07/02/19

Ahhh, there are seemingly always some sort of niggling issues when I travel (I’m sure this is true for everyone of course). It’s death by a thousand papercuts. Why is it that every review of these “sleeper” buses states that even though they arrive at 4 a.m. customers are allowed to sleep until six, yet all us riders were promptly notified of our arrival and given the boot? I suppose because I paid more for an extra fancy sleeper bus to see what that was like is why; pay more and receive worse service. Why can’t the cafe I am at make a good Vietnamese coffee? Why is the music so bad? (American pop again) Honestly though, I have little to complain about. I’m in Sa Pa , sitting on a patio at a cafe that I won’t return to, eating a slice of chocolate cake, sipping a coffee (not a very good one, albeit), writing in my journal and watching the world do its thing. The temperature is even tolerable way up here in the mountains (it’s quite a bit cooler, and describing it as tolerable is doing it a disservice as it is actually quite divine).

There is something so sad about sitting here watching this little minority, ethnic girl in her native dress walk the street, carrying various souvenirs, and approaching probable tourists to sell them. There has been, on the sidewalk by the little garden across the street, an “ethnic” woman talking to a Vietnamese guy on a motorbike for the last fifteen minutes. She’s strangely remarkable in her dress and her pink barbie or little mermaid backpack, and the beautiful pale, red hat that looks like several stitched together beanbags resting atop her skull. It has just begun to rain though, and the guy on the bike motored off in his plastic poncho, and the woman wandered off on her own. And a man on a scooter has just driven by with an umbrella open. Driving quite slowly to be sure!

Well, this cafe is awful. I just can’t handle this music. It’s loud. It’s bad. It’s simply intolerable.

[Later]
Checked into my capsule hotel. Very exciting as I’ve never spent a night in one. Seems cool, and feels like I’m in some future world, a la Star Trek or Star Wars. The family running it is charming. I’m almost sad to be doing a homestay in Lao Chai, and likely Ta Van, the next couple of nights, but Sa Pa itself is busy and isn’t really the point of coming out here unless one is just using it as a base for trekking.

Regarding my homestay in Lao Chai, that all came about from a woman in the village being in Sa Pa, presumably to sell some of her wares as that seems reason for many of them to be in town. This being so, she and her friend from a different village approached me. As an aside, I’m very impressed with the level of English these women have. It’s better than most “non-ethnic” Vietnamese. I guess that’s a natural progression of catering to tourists. Anyway, we talked, she asked how long I was staying, if I had any nights other than tonight booked, which I did not, and we exchanged numbers agreeing to meet around 11 a.m. at the church tomorrow morning, so that’s that. Afterward, I left them for the cafe, that was recommended by the hotel for its splendid and stunning views, that I was on my way to when they approached me . They were right in this regard, and I settled in, gazing over the valley, the river at its bottom, rice terraces bright vibrant green, and forests climbing the mount slopes. Green, green, green everywhere; a defining color, and countless shades of it too. I ordered a lime juice and mixed fruit yogurt. These things were too expensive I thought. When the banging like someone hammering on the bottom of a stock pot began, I was rather dismayed. It went on long enough that I eventually had to leave for it completely shattered the peaceful atmosphere.

I’m writing all of this having found an absolute gem of a cafe, though without the view, around the city center. Quiet, gentle atmosphere, instrumental music playing in the background, view out onto the the main square, baskets of flowers and vases of flowers and pots of plants all over. It’s an absolute gem.

I talked to an ethnic woman while sitting on a bench researching dinner choices. So many of these women wandering around Sa Pa hawking their wares, or, I should say pestering people. It’s a sorry state of affairs….