Day 29 Tuesday June 2, 2009

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Day 29 Tuesday June 2, 2009
Arrived in Lao Cai, Vietnam at 5am. Didn't get much sleep on train b/c I had stomach cramps and was nauseated all night. After getting off the train, we got "picked up" by a minibus to take us up the mountain to Sapa for 30,000 VND ($1.70). Got onto the crowded bus only to realize that Camden had forgotten his travel guide on the train so he ran back to get the book while the train was moving!!! Camden said two guys tried to get money from him to jump on the train and find his book for a high price, he said 10,000 VND and they laughed so he took off after the train himself and got the book. Meanwhile, this lady is collecting our train tickets and money for the bus and I look out the window to see Camden going after the moving train thinking to myself "I have no money and no tickets, all I have is a copy of my passport, and I am screwed if he doesn't come back". After about 20 minutes, Camden finally shows back up (I was starting to panick) out of breath with the book=) The bus driver tells us to get off the bus (weird) and exit the train station to another set of buses....Apparently the lady collecting the tickets and money wasn't with them b/c several people were complaining that they had already paid and he was making them pay again to get on a different bus. Mystery lady was no where to be found. Walking to the buses was like walking into an aggresive pack of males bears. They were all grabbing our arms and our backpacks trying to get us on their bus, after the second time that happened I smacked a few hands and yelled "no!"...They got the drift and kept their distance from me. WE finally got onto a bus that was leaving in 5 minutes only to depart 45 minutes later. Once in Sapa, we were greeted by tons of locals touters (like vulchers) trying to sell us everything from bracelets to hotels...The little ladies selling jewelry are adorable in their native outfits so I had to hold strong. Cam made the mistake of telling one lady tomorrow, tomorrow and sure enough she followed us around town for the next two days until we finally bought something=)
We took a trak down to Cat Cat village and went down tons stone steps (that was our workout) to the bottom of the mountain and saw a beautiful waterfall. We also watched a cultural show of the locals dancing. It was really neat and towards the end they had us get up on stage and dance with them through the woodens poles.

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