Last days in Sapa and Perfume Pagoda

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So my second to last day in Sapa I took an all day trek which took me through three ethnic villages. It was great. Minus the ocassional "buy from me's" from the Flower Hmog we got to see how they lived, where they went to school, etc. It was about 45 degrees C out and I was sweatiing profusely. It was funny... our "tour guide" for the trek took his digital camera. Apparently it was the first time that he did this.. he was more like a tourist then a tour guide,. He stopped about every 45 seconds to take pictures of the scenery with his girlfriend. Then back to the hotel. I wanted to leave Sapa a day earlier but they couldn't change my train ticket (I cancelled the tour and only took the ticket). I hung around my hotel until thr minbus back to Lao Cai. Oh I forgot the part about the attempted mountain biking. I was too chicken to rent a moto (they were not automatic and you had to change gears) so I rented a mountain back to kill time before I left. The road down to Lao Cai us ALL downhill...I soon realized I needed to stop because getting back up would be a bitch. I was right. Again profuse sweat.. Its about 45 degrees here all the time. No kidding. I finally made it back an hour later.

Took overnight train back to Hanoi and slept for abot two hours. Woke up to go to the Perfume Pagoda today about 2 hours from Hanoi. Its basically a cave complex you have to hike up four kilometers (I had fli[ flops on.. they never tell you what is part of this tour package). We took a bus from Hanoi and after the bus we got on the rowboat thing which was beautiful for about an hour (each of these tours I book through Hanoi guest house is a surprise... you never know what you are going to get). Nevertheless on the way up there was the typical average 15-20 "Coca Colas /Cold bevearge" hawks. It's inetersting how much free enterprise exists in a techincally socialist country but thats what happening with Vietnam over the last 20 years.. openess. I was dying... But it was cool once I got there.

Now ready to go to bed and get my groove to Mae Sot, Thailand on where I will be residing for the next three months and finshing my public health degree.

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Photos

On the boat ride back from Perfume Pagoda
Great shot.

Perfume Pagoda outside of Hanoi
Shots from the Perfume Pagoda.