Sapa

Caught the night train up to Sapa in the hard sleeper class, which has 2 triple bunks in a cabin. Shared the room with Pete, Mike and Ronin an Irish dude I keep bumping into, and a couple of Vietnamese girls. Slept well thanks to a Valium and earplugs (cheers Mike).

Arrived fairly early in Lao Cai which is on the Chinese border, Ronin headed into China and Pete Mike and Haggled like crazy for a minivan up to Sapa, got them to 25,000 Dong each, which I think is the proper tourist price. Was a surprise waiting for us in Sapa, the mist/ fog. Couldn't see shit in town the whole time we were there sometimes the visibility would drop to as low as 20 metres.

Very cold, first time I've needed a jersey in S.E Asia, brought a fleece from the market $8 US and some gloves as well. Then we hired motos and took them for a random spin, was a nice ride, got wet very quick in the mist and was a bit sketchy as we couldn't see much. Was a relief when we dropped out of the fog. Kept following the road till we hit a small village, the road had gotten progressively worse, rode through the village and up a dirt track for many kms was fun, waves arnt built to well for the off road though, but we managed it. Kept riding till we hit 3pm and decided to turn back as we didn't want to get cauht out in the mists in the dark. Had a few beers and played some pool that night.

Next day we took the same bikes out again, mine only had 400kms on it and still had the original tool kit under the seat. This time we headed in a different direction, past silver falls towards Lao Chai, was another once rides and saw some great scenery once we dropped out of the clouds. Again we just kept riding till we ran out of day and had to return. That night went to a different pub which was a bit more lively.

Next day recovered from the night before and Pete and mike headed south on the night train, I stayed another night and headed out in the morning to the Lao Cai and the Chinese border.