The following day we return to Hanoi and I get my stuff together for the trip to Sapa. I end up running late for my train and have to grab a taxi to the station. As we make it to the platform the train seems to be pretty packed. When I get on I then realise how much so. There are people everywhere and I mean everywhere! Lying under seats, under the tables next to seats, on the isles...every possible space you could imagine has been pretty much taken up. I manage to squeeze on and make my way to my seat. With the rucksack & day pack its a nightmare to find space for them. I eventually get to my seat, which has already been taken, and find a space for my luggage. Around my seat I have to put my feet in amongst the people who are lying on the ground below and I'm thinking this journey could be a little draw out! I'm lucky enough I get seat next to a student who has pretty good English and he explains to me the train is packed because people are visiting relatives for Tet. I am the only white person on the carriage and its amazing the interest you attract. There are a 3-4 old men sitting in the aisle next to my seat and they start to ask loads of questions to the Vietnamese student next to me...where is he from? what does he do? my family? what they do and the list goes on. In the end I'm chatting to these guys until about 2.30am about all sorts. They are so interested in what the westerners do for a living and how they live their day to day lives, they turn out to be a great bunch of people. As the night goes on I need my first toilet stop...first its a challenge to get there and then when I do I realise there 2-people in there sleeping...even at the crossing between carriages people lie fast asleep on the ground...you have to see it to believe it. There is very little sleep got that night, I'd say about 1hr30 max. I get wakened at about 6.30am with a tap on the shoulder by one of the old men...they are all getting tucked into some food they had brought along and they ask me to join them, I couldn't refuse. We arrive in Lao Cai at about 8am, from here its a bus journey of about 1hr30 to Sapa. When we arrive in Sapa the place is covered in cloud and the first thing you notice is that its a lot cooler than Hanoi. I'm not fit do do much other than wander about the town. The following day the weather is a lot better and as most of the villages you can trek to are lower than Sapa the cloud disappears quite fast. Its fantastic scenery by all accounts but I'd say this place in summer must be unbelievable. 
There are paddy fields all across the hills, set out just like you see in all the pictures. At this time of year the fields have only recently been planted with rice so its all a little dull and gray. As you enter many of the villages you get accosted by some of the local tribe women. They all want to show you around the village...at a cost of course. They are pretty well accustomed to tourists and its become a way for them to earn some extra money. They are all very friendly and mischievous enough. They like a bit of banter and it amazing how good their English is. My last day in Sapa is a bit of a stinker. I have planned a trip to another village and set off early enough. At first the weather holds up but later it chucks it down. Its hard to avoid the mud and getting wet. In the end I'm glad to get back to Sapa and get a change of clothes. Very one warned me about Sapa that it would be cold but really its not the cold that's the matter. You just don't have a way of getting warm and dry once you get wet. The hotel doesn't have any heating and most of the places just have a little fire which everyone huddles around. Dry clothes and some local Apple wine are the best way to get the blood flowing! 
My train back to Hanoi is very different to the one I took to Sapa...everyone has a seat! I get back to Hanoi at about 5.30 am and its straight to the Backpackers to get cleaned up. I decide to have another night in Hanoi before heading for Hue and cross the border into Laos. These couple of days in Hanoi are very different to before, the place finally has some life about it now that Tet is over and its even quite warm! Its actually a really nice place, so many little side streets all selling something, food, beer, clothes...you name it you'll find a street that has it. Its hard enough to know what to make of the locals here, some are very friendly and others you get the feeling they don't like you very much. Then again like any place it has the good the bad and the ugly! Before I depart for Hue I decide to get my visa for Laos. While they are processing my visa I decide to get a hair cut, lucky enough there is a barber just around the corner. When I venture in there is a little bit of a wait and in the mean time I eye up whats going on. One man is having cut-throat shave, another having his gray hairs pulled out and two having some sort of ear clean...it looks serious, the women doing it have head torches on! As a result I decide to have a shave along with the hair cut, not had a cut throat shave before...might as well go all out. The shave is a great job altogether, the funny thing about it though is they tend to shave pretty much everywhere on your face, right below the eyes, along the temples and even the forehead!!! After the haircut and shave the lady asks would I like a hair wash...well I've gone this far I might as well! This in itself is a job and a half, along with washing my hair twice over they even wash your face and ears...not just a wipe down, its a serious wash. When I think its all done its time for a massage of the neck and face...madness! At this point I am thinking what's all this going to cost me? Less then 4 pound it comes to! I can't help but give a tip, what a service. I might even ask for an ear clean the next time!Vietnam Highlights
- Best Meal :- Pho Bo...Beef Noodle soup with loads of chille paste & garlic
- Best Beer :- Beer Hanoi
- A must visit place :- Hoi An, Halong Bay, Hanoi...the list goes on
- A must try when in Vietnam :- Pigs intestine or baby chickens...push the boat out on dog meat!!!
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