women approached us to buy items. They were all dressed in traditional outfits of their villages. Many of them speak four or five different languages. It was so nice to actually communicate with them. I walked with a few of them who showed us where the restaurant was in which we wanted to have lunch at. We talked about our families. Two ladies mentioned they had three daughters, and I let them know how lucky they are. Having three daughters is so wonderful :) I would know since my parents have three daughters! The ladies waited outside for us to eat because we promised to buy something after our tummies were satisfied.
We ate at Baguette and Chocolate Cafe which is for disadvantaged youths. They had goat cheese on the menu! You have no idea how happy this made me! I ordered the vegetable sandwich with pesto and goat cheese. I savored every bite. Oh, the taste of goat cheese. How I've missed you. Lunch was great. As promised, we purchased a few handmade products from the ladies. They were very nice. At times it was a bit overwhelming. We continued walking until we were tired and cold. A bunch of us girls had a slumber party and watched movies and cuddles under our electric blankets. It was very cozy.