sapa

Time passes too fast and too slow to keep up with....
So, can I remember all the things I have done in the short time since I last wrote????
I have been in and out of Hanoi. It gets draining after a while. I took a night train to Sapa. I chose to buy myself the most comfortable of options and took the soft sleeper. Could have gone for the hard sleeper (why?), the soft seat (why?) or the hard seat (no). The soft sleeper will do just fine thankyou! Getting to the train station turned out to be a Vietnamese Fiasco, but I got there eventually and managed to get myself (eventually) the correct ticket and onto the correct train. I met my new buddies, a Swiss, a Portugese and a Vietnamese, bought a beer and settled into comfortable babble. My Portugese pulled out the bottle of vodka Hanoi and my Vietnamese excitedly bought many beers and weird Asian crisps and we were ready for take off.... (the train still had not departed). Anyway, we got through all that and the sensible people got to bed. I managed to find a willing cheeky monkey companion and ran amuck up and down the train til dawn. We even managed to save a couple of Israeli refugees from the torture of the hard seat section (she was almost in tears over the mosquito infestation in the cabin and they looked like they needed a bit of sleep therapy) and gave up our soft cushy beds that were going to waste. So, ofcourse, I arrived in Sapa having had no sleep with alcohol fuzziness and only two days to explore and oh my, was there some exploring to do.... Raphael (Portugese) and I decided to share our $6 room and hire bikes and make our own way around, but he fell asleep and sooked when i tried to get him excited, so I hmmmphed and set off on my own. Sapa is so incredibly beautiful. I could have spent my entire 4 weeks there. Everyone wants a piece of you ofcourse, but they are so stunning, it's a pleasure and the stuff they are selling is incredible. I found a fella to take me exploring (wasn't quite ready to tackle it on my own) and off we set. I don't know what to tell you. It's so amazing. Every bit. I had a beautiful day on these mad roads finished off with a swim in an awesome waterfall that we had all to ourselves. My guide decided that he and I should buy some land and live with the h'mong and farm and swim all our lives "no worries" and you know, it was quite tempting.... Next day my ragamuffin friend was rested and we hired a bike and headed off to Tram Ton Pass, which sounded rather spectacular. As we were negotiating the hire of the bike, the guy became suddenly very agitated and rushed us through then ran away. We thought it was strange - and then it started to rain. No, not rain, then a sheet of water fell from the sky. And kept falling. Too bad, it was my last day and Raphael had no time either, so off we went... This was one awesome ride. Do it. You will love it. We got absolutely soaked and freezing (I forgot what a mountain was. They get cold sometimes, so maybe don't wear the mini skirt and singlet). We couldn't see a thing, but we perservered and eventually an impossible mountain top appeared impossibly high up in the clouds, the rain cleared up and we were in the heavens, the clouds below us and the peaks all around. Awesome. We were alone (no one else was so brave, or stupid) it was quite magical. We eventually headed back home and I spent my life savings on ridiculous goods (now I really can't close my bag!) and got back on the train to Hanoi. My ride home was not as much fun. A cabin full of snorers. I can never sleep in a moving vehicle anyway, but these guys kept me awake because their snoring was so gruesome, I thought they were going to die! Anyway, back to the city and tomorrow, off to Ha Long Bay....