We were still deciding if we could squeeze Sapa into our 6D5N itinerary for what was originaly planned for just Hanoi City and Halong Bay. In the end, I am glad we made the right decision in what differentiated a good trip from an average one. So thank you Melvin, for your kind recommendation! It also meant we had to reduce sightseeing in Hanoi to just 1 day and had no change for major screw ups. Thanks to the our hotel Manager at Atlantic Hotel, Mr Tamzay and his staff who babysited us from the very first day. The accomodation was nothing fancy but comfortable for a very brief 1 night stay in Hanoi. But I felt the service was great. Recommend it especially if you are on a tight schedule. 

It rained all day at Halong Bay! It was a cold and nice in a certain way but our male guide was lacklustre, without energy, without heart & soul. He conveniently skipped our kayaking. I know it was raining but I bore some hope to still kayak in the crazy weather. Think i pulled a really long face that dropped all the way to the floor. The  limestone caves we visited were massive and pretty. The view from the top of the caves of the bay of all the junk boats made a good picture and we happily snapped away. Because our kayaking was cancelled, we had little to do but play with poker cards and wait for dinner. We were like a dead ship. I looked across to our neighbouring boat and they were partying and dancing away. Sigh....just our luck. We turned in early in our nice little cabin. We had better and clearer weather the next day of Halong Bay. Its nice, not the kind that takes your breath away but still nice. Made my way to the top deck and smelled the cold, crisp air. It was still drizzling a little. We picked January to go to Hanoi because it would be cool and it was supposed to have the least rainfall in this month. Lady luck didn't really smile on us didn't she. Tourists from Cat Ba Island joined our boat the next day to return to the harbour. Our guide left us and we were joined by a new one. We felt the difference straight away as her energy levels and  enthusiasm together with the group she brought along changed the mood on the boat. She taught us a couple of vietnamese card games whose name I can't remember but they were fun. A lady who travelled much shared a good many stories of her travels in Bangladash and India and it was nice to listen to her stories. It kinda reminded me that there is so much to see and do out there. Everytime I travel, I come to realise this but everytime i return to my country, little by little i sink back into the same cyclic routine. Guess I need to break out from this cycle. 

We arrived back in Hanoi at 530pm, showered, walked around the Old Quarters a little and wanted to have a quick dinner near the Dong Xuan market before catching our pickup to the train station. But the people cooked our orders so slowly that we had to packet our food and made a mad dash back to our hotel only to be informed that our train would be delayed. We were on the night soft sleeper train to Lao Cai after which we would take a ride to Sapa. The  sleeper reminded me a little of the sleeper train I took in Yunnan China. Actually, Lao Cai is actually very near the Chinese border leading into Yunnan. I had good memories of that trip too. 

Sapa, being further north was colder and foggy during this time. We arrived really early had delicious Pho (beef noodles) for breakfast and set off exploring the misty town market together with our assigned local guide Chuc. Sapa isn't a very big town. Quite a bit of tourists but it is unique in its own way. There are many minority hilltribe people dressed in their traditional village clothing peddling handicraft all over the town some walking as far as 15km everyday to sapa town. Some learned to speak english from their daily conversations with tourists. We visited "Dragon Jaws mountain" and trekked to Cat Cat village in the afternoon. Love to trek in cold weather amongst nice scenery. The return trek from Cat Cat was harder as Chuc brought us on a shortcut that required us to climb on fours. Realise how out of shape i have become. I guess I need to train up a little for my Mount Kinabalu trip at  the end of March. 

Our 2nd day in Sapa brought us to Lai Chau and Tavan villages. It was all misty as we descended through the rice paddies so we couldn't see much but as we descended, the beauty of the terraced rice paddies were revealed to us as the mist lifted. More pictures to bring home. Snap snap snap away. The descend became harder as it got muddy and slippery and the grip of my asics track shoes could no longer cope with it. Good thing we had some of the hilltribes people pulling and assisting us. Some of these ladies were amazing. Probably double my age , wearing some form of slippers and they could cope with slippery much better that I could. Without them, I would most probably have slipped and fall into the rice paddies or into a pool of buffalo dung. We finally arrived at the village along the river to stop for our lunch. The landscapes around the village are so pretty. The air is fresh and the weather is great. In the afternoon , we wanted to visit the Tram Ton Pass and Silver waterfall but sad to say, they were shrouded in mist. Disappointment but overall, still a nice place. 

Back in Hanoi, we ended our last day in Vietnam with a visit to see Uncle Ho and the his history. In the afternoon, we scowled the Old Quarters for souvenirs to bring home to our friends--> Mostly the local coffee. This trip was a good refreshing holiday for me. Vietnam is an interesting country. Prior to this trip, heard stories of unscrupulous taxi drivers out to get your tourist dollar. But once you take it in your stride and pratice a little of your bargaining skills, there is a lot more to see and do in this country. The next time I come back, I will probably do Danang, Hoi An and Ho Chi Minh. For those interested to come to Hanoi, you may consider October of this yr (2010) as it is Hanoi's 1000th birthday and there is bound to be lots of celebrations, fireworks and happiness to go around : ).