Sán Sả Hồ seems like the perfect place for one last night. One apparent homestay and very little else. Lovely countryside along the way.
I arrive in Sán Sả Hồ at 11:30 as school comes out. My google navigation goes to 0m outside a house. No sign to say it's a homestay, but there's no other obvious candidates.
I go in. Lovely people. Tea is served. The mother goes off, leaving me to drink my tea. I chat with the heavily pregnant daughter. Family. My solo walking activities. She says something I can't quite catch. I give her the phone to google translate. From the ether, the google voice intones, somewhat wistfully I thought, "Don't you have any friends?". I collapse with laughter. In reality, more every day. I have a nap and go explore the area. Google congratulates me on my heart workout.
I had lunch, dinner, a place to sleep and breakfast. The mother has gone to work. I ask the daughter how much I owe. She doesn't know. Can we phone your mother? She knows the number, but she says she doesn't use the phone. Maybe they're not talking. I don't know. Another phone call. I say I am leaving and ask what I owe. 200k. A bargain. I will come here again. Maybe I could give them some marketing tips. Start with a sign, maybe.
My shortcuts on the way back to Su Phì only add a few extra km to the trek back, which is not at all unusual. I stop off at the same drinks place down near the bridge as on the way up. The lady is pleased to see me. When will you be back? "Năm sau". Her face lights up. It's a beautiful smile. She tells the old couple all about me. It's not coffee country up here, but I can live with that. And now, I'll have to come back. They're expecting me.
All too soon, I am back in Hoàng Su Phì. There is a bus for Hà Giang getting ready to go. I have walked 180km since getting off the bus here and it is probably starting to show. I get a drink and change my socks, and shirt as I try to look just a little more respectable. The bus does the usual beetling round town picking up goods and people and we're off back down the hill. Once down on the QL2 highway the complicated transhipment dance begins again until suddenly it's my turn. Jump off one bus and on to another bus I am whisked back to Mỹ Đình and catch a Grab bike back to my usual hotel. Left Sán Sả Hồ at 07:35, arrived at my hotel in Hanoi 22:26. I call that pretty good.
I'm already missing Su Phì. Sleep like a log.
Breakfast from my usual bánh mì place, then off to buy some new clothes. Hot shower and change and I feel like a new man. And coffee. Days since I've had a coffee. Down to Blue Dragon to meet up with the now recovered Hoa and hand over some cash from my daughter. We have a long chat.
Off to Sài Gòn tomorrow to spend some time with an old friend. Hà Nội is fairly unscathed by the pandemic. Let's see how Sài Gòn has fared.
The 86 bus has a stop just across from my hotel - that's why I first stayed there. 45 minutes later I'm back at the airport.
At checkin, I am directed to a very short queue.
VietJetAir didn't care that my name was the wrong way round. There's something about their website that leads me to get it wrong more often than not. On time and great to be back in Sài Gòn.
Bus into town. Sài Gòn seems to have suffered more than Hà Nội with closed up shops plastered in for sale/rent signs. But it's still bustling. Masks seem more popular here. I go with the flow, joining in when necessary.
But Vietnam will recover. It always does. After the rain, it shines.
Great to see another longstanding friend again. Lunch at Hum, drinks at Landmark 81, Dinner at the Loving Hut and lordy, how we talked. A lot of catching up to do. A lot of catching up done.
I still have a couple of days to fill. Where can I go? Where haven't I been before? Hmm. Pleiku. That's coffee country. Perfect.
On to Part 7
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