Waking up to some good weather for our cruise. We got up early to pack our bags and head for breakfast. I got pancakes again :) I then also ran to the bakery to get some baked goods for our travels. Not soon later the bus pulled up and we jumped on ready for the 4 hour trip to ha long city. About 2 hours in we stopped for a break at a shopping centre where everything is very expensive. The food was all western and we just wanted maybe something local but that w...

After an early morning wake up on the train we jumped in a taxi and headed back to our hotel. When we got back there was a chain on the door and the lights off. Ryan thought we might be locked out but I knocked and woke up reception. They had a mattress and were sleeping on the floor. We then grabbed some towels and sat in the restaurant for a while before having a shower and heading out for breakfast. While heading out for breakfast we saw a bakery and each got...

Woke up after 8am and our guide was already back waiting for us and continuing to spin the hemp. We stumbled down the stairs and had breakfast. This was a stack of pancakes which I added sugar and lemon juice too! We also had sachet coffee, which tasted amazing. When we had finished breakfast it was time to put back on the muddy hiking boots and continue our trek. As it has rained overnight and we were both tired, we chose the easy option and the road. We first...

5.30 am wake up from the train and people nagging at you to get their transfer to sa pa. lucky we had ours booked so we just needed to look for Ryan's name and then hop on the bus. It took an hour to get to sa pa, up the windy mountain road. It was our first glimpse of rice terraces and the views. It was just amazing to see how many and how high they went. That must be a lot of rice. We also saw children walking to school in their tribal dress. I can't imagine ha...

After a long sleep it was time to pack for the night train and sapa before heading out. We also had breakfast at the hotel where we were able to order hot food from the menu for free. Ryan had an omelette and I had scrambled eggs with mushrooms. We wanted to see the Ho Chi Minh museum but because of it being a Sunday it was closed. Plan b was to head to the market and buy Ryan a bag. We haggled and got it from 280 to 150 so not too bad. The market itself looked ...