On the second day, I headed out on another day trip, this time on a trek called “Out of Sapa.” This trip included the following sites: Silver Waterfall, Binh Lu Market, Na Tam Village, Ban Bo Village, the Tram Tom Pass, and Love Waterfall.

Overall, I found this to be a disappointing day trip. Most of the spots that I went to didn’t really impress me. The first stop, Silver Waterfall, was decent, but I was told that it is much more impressive during the rainy season.

The trip to Binh Lu Market was the biggest disappointment of the whole trip. It was still an authentic feeling, with people selling different food items and snacks, but nothing too special. Some parts were semi-interesting, like seeing all of the meats on display. But seeing all of the other items that you would see in any standard grocery store or shop wasn’t very thrilling either. We went through it rather quickly and still had time to kill before lunch, so we just wondered around for a bit.

Even lunch was a disappointment, as the chicken was just like the chicken you would get in China, chopped up with bones, gristle, and cartilage. At least the tofu was decent.

The last part of the trip ended up being the best. It was to see Love Waterfall within the area of Hoang Lien National Park. It was cloudy out, but that seemed to only add to the atmosphere.

It was a rather nice trek along the stone path (despite my knees acting up). Eventually we came to the “Golden River,” which had quite a lovely hue. My photos don’t do it justice.

Then we finally came upon Love Waterfall. We were not the only ones, as we soon saw a bunch of other young tourists who were enjoying, and dare I say, frolicking around in the cold water.

The rest of the area around here was nice, too. My guide mentioned all the different trees that were labeled, as well as mentioning that if someone tries to take something from here, they will be punished with a hefty fine.

While I was glad to visit Hoang Lien National Park (and hoped that there could be more trekking tours designed for this area), I still wish the rest of the trip had been more exciting.

But fear not, for the next part of my trip (after a planned free day) was to conquer Mount Fansipan (via cable car).