So after getting back from Halong bay, we had four hours to kill in Hanoi before taking the night train to Sapa in Northern Vietnam. We had a sleeper train with 4 beds in a cabin, and once again we were surprised by the cleanliness and the resemblance to what we were promised :). So we arrived early morning in Sapa , around 4"30 am, where the ho...

After taking a day to regroup in Hanoi, I headed north to Sapa by train. Sapa makes the '1000 Things to See Before...' list and is also on Lonely Planet's highlights list for Vietnam. Turns out that it's at least as popular as Ha Long Bay with probably most of its visitors going by way of three day package tours. As luck would have it, Daniel, C...

This won't be long because it really only covers a day, but I wanted an entry for the map because I am a dork. I took the overnight train to Sapa, Vietnan, which is up in the hills near the border with China. It is a bit of a tourist mecca because of all the local hill tribes in their colorful dress, the handicrafts, and the mountain scenery wit...

Hello, Just arrived in Sapa this morning to a stunning view of the mountains (inbetween the foggy intervals). Unfortunately after that first sunny morning the fog really closed in so we weren't really able to see much at all in Sapa, I have had a bit of a cold too so the last few days have been spent staying warm with some hot chocolates, mmm! B...

Nuit horrible dans le train ! Les sieges etaient confortables mais le train etait blinde et pas moyen de s'etaler. Et entre les mecs qui repondent a leur portable (le Vietnamien s'exprime fort) et ceux qui ecoutent leur musique a la wesh parisienne, j'ai quasi pas dormi. PY non plus. Ce sont donc 2 zombies qui sont descendus du train ce matin......

The arrived from Hanoi on the overnight train, around 5 AM at the rail head in a town called Lao Cai. It is located at the Chinese/Vietnamese border. The whole of Lao Cai was shrouded in a dark grey haze. The locals call it fog, but it was smog. They apparently burn the fields after harvest and before planting. They also burn wood fire in the mo...

De toutes les especes de rabatteurs, il en est une des plus teigneuses: le rabatteur de cinq heure du mat'. En effet on peut considérer que soit il n'a pas dormi parce qu'il a été particulierement mauvais cette nuit la, soit il se leve plus tot que ses collegues parce qu'il EST plus mauvais. Sa puissance collante est quoiqu'il en soit surmultipl...

Hello - Took the overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa, which was surprisingly comfortable. Arrived very early on Saturday morning, and slept most of the morning. Walked about Sapa (trying to avoid the minority tribe ladies trying to sell us things) for a bit and settled in for a leisurely lunch at Baguette et Chocolat to plan the next few days. Ha...

Bonjour a tous!!! Me revoila en ondes (desole, deformation due a un film dont j"ignore le titre mais dont papa pourrait me nommer sans probleme... mais en gros, la phrase cle, c"est "Good morning Vietnam!" C"est ce qui m"est venu en tete en traversant la frontiere, qui n"est en fait qu"un pont... Apres une nuit degueue en bus-couchette (du genre...

Well we are here in Sapa, the city of eternal rain waiting out yet another rain storm in the area. Despite the rain this area of Vietnam can be amazing. Mountains weave in and out of the fog with waterfalls, and rice fields everywhere. I think if I was going to write a book this is the place I'd do it. The weather is a comfortable 70 degrees, so...