Oh Sapa, exactly what the doctor ordered! A heavily interrupted but not completely dreamless sleep on our favourite mode of transport the sleeper train we were ferried via minibus to Sapa Sumit hotel. Greeted by a characteristically chatty Scottish lad from our cancelled Halong Bay excursion and a collection of ethnically dressed Vietnamese tribal ladies we donned Wellies, walking boots and ponchos and headed off down the mist covered mountains. The sounds of "f***a you" could be heard in the distance from a "gracious" Vietnamese lady who would not swap a broken poncho she had sold us and therefore theft had been our only option! (There's only so many times we're willing to be conned!)

We were joined by 30+ non-guide locals and more than a handful of other tourists, trudging through viscous brown mud and deep puddles on 70% vertical slopes the going was slippery and tough. A few tourists found themselves head over heels, 5 metres lower than they planned with a covering of Sapa's finest agricultural soil. The locals ever with a guiding hand stayed close by, their intentions at this time were unknown but they were good company and their steady legs and strong hands helped us along the enchanted way (Robert Frost).