Once again, I’m sitting again while Tra My and her mother cooks.  I go to restaurants and people cook for me all the time, I visit friends and they cook for me, but I do not usually sit in my own kitchen as someone cooks for me.  And I rarely sit and do absolutely nothing while someone cooks in my kitchen.

It is unnerving.

Tonight the dinner party is vegetarian—tofu and soft tomato.  I have no idea what that is but there is lemon grass, cabbage, maybe some garlic.  Everyday, well almost everyday is a culinary adventure.  

But I want to start writing about our Sapa adventure.  A week ago tonight, we took the night bus from Hanoi to Sapa.  The ride to Sapa will be a separate post.

I’ll say now that it was a rough ride for me and left me out of sorts for most of Saturday.  Still, we walked up hills, saw the stunning terraced farm lands, got dressed up in traditional dress (like everyone else there and not something that I would ordinarily do), paraded through Cat Cat village, watched couples dancing on the square, and enjoyed late night ice cream in a cafe.