Cat Cat Hotel Sapa

A very long bus ride, but we finally crossed the border into Vietnam. We had an early orientation walk in Sapa, a very small but friendly and interesting town. Free day in Sapa, and John and Marcus hired scooters and explored the countryside around Sapa, and up the mountain - they seemed very impressed. I wandered around the town. <br><br>6pm meeting with our guide to talk about the 6 - 8 hour trek tomorrow. Myself and two ...

... being in the kitchen next to the<br>fire observing. Some of the women that we thought were in their 50s<br>and 60s we later find out are in their 40s &#8211; the effects of being<br>in harsh weather and working extremely hard for a long time &#8211; but<br>there are some women who are in their 90s and look like they could be<br>in their 60s or 70s. So it just depends.<br><br><br><br>Afterwards, we<br>meet with the other tourists who we will be spending the ...

... wish I'd stayed longer really. <br><br>I caught the sleeper train, which gets to Lao Cai (north-east of Hanoi, on the Chinese border) at 5.30am, where I took an hour long minibus ride, way up into the mountains. It's a marvellous twisty road, and I had a driver who wasn't afraid to overtake on a blind hairpin bend, so that was fun :)<br><br>The views down into the valley were spectacular, steep terraces of rice paddies, although the ...

... a toilet and the other a "shower" which basically consisted of a barrel of cold water and a ladel to throw it over yourself with! we were staying with a lady and her youngest daughter, and although they spoke no english, they were both very welcoming and friendly. while we sat outside in the evening sun, sipping some cold beers, they brought us two bowls of chips, one made from regular spuds, the other from sweet potatoes, both coated in ground ...

... it had rained relentlessly all night so the trek intended for today would be too dangerous. Instead we walked to the next village and caught the bus back to Sapa, the extra time we had meant we could look around the Sunday market in Sapa, so all was not lost. In the evening we caught our return overnight train journey back to Hanoi.<br>Although our stay was brief Sapa was well worth the journey and is one of the most picturesque scenes in Vietnam.

... I had on my glasses and a scarf so she didn&#8217;t recognize me until I called her by name. She was shocked. Her bf came out too and we had a little reunion. They had just gotten into town on the over night and was curious as to where to stay. I offered all of the knowledge that I had on the subject and we split ways wishing each other safe travels. I walked around the lake for a while and watched the sun rise as the fog dissipated. The air was nippy and the scenery was ...

... that night not much to report. <br><br>Ha Long bay trip.........anyway turns out we were put on a different boat where we were the only western people with two Korean girls a couple of dudes who had brought two prostitutes for the trip so that was fun watching them make the prossies do all sorts of things while we ate such as feeding them their food and giving back massages and more during lunch and dinner. Ha long bay was amazing in ...

Hanoi (28/7) Sapa (29/7- 30/7)<br><br> Hanoi<br><br><br> After a very long and sleepless overnight bus ride from Hue, we arrived mid-morning in Hanoi. We wanted to make sure we got to see Sapa and take an overnight boat ride in the Ha Long Bay so we had to sacrifice seeing Hanoi. We rushed around the old quarter comparing transportation costs to and from Sapa and searched out the best boat for Ha Long Bay. <br><br> You can take an overnight bus or an ...

... Hmong negros y uno Dzao.<br><br> <br><br> <br><br><br><br><br> <br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br><br ><br><br>A la vuelta, desayunamos en un italiano en Sapa, el restaurante de un amigo del guía<br><br>8 de agosto<br> <br>Otro día de trekking. Hoy el paisaje también es precioso y el camino más agradable porque hoy no nos ...