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.

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. 😊

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! 😂

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).