Sapa to Hanoi

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Bye Bye China, we were now in Vietnam. No more insane chinese supermarkets with no sensible bread (everything has added sugar, or colourants. They sell Purple bread!) No more pitiful attempts at fresh orange juice or failed pilgramages to find cerial...
Although Vietnam does have the mosquitos...(written while trying not to scratch my bites!)

We had arrived in Sapa the previous night into the small french style hill station and were staying in the Mountain View Hostel which overlooked the a vast valley and rolling mountains. None of this we has seen yet as everywhere was shrouded in mist.

In the morning I was sat in the restaurant comtemplating the orange juice and museli on the menu when in strolled Carl. He had arrived that morning and was staying in the same hotel! Such a wierd co-incidence! We spent the day walking round the surrounding villages of Cat Cat with its waterfalls and Sin Loi. Late afternoon we headed back into Sapa and went to "Bagette and Chocolat" for the best chocolate cake ever! The pudding pair had been reunited!

The next day we said our goodbyes (again) and my intrepid group headed out treking (again.) This time for 6 hours and followed by the ladies of Sapa with their agressive sales techniques! Treking that day us westerners we really shown up- us in our walking boots and backpacks were being helped over streams and down the slippy clay hills by the very old and very young in sandals! Talking to them you realise how apart our worlds are. A girl my age told me she had a husband and 18month old daughter! The minorities in Vietnam live in small areas and the girls are normally married to thier husbands (chosen by thier parents and normally of the same minority) by the age of 14. In their society and unmarried girl of 20 is considered a spinster past her prime! There is no divorce and once married, the girls stay with that one man for their entire lives. Scary!

Our homestay that night was basic again but were were welcomed and treated very well. Come nightfall the bugs were crazy. Most things are the size of your palm, hairy, black and (just to make it more interesting)
can fly. We managed to last until 9 that night until we could take no more scary flying black things and hid in our mosquito nets 'til morning.

The next day we spent two hours treking up hill in the scorching heat, back to our finishing point and the minibus waiting to take us back to Sapa. On arrival and after showering, we headed back to Bagette and Chocolat for the best bagette butti's and apple crumble ever! (It seems the french are good for something!)

A night train from Loa Cai got us into Hanoi at 5.15am today- 10th May- where we staggered up five flights with our heavy bags into bed for a few hours before venturing out into Hanoi. Its our last group meal tonight before we head our seperate ways! (We're all staying in the same hostel for the next few days!) Looking forward to being able to stop and really spend a good amount of time in one place!

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