05 Jan 2020
Our tour guide Lala was well-organised and helpful, and even told other locals to not harass us by selling products. She also brought her village friends along during the second day to lend us a helping hand for the more difficult hike, though they did ask us to buy some souvenirs. We tipped them on top of buying pouches from them.
The hotel we stayed at was Sapa Panorama Hotel and it was a little dusty because of the construction next to the hotel and many guests walk in with muddy shoes from the trekking. Facilities were fine but rooms were quite dark. Also bring your own toiletries as they provide shower gel only. Nonetheless, the hotel staff service was good. Massage skill varies among the staff. You can choose set meals for lunch and dinner on the first day - the pizza was delicious, while the morning buffet spread on the seconda day was rather limited in variety.
One area of improvement is the skill of the bus drivers - the one driving from Hanoi to Sapa was too fast and I felt very nauseous on the way up the mountain, while the one driving back to Hanoi was too slow and kept breaking.
Overall, I enjoyed the trekking tour as the rice fields in Sapa are beautiful and the tour guide is good. Do wear trekking shoes as it can get slippery after a rain.