Thank Buddha for Sapa

Here we are in the misty mountains of North-West Vietnam, staying in a gorgeous little town called Sapa. The journey here wasn't fun (to cut a long story short, Ryan's camera was stolen by a scamster at Hanoi train station...will our bad luck never end???), but at least the bunks were comfy enough for us to get some sleep (apart from Ryan who was going over the great train robbery in his head). An hours drive along wiggly mountain roads brought us to what feels like a 5* Hotel, the Sapa Summit, where we have duvets! and mountain views! and really good food! Oh the things you come to appreciate when you're backpacking. It's great to be in the countryside where the air is fresh and clean and all you can see for miles is uninterrupted green stuff and hills (I'll post some pictures asap). Yesterday we went for Trek numero 1 to some local hill tribe villages where the Hmong live, accompanied by four young Hmong girls. They are so cute, I want one! They all wear the same traditional handmade outfit and speak scarily good English so we learnt a lot about them. Moon gave me a bracelet that her mother had made but wouldn't accept any money for it, which I later discovered was because she wanted me to buy something else but how can you say no to them? They all made pinky swears with us before lunch that we would see them again later, and after lunch we were mobbed by the whole village selling jewellery, blankets, keyrings and musical instruments. Another hour's trek through even more gorgeous scenery brought us to the end of that day's activities, and now we are preparing for Trek numero 2 to a waterfall. We have the afternoon free to ourselves and then we have to face the overnight train again :S

I'm looking forward to another day's sightseeing in Hanoi because we went to the Temple of Literature and Lenin Park the other day, and once you get off the crazy roads you realise that the city has loads of nice things to offer. We're going to see a dead man (ok, not so nice!) - Ho Chi Min - and the things in his complex, Lenin Park again so we can go on the water ball things that you roll around in on the lake and the Women's Museum.