Sapa I

I've now gone from Tip to Top of Vietnam, and loved every inch of it. My last stop in my journey took me to within 3km of the Chinese border and up into the mountains of Sapa, where I encountered ethnic minority hill people, lots of livestock, and a fair amount of rice wine...but we'll get to that part. I took the midnight train to Lao Cai, where a shared a bunk cabin with some rowdy businessmen and a Vietnamese woman who refused to believe I couldn't speak Vietnamese. I suppose it's rather counter-intuitive to learn certain questions and phrases in Vietnamese until you know enough of the language to be able to understand the response. I made the lamentable error of asking her name and how old she was...and then I couldn't get her to stop chattering at me...in Vietnamese...all night. Anyhow, we arrived in Lao Cai then took the scenic and breathtaking bus ride up into the mountains. And by breathtaking I refer to small gasps and white knuckled clutching of the seat as we teetered over the narrow gravel road...but it was beautiful. Sapa itself was suprisingly built up. I felt I'd stumbled in to the Broadmoore Resort in Colorado Springs with 5 star luxury hotels set against the beautiful mountains. Then I ventured abit further afield and went to visit the villages of the minority tribes. Myself, a guide and another friendly couple from Ireland & Norway trekked for two days through the terraced rice fields, where gargantuan waterbuffalo wallowed in the out of season flooded fields, and we crossed paths with the Hillpeople eager (understatement) to sell us their handmade earrings, stitched pillow cases, garments and blankets. The phrase "you buy from me!" will forever be associated in my mind with the mountains of Sapa. More to come...this story is far from over.