Today we drove three hours west of Sapa with 18 people shoved in a 15 passenger van. The painful journey proved worth it to witness the colors, aromas and textures of the famous Bac Ha Market. You should know it's only open on Sunday's, which is the exact opposite of Chick-Fil-A.

Today we hiked. Our Black Hmong tour guide effortlessly led us through steep, windy trails to the villages of Lao Chai and Ta Van. We mingled with locals, saw rice terraces as far as our eyes could wander, and got a lesson in threshing, i.e. slamming sheaves of rice against a huge wooden bucket. Note: not as easy as it may seem.

Today we walked from downtown Sapa to neighboring Cat Cat Village which is home to the beautiful Black Hmong people. After a longer and harder walk than anticipated, we caught a scooter home and rewarded ourselves with liquid trophies.