Day 5: The trek back to Sapa (Tuesday, July 1)

Like many non-Asian women, I've looked enviously at the little willowy Vietnamese girls, wishing to have their slender frames and delicate figures. I've always been able to comfort myself, though, with the thought that I may be bigger, but at least I'm stronger. Well, no more.

After the pouring rain of the night, we were told that we couldn't go and swim in the waterfall that we were going to this morning. Instead we just walked to look at it. It was drizzly and muddy, but not cold and very beautiful. On the way, we kept encountering women going the other direction carrying big loads of wood on their backs. I didn't know if it was wood-cutting season or what, until we reached the river. The rain had been so hard that it had filled the whole channel and washed over the banks from high in the mountains all the way down. Above this village, the forests are part of a reserve and the villagers aren't allowed to go into the hills to cut wood for heating or cooking. But with the flooding water, loads of dead fall had been washed into the valleys and everyone was taking advantage of this windfall (or should I say, waterfall).

We came upon one woman standing near her basket load of wood and our guide picked it up for a minute. I wanted to know how heavy it was, too and lifted it. Now, I don't know exactly how heavy it was, but I've heaved lots of 60+ lbs suitcases to judge if they were light enough to go on the airplane. That load was over 70 lbs for sure! And that delicate looking thing was going to carry it a considerable distance home. I was shocked by the weight, actually, because I've always carried dry wood when I've had to haul it. But this stuff was green and soaked. And now I have nothing to make myself feel less like an oaf next to those girls.

It was a much harder hike up from the village back to Sapa than the other way. The track, already slick from clay-like soil and water buffalo poop, was gooey and doubly slick. I even dropped my white hat in the mud of all indignities! A couple of the girls who were on the tour with us decided to get a motorscooter ride back up to the main road. I was glad that the other girls wanted to walk because I didn't trust some boy to ride me up the muddy road. It turned out I had reason to worry because one of the bikes spun out with Megan on the back. Luckily she just lost a patch of skin off her foot.

By the time we got back to Sapa I was soaked and cold. Yes, it is possible to be cold in Vietnam in the summer, but it isn't very common. I found a hotel while the other girls showered at the tour office and got ready to take the night train back to Hanoi. I'd planned to stay an extra day to do some shopping and explore a little on my own. But it was kind of lonely after the days of being with people, so Megan and I had some pho in the market before she took off. It was pretty tasty and entertaining because the woman had a big TV with a Chinese soap opera playing. The show was in Chinese with Vietnamese dubbed over the top of the Chinese dialogue, and set in Samurai-time Japan. Megan and I made great dialogue for it in English. Later I took myself out for a nice meal in a cozy restaurant to commemorate July 1st.