Sapa Global Hotel

... trek. We then had dinner followed by a show by the local women and karoake - a good and very boozy night - too much rice wine.<br><br>We all slept together in a huge room with individual mossie nets - it was just great.<br><br>30th October - pancakes for breakfast then off back to Sapa for the day - a lot of sore heads, but OK for the train to Hanoi. Poor Mark was exceptionally ill!!! A non drinker and rice wine just do not mix!!

... with &#8211;<br>and luckily we have a great crew! There is a Spanish couple who are<br>on their honeymoon; a Canadian couple with a great sense of humor, a<br>German biochemist who was taking a break before she starts her PhD<br>program, and an Australian mother and teenage son who were on a<br>several month long trip through Asia. Everyone was great to talk with<br>and swap stories. Dinner was excellent &#8211; the best we've had since<br>arriving. After stuffing ...

... a break, but suddenly on a whim I thought, I'm going trekking...<br><br>So, on Saturday morning I was up early, to meet my guide, Mi (not sure about spelling, but pronounced 'my'). She was from the Black H'mong hill tribe, and her village was one of those that I was walking to. It was a small group, just me and a German girl. About 10 minutes out of Sapa, the heavens opened. In fact most of the day we had torrential rain, thunder &amp ...

... we all shared a few beers and the atmosphere was really great as we communicated as best we could through ping, who learned to speak english entirely through speaking with tourists. after dinner, a non-descript clear bottle was produced and we were informed it was time for some "happy water", a sort of vietnamese poitin made from rice! after four of these each we thought it was time for the bed or there was a danger we'd be doin no hiking the ...

... both sets gave up and made the dash across the tracks to the train, only to find the others running up panting from the other side. Luckily we were all aboard when it set off. <br><br><br>Sapa is a beautiful place. Its elevated location means it is a crucial couple of degrees cooler than the furnaces of Hanoi and the coast. The mountains of stepped paddy fields and 'minority' (tribal) women clad in their colourful garb is one of ...

... hopes to come out on a path leading South out of town. I asked a local shopkeeper for some help and he pointed me in the right direction. After a couple hundred yards of walking I came to a gated entrance, 20,000 Dong gave me a map and entry, and I was in. The walk downhill was winding and steep but offered unbelievable views of the valley floor below. Bright green terraces of rice paddies stretched out into the mountains dotted with Hmong villagers houses and huts. The air was ...

... morning to find Aussie lad had bought back couple of "birds" which i think annoyed this poor danish girl who was in our dorm . Anyway back on the beers again at midday till god knows when but do remember spending about two hours watching the cricket on the Internet!! anyway more beers and hit Irish pub bumped in to hot french chick from night before hoping ground work would pay off. Anyway more beer and eventually think a big group ...

... and went to see Harry Potter with our friend from Hue. Hanoi is just as crazy and hectic as I had imagined and it was fun taking motorcycle taxi rides through town. <br><br>There are all kinds of scams that you need to keep an eye out for such as exorbitant taxi rates. Everyone I've met that started their Viet Nam trip in Hanoi got seriously ripped off by the taxis. One group of people told us a minivan held them hostage when they realized the meter was ...

... de curvas, ya que primero hay que bajar hasta lao Cai y después hay que subir montañas.<br><br>El mercado es impresionane, lleno de lugareños con unos trajes maravillosos llenos de color.<br><br> <br><br><br> <br><br><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br>Comemos muy pronto, a las 12, y después cogemos el coche y andamos luego un poco ...