The second day of our stay in Sapa had a planned itinerary, through a half-day tour we booked via Klook. Our call time was a bit early (8 AM). Thanks to my well-researched friends, we got a tour with a pickup point just a walking distance from our hotel. 😁
I think I wasn't able to sleep that well last night. I was one of the last people to go to sleep, but still I was the first one to wake up in the morning. 😅 I really needed my coffee for the day.
We were able to get our complimentary breakfast from our hotel, which served a variety of choices. I’m glad there were vegetables, fruits, and coffee. Vietnamese coffee is not served with sugar, they use condensed milk instead, which I got to like.
One of the things I enjoy about traveling with my friends is that we always distribute and assign tasks. One person books the flights, another handles accommodation. Whoever is assigned a task is also in charge of it during the trip. I was assigned to book the activities in Sapa, including this Klook tour, so it was automatic that I was the one that will lead the group for this day. I became the point of contact for our tour guide. Good thing, it was easy to contact our local guide. I added her on WhatsApp, and we were able to meet and locate each other easily.
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| Ready for day two! Wohoo! |
Our meeting place was at Sa Pa Stone Church, which with just the looks of it, has a lot of history in it, and apparently it was built during the French colonial period in Vietnam (1900s). Since it was a Sunday, I think mass was just about to start when we got there. It has become a practice for me during recent trips to visit a church whenever I can. Since we still had time waiting for the other people in the tour, we visited the inside of the church. It was nice to take a moment for a quick prayer, before starting our day.
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| The beautiful Sa Pa church, also known as the Holy Rosary Church |
We waited for a bit, and after a few minutes, we were called by our tour guide to join a van with the other groups included in that same tour.
Destination #1: Cat Cat Village
Our first stop in the itinerary was Cat Cat Village. It was just a few minutes’ ride from our pickup point, and along the way, we got a glimpse of the rice terraces of the Sapa mountains. It was so beautiful! Since it was still early morning, the weather was still cool, and we were able to see a sea of clouds enveloping the mountains. 😍 I also spotted a restaurant down below, which I would later discover was Moana Café, one of our stops for the day.
Initially, I thought this village was full of cats (😹), but apparently "Cat Cat" is the name of the ethnic group that settles here. It was a traditional village full of things to see, like the traditional houses, costumes, and the culture itself. Visitors come to experience this culturally rich place.
And so, this was where we had an organic encounter with a fellow Filipino traveler. Well, a little background story. Since I was the point-of-contact for our group on our tour, I was the one who received the email for the tour info, including the contact details of our tour guide. Interestingly, the organizer might have just copy-pasted the name, because I was addressed in a different name (a male's name) in the email. Turned out, this name belonged to this guy who we got to meet during the tour! One of my friends got to sit beside him in the van, and immediately did small talk (like he always does during travels haha he's such a social butterfly 🦋✨). When we got off the van and arrived in Cat Cat village, our friend, naturally, introduced him to the group. Maybe because of Toastmasters training, I was so game to do small talk. And this guy turned out to be a nice person (my first impression, at least 😂).
I somehow felt my friends were not 100% in the mood to entertain strangers, so I ended up as the sacrificial offering (LOL) for this social situation. There was even that moment wherein all four of them went to the CR at the same time, and so I ended up being in entertainer mode for this new friend. But all's well that ends well (hahaha thank you, Toastmasters, it was just like a Table Topics session). I want to believe I established good rapport with our new friend. 😁
Destination #1A: Rainbow Slide
Inside the Cat Cat village is this attraction called "Rainbow Slide" wherein you sit in an inflatable tube and slide down a sloped route. It was an optional part of the tour, but of course we were all in, so we availed of it. This was something that my friends saw on TikTok that they got interested in. And of course, I had to join them (because majority wins LOLOL).
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| The power of six! This was us (with our new friend!) before riding the rainbow slide |
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| Here we are assembling for our Rainbow Slide ride |
Since there were five of us in the group, we split into two batches, three and two, because we couldn’t all go at once. There was also an option to have a drone video taken, which, of course, costs extra. My friend and I had an inside joke about not availing the turtle videos during our trip to Apo Island two years ago, and we always regretted that. So we told ourselves that moving forward, we would splurge more during our travels. Because of that, we didn’t hesitate to add the drone option for our Rainbow Slide experience.
And honestly, it was worth every penny. It’s one of those experiences that will stay in our memories forever. We laugh every time we replay the video, and that shared joy is priceless. If there’s one lesson I can share, it’s this: when you travel, budget a little extra for experiences. You don’t have to hold back too much. YOU DESERVE IT! Go ahead and splurge a little, and don’t feel guilty about it.
Destination #1B: Into Cat Cat Village Itself
After that adrenaline-filled start, we continued walking down Cat Cat Village. This was where we really got to see the beauty of the place and the cultural life of the indigenous community. Of course, we took our time taking photos.
There was also a beautiful waterfall below. Lots of people were in costume, which was available for rent. Our new friend actually rented a costume, and so we supported him in taking his photos. 😁 There were lots of things to see in the village, lots of photo-worthy spots. We took our time to look around, and of course to snap some more shots! 📸
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| Mirror selfie! |
There was also an area wherein local performers were holding a cultural show. We spent some time watching. At one point, we were playfully adding our own "subtitles" while people-watching.
There was also a part in the tour wherein our guide was introducing us to the houses of the locals in there. And then they offered us to try their locally-made wine. I actually loved it! It tasted like sweet alcohol. Our tour guide warned us not to drink too much because we might feel too happy afterwards. 😂
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| Here I am, caught in the act of drinking from their wooden shot glasses. |
It was in Cat Cat village that I bought my new bag, which is now my default bag when I go out. I’m so happy I got this as a souvenir from Vietnam. Someone once told me to level-up my travel souvenirs. I used to just collect ref magnets and T-shirts (mostly for my dad), but now I’m exploring items like bags and fashion accessories (like earrings, necklace or bracelets) as souvenirs for my travels. This might be the start of that shift. 😁
The bag was available in several shops around Sapa and even Hanoi. Later that evening, my friends commented to me that they were proud to see me buying stuff for myself. Because I was not like this before. They've seen how I buy stuff, mostly, for my folks back home, during our past travels (specifically in the US and Japan). I distinctly remember during a US business trip, I bought Kate Spade wallets for my sister, sisters-in-law, and niece. They were so happy, and even reluctant to receive it, because they're not used to getting designer stuff. Guess what, I didn't buy one for myself. Now I look back and ask myself -- why??? My thinking process back then was: I was already blessed enough to travel and experience this wonderful stuff first-hand. The least I can do for my family is to buy stuff for them. But apparently, I was forgetting myself. I deserve souvenirs myself. I deserve buying things for myself during travels. So yeah, that was a pattern I'm starting to unlearn. 😊
And that was our tour in the village! Honestly, I was surprised by how much I enjoyed Cat Cat Village. There was so much to see, even though we had limited time because it was a guided tour. I would have stayed longer, if possible. I had so much fun!
Destination #2: Alphine Coaster
Our next adventure was the Alphine Coaster ride. Buying that bag turned out to be a good decision, because my friend got to borrow my Anello bag because apparently bulky bags were not permitted in the Alphine coaster.
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| In line for the coaster tickets. And there's the Anello bag, with its new owner. 😁 |
We purchased for the two-rounds ride. This was another adrenaline-rich ride. 😂 I didn't have much photos while on the ride because it was highly likely that my phone would have flown off my hands during the ride.
During the first loop, I was scared, so I controlled the brakes most of the time. But on the second run, my friends encouraged me to let go and just enjoy it. Even the staff noticed it was my second round and told me to go for it, no brakes needed. At the last minute, before taking off for the second round, I decided to yes, go for it. AND I BRAVED IT. It was more fun when I just let go and let gravity take over.
And somehow, I realized that this reflected how I approach life. I tend to hesitate when trying new things because I’m afraid of failing. But I just had to trust the process. The ride was designed to be safe. And I could enjoy it fully if I just let go. And I did. Through my friends' encouragement (and that cute male staff, who actually held my hand while doing the demo of the brakes HAHAHA), I did it. This was such a wonderful realization through that coaster ride. 😍
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| Happy kids (at heart), drenched in adrenaline. 😆 |
Destination #3: Moana Café
After that, we headed to Moana Café as our next destination. Moana Café is also known for its scenic views and photo spots. But first, we had a quick coffee break!
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| I usually don’t like sweet coffee (I now prefer café lattes) but during this Vietnam trip, I found myself really enjoying the sweeter blends. I'M IN LOVE WITH THEIR COFFEE! ☕ |
Thanks to my friend who brought a tripod, we braved the afternoon sun and took photos at different spots. I’m really thankful to have friends who support each other’s solo shots. We all had our own poses and little gimmicks. Even the other tourists in line were supportive of our mini photoshoot.
And that was the end of our Klook tour! We had to apologize to our tour guide because our group was one of the last groups (or was the last one, I think?) to go back to our van. We got too caught up with taking photos. 😂There were still a lot of scenic spots there, but because of the limited time, we weren't able to snap photos with all of them. Oh well, at least we got to have great photos, and we really enjoyed taking each of them. 😁
~END OF TOUR~
We were dropped off on the same spot -- Sa Pa Church. Since we haven't had a proper lunch yet, we went to a nearby restaurant (the one recommended by our travel guide) for some traditional Vietnamese food.
They didn't have a menu in English so we had to use Google Translate to understand the menu. We were already famished, and we had a hard time deciding what to order, so we just asked the staff for their best seller. And these were what they recommended (apparently the restaurant's specialty was hotpots but we were not in the mood for a hot meal, so these were what he advised us to order).
I liked that dish with the yellow and violet rice crispies , served with pork bits in bamboo. Interestingly, there was no rice, which worked for me since I seldom eat rice (a lifestyle change, not a temporary diet routine). But we were famished, so we ended up making two orders of that rice crispies meal. But still, it was not enough to satisfy us.
After that meal, we headed out to get some bánh mì! 😂
This was our first bánh mì also, here in Vietnam. I love all the spices, even the cilantro, pickled radish, and cucumber. I noticed they always ask if they want them added (because some people don't eat them). But for me I don't have qualms with that. I always said: go add them all to my bread! 😆
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| It was a huge bread, which I ended up sharing with my friend (who also doesn't have a problem with cilantro). |
After eating the half bánh mì, our bellies still had space for more (😆), so we crossed the street towards a milk tea house. I didn’t get milk tea, though. I went for their fruity variant (the one with lemon).
By this time, our group was already tired. Our new friend (who was several years young LOL) still had energy to go for a massage. But our group needed our nap, so we separated ways. 😁 After a quick nap, we went out again in the early evening to find dinner. We ended up having hot pot, which we were craving for, in one of the nearby restaurants from our hotel.
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| It was a perfect meal for me: a heartwarming broth soup with seafood and veggies. 😋 |
And of course, we still had space for dessert! We found a cute bakery, got some coffee, and I picked up some bread to take as a packed meal for the next day.
Speaking of the next day, it would be a full-packed one, because we would be going to Fansipan! That will be on the next post. ✨
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