"Good morning Vietnam!!!" The first greeting we received from our Vietnamese Taxi driver.

Today we left China, first we had a long bus journey which took us through some amazing countryside and landscape, but also on some incredibly bumpy roads and experiencing some rather dangerous driving and the worst squat toilets I have ever been in.

We arrived in Vietnam at around 8pm and loaded ourselves and luggage into a Ford Transit and headed for Sapa our first destination in Vietnam. Sapa is situated 1600m above sea level, so it was a great drive up through the mountains, although dark and at times shrouded in mist which gave the town a movie set feel.

1st April

After a great breakfast including scrambled egg and almost proper English tea we headed out for an orientation walk and to explore the town, which although small is ever changing with cloud coming in and out, revealing picturesque landscape and then taking it away again. We found a hairdressers and Pete had his head shaved, followed by his face, meanwhile I had a pedicure, which was no ordinary pedicure as you will see on the pictures, the amazing detail of the flowers is all done by hand, a little treat, but only cost about £2. We headed to a recommended café for lunch called Baguette & Chocolate, which is run by the Hoa Sua School for orphans, street children and kids from very poor families, the school provides free training from them. So it is great to eat there as you are helping the local children, but also the atmosphere is great and the food is brilliant.