When the plain is arriving into Sydney airport the sun is starting to rise, there is a sharp glow of red from the sun and that coupled with the landscape below makes a fantastic sight. We arrive at the airport just before 7am, I'm pretty shattered, just spent the entire night watching as many films as I could fit in...wanted to get my monies worth from Virgin Airways. Once I get off the flight you notice the temperature difference from Hong Kong, its a real pleasant 24degrees...like a "good" summers day back home! The place I am staying at, WakeUp, is about 20mins walk from Sydney Harbour Bridge & the Sydney Opera House so its a good location for the main sights. When I arrive at the hostel the first thing I notice is that everyone staying here seems to be really really young, not alone that when you walk up the street and pass several other backpackers hostels it seems to be the exact same thing. I'm certainly starting to feel my age.
After checking in and getting a shower I venture down to the Harbour front to view the bridge & the opera house and as I venture through the city you start to think to yourself, this place is just like a city in England! OK, I am sure most Aussies wouldn't agree but for the Brits I bet it must just feel like home for them...except the weather is better. Although the weather isn't all that bad this time of year most of the pictures I get of the Harbour Bridge & Opera House show black clouds in the distance, they are not the usual images you associate when you see pictures of these places. All in all they are fantastic sights and I guess something that everyone whats to see when they travel to Sydney. The plan for the next few days so to see most of Sydney's sights and hopefully make a trip out to some of the local beaches. I'm also hoping to see the Blue Mountains, just north west of Sydney, before I catch a flight to Perth on the west coast. 
This city seems to have no end of places to see, it certainly feels like you could easily spend a week or so lazily travelling around the city & the outskirts seeing different places. In the centre it has some really nice areas, Darling Harbour, The Rocks, of course around the Bridge & Opera House & the huge Botanical gardens, then further out you can venture to the many coastal areas of Manly, Watsons Bay, Bondi Beach, Coogee Beach & many others.Speaking of Coogee beach, just before I arrived in Sydeny there was a piece on the news about an incident that occurred in one of its local restaurants, Coogee Bay Restaurant. The story goes that a member of staff got pretty p*ssed off with some people eating at the restaurant. So when the people sat in for their desert they found human (or dog) feces in it...I guess the waiter thought they would never notice??? Anyway there was a big fuss about it all, naturaly enough, so when I went out to Coogee beach surprise surprise there was no one eating at the Coogee Bay Restaurant. As I walk along the beach there are the usual signs about what not to do on the beach but there is one that stands out. Its a notice to people with dogs, the sign goes, "If your dog makes a poo then put in in the bin!" but some one was pretty quick off the mark and followed it on with, "Or just give it to Coogee Bay Restaurant"...classic.
Before I set off to Perth I managed to do a trip out to the Blue Mountains and the Three Sisters. Unfortunately the day is dull and overcast so the pictures didn't come out great, its a nice sight but nothing to write home about. On the trip out there our bus driver & guide has told us his exhaust is half falling off so he has to drive a little steady on the way. At our first stop he checks the exhaust which is dangling down from the rear and he seems to do some minor repairs. As he comes back he passes me and ask "Do you know anything about repairs mate?" and I kind of look at him saying yes & no to which he responds "Ah ya couldn't come and have a look at this could ya?". So we venture to the back of the bus for a look at the damage and its comical. The exhaust has fallen down but our guide has tied it back up again with nothing other than a old fleece jacket!!! Hemmmmmm, that might get a little hot, I tell him, and I reckon there is a more than fair chance its going to go up in flames 5 mins down the road, "Ahh ya think mate?". You have to laugh. In the end we manage to strap it up with a couple of old fan belts that were lying around on the bus and on we go. The make shift repairs last the day and fair play to the guide he insists on me only paying half price for the tour, not bad eh.
The following morning I hire a bike and see some of the sights around the City. It's so laid back compared to any other city I've visited in Asia. No horns from cars for one! People seem to be in no rush what so ever, its a real chill out place which is surprising considering its the capital of Laos...some may say not, it is Laos after all! One thing that's good about the place is its food and of course Laos beer...good stuff! The food certainly seems to be a lot more like the Thai dishes...spicy.
As for the caving well thats a little more civilised but fun none the less. There are no end of caves, some are well worth a look and as for the others, well they are just an excuse for some young kid to charge to go into a 10ft black hole! The way it seems to work is who ever owns the land that leads to the cave charges the entrance fee. I'd swear that some young kids just dug some holes and classified them as caves just to get a few pound...they are on the ball. One thing is for sure when you enter these caves make sure you bring a torch & the battery's don't run out, when you get well into some of them there isn't a hint of light.
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!
