A Worthy Escape

The city can be an overwhelming place. Traffic, construction, people, there is a never ending flow of noise and busyness. Which is why my friends and I often try to escape the city. I think this weekend we found our best weekend retreat yet.

Sa Pa is a city up north, close to the China border. You get there by taking an overnight train, and then a hour bus. I was dreading the train. I've been on an overnight train before, from Paris to Madrid with my family a long time ago and I remember hating it. I remember feeling claustrophobic and not sleeping. Imagine my surprise when the train in Vietnam was delightful! It was comfortable and air conditioned and went by really quickly. If only I had known, I might have taken more train excursions this year!

The train ride was only the beginning of a terrific weekend. Friday we rented xe may and rode up the mountains to a waterfall. Then we followed Joel, maybe rather foolishly, down a little mountain road. Now, a dirt bike might have been able to handle it no problem, or a motorcycle, but our little 4-stroke 100cc Honda Waves (please be impressed with my xe may knowledge) struggled a wee bit. Luckily it still was a beautiful path and we got some incredible pictures.

Saturday we went down to one of the traditional ethnic villages. Sa Pa is known as home to a couple different ethnic minority groups. Vietnam has 54 different ethnic groups, many of them living in mountainous regions. Past the village was another waterfall where we napped in the middle on a rock. It was a delightful afternoon. Sunday we went back to the same area, but this time walked further down the river to an area where we could swim. I was even convinced to jump off the rock into the water. I'll admit it, I was pretty proud of myself :)

The walk back from the waterfall was done in the pouring rain and yet, nothing could touch the aura of calm of the weekend. The rain just kind of made sense somehow---although I didn't love my bag and book getting wet. I love living in a city, and I couldn't imagine living so far away from everything, but being in Sa Pa for a weekend just wasn't enough. I felt like I could have spent all weekend lounging in the water, listening to the falls, watching the different paths the water took down the rocks, just appreciating being.