The sleeper train to Sapa was a fun experience. We were crammed into a tiny 4 bunk cabin with another couple from London. We were quite relieved that they were fun, nice people because it was an extremely cosy experience. Also no one snored which was a plus :-)!!

We chatted for a couple of hours before trying to get some sleep around 11pm. The beds were comfy enough but the train was so bumpy at times that I was literally lifted off the mattress before bouncing back down. We managed a few hours sleep though before the train bumped it's was into Sapa about 2 hours late at 7am.

Once out of the station we were swarmed by minivan drivers and refused to pay more than the public bus for them to take us up to Sapa, in the end they agreed. They then wanted us to not tell other people what we paid and tried charging them five times more. We were having none of that and made sure fellow backpackers knew exactly how much they should be paying.

Our hotel was perched on the side of the mountain in Sapa and had great views overlooking the valley and rice terraces. We were lucky enough once again to receive a free upgrade as they weren't full and enjoyed a large room with a balcony. All for about £20!

The weather was good and as it is often foggy and cloudy for days in Sapa we decided to take the opportunity to see the valley which was famous for its rice terraces and two local villages. We walked the 15km into the valley along the road enjoying the views along the way. Everywhere you go in Sapa you are followed by ladies and girls dressed in local dress who pounce on you as soon as you leave the hotel and follow you everywhere trying to sell you things (they will follow you 15km if they think they can get money from you). This annoyed us quite a lot and we soon realised the only was to get rid of them was to not even acknowledge they are there so we played lots of the ignoring game. It ruined the local villages a little as it didn't seem like a traditional way of living and more a tourist attraction set up to take money from foreigners.

Anyway the rice terraces and river were still pretty and the weather was cooler than Hanoi so we could walk without dripping in sweat which was a nice change. To get back we found a guy, who spoke no English, who was willing to put us both on the back of his scooter and drive us back to Sapa!! (Parents look away now) he didn't speak any English so we negotiated the price with the local kids translating and eventually settled on about £3. So on we got, me squished in the middle trying not to press my chest too hard into this guys back and clutching Esben's thighs who was dangling on the back. It wasn't the most comfortable transport experience but it was AWESOME :-D!!

We spent the afternoon relaxing as we were pretty tired after the night bus experience and had dinner at a little restaurant where we could get a decent Vietnamese three course meal for $5 each.

The next day we ventured to Cat Cat another local village which was even more touristy than the ones we had visited the day before. Every single house was turned into a shop selling tourist goods. At the bottom of the village there was a waterfall and we spent some time sitting down there before the sweaty trek back up to Sapa.

That afternoon we were back at the station ready for the night rain back to Hanoi. We ended up sharing a cabin with the same couple as the way up so it was nice not to have to do the polite introductions again. The train ride back was much more bumpy for some reason, I slept very badly so arriving at Hanoi at 6am was tough!! Luckily the room at our hotel was ready so we could check in and freshen up before another day of exploring Hanoi.

So that was Sapa! We were glad we went but it wasn't spectacular. A pretty area with some very nice views and quite a contrast to coastal areas.

I will blog about our Halong Bay trip next.

Alice
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