Monopoly money - Lao Cai Border Crossing & Sapa

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Well luckily for Paul, the man who checked his visa after we crossed the bridge, was paying as much attention as the lady who issued it. So finally we are both through and about to commence our next month long journey in Vietnam.

The border town of Lao Cai is about as bland as that on the Chinese side - we need money to get out of here quick and up to Sapa in the hills. Into a bank to get some Vietnamese Dong, we ask to change $100, pick up our big wad (over 2 million dong) of notes and off we go.

Into a mini bus after agreeing some fee - our head isn't round the money yet so we're trusting this lady, until we sit and figure out that we have spent a 3rd of our Dong on this bus! In the guide it says expect to pay $3 each, and we're paying $30 - aren't we??

Much head scratching until we figure out that somewhere in the translation of us asking for $100, the lady has given us $10 in Dong! Oops make a note to check currency for a country before we get there in future!

Sapa is in the hills about an hour from the border and features a selection of minority villages such as the Black H'mong & Dzao people. Tribes living their lives as they did hundreds of years ago. We're here to do some trekking through the villages and around paddy fields. Yes we are regular hikers now.

Off we set and immediately Paul has a band of followers - 2 little girls from the Black H'mong trying to sell him bracelets, key rings, cushion covers - everything he doesn't need. And yet they follow him running around him in flip flops as we struggle down hills in trainers.

After about 10km they are still there, and are then joined by 2 more from another tribe who keep up with him for another 5km. After two hours of this Paul has buckled - 3 keyrings and a bracelet later the girls disappear back to their families. After walking 15km they certainly put the effort in and deserved their sales.

We spend the next couple of days relaxing, dining on vietnamese spring rolls and drinking the amazing vietnamese coffee with sweet milk.

Sapa has been a place of real relaxation, and although it's been a bit of a culture shock getting used to primarily western signs and English language (and westerners) Vietnam is off to a great start.

As we leave for the sleeper train to Hanoi we are greeted by the the biggest rain storm I have ever seen. We run for the train through makeshift rivers, typically our carriage happens to be the furtherst one away, we arrive on the train soaked through, our backpacks soaking and the contents damp... please don't let the Vietnamese rainy season be this severe!!!

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Comments

[Moods]

Nice to see Paul hasn't lost his pulling power!!!

[Jim Jones]

Swapsies goes on in Vietnam schools as well, must be worldwide this panini sticker book thing!