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Published: August 20th 2014
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After our big night out I didn't feel too bad? I woke up early as usual and said goodbye to Irena, then Valerie and then Ryan and Sarah.
Those of us left headed down for breakfast and then to,pack. Lindsay and I had to pack day bags for our trip to Sapa as what we brought we had to carry during the hikes, (which tuned out not to be the case as we were not staying at a home stay. We then put stuff in storage at the hostel and chilled a while, but the chill out room had no AC so we got quite hot and sweaty. Later we went to lunch and then said goodbye to Matt and Sarah. Back up stairs to the chill out room and to watch a film and fall asleep. Then get our bags, nip to get some supplies for the bus journey, then some tea.
We were told pick up would be 5pm to 5.30pm but at 5.30 the bus hadn't arrived. Lindsay contacted the agent who said another 15 minutes but still no bus. The agent then texted us to say we would be picked up.
Eventually around 6.30pm a guy on a scooter came to collect us. We said our goodbyes to Mike and Melita and then followed the guide.
He told us to wait on the pavement and the bus would come. We waited about 10 minutes, and then he came back and we had to follow him again. Then told to wait again and off he went. We were then joined by various other people all taking the same night bus. It was very hot and humid and the road was crazy busy with people, scooters and minibuses. Eventually around 7.15pm we got picked up by a mini bus and were taken to the sleeper bus. Confusion ensued.
We were told in no uncertain terms by the aggressive driver to Wait here!!!! On the pavement. Then a whole load of people were asked to get off the bus so others could get on. Then the aggressive bus driver wanted 2 people to get on and motioned to Lindsay and I and to put our luggage on under the bus which we didn't want to do as we needed our bags for the trip. So some others got
in, then a couple more and then one more. We didn't want to get on the bus with the nasty man.
We were told a second bus was on it's way and about 10 - 15 minutes later a second bus arrived. As we got on we had to remove our footwear and were given a plastic bag to put our flip flops etc into. We found two beds at the back at the bottom, as they were arranged like bunk beds, and settled in. It was a bit like getting into a racing car lol, but you could push the seat back so it reclined.
I put my bag in the footwell and tried to get comfortable. I did sleep some but it wasn't the comfiest of sleeps, but at least it was clean and not over crowded. We arrived in Sapa around 6.15am and were met by a taxi driver who took us to our hotel. We checked in but couldn't have the room until 12 noon and breakfast wasn't until 7am. So we had logistic problems getting a shower.
Our guide Sue came to introduce herself and tell
us what time we were meeting and the format of the day ahead. We hung around until we could eat and then used the bathroom to freshen up. Around 9am we were told we could get into the room so we dumped our stuff and then went to meet our small but perfectly formed group. There was Lindsay and I, a young guy from Brazil now living in Korea, a couple from Italy Nd a couple from Spain who had trouble keeping their hands off each other lol.
We headed down the hill admiring the amazing views of padi fields, mountains and villages. There were some clouds rolling in, but it was still hot, and at the end of the day we did have sun tan marks! We had a beautiful day for walking, but as it was all down hill we knew it would be all back up hill later :-(
We walked down to Cat Cat village. There were lots of stalls selling local hand made items like bags, skirts, shirts, purses etc all made out of local woven cloth. But they also sold times made from cow/ water buffalo horn like
combs, knife handles etc and carved ornaments from stone like bhuddas, elephants and dragons and silver jewellery.
We walked down lots of steps until we came to a bridge over the river and a waterfall. We stopped here for awhile and then watched a traditional dance show for about 20 minutes. Then we carried on walking back to the hotel. Further up the trail it started to,rain so we headed for cover for about 15 minutes until the rain eased off and continued our walk back up,the hill to the hotel.
We all,had lunch together and then had free time in the afternoon. Lindsay and I were so tired we slept and then just chilled out I the room and watched TV for the rest of the day only surfacing to have dinner and an early night.
Xxxx
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