Mon 3 April
On exiting the station at 5 .45 am we looked out for the Sapa Sisters driver who would be driving us to Sapa by minibus. There were about 8 of us so all loaded up for the hour long transfer to the Graceful Hotel where we would be able to shower and have breakfast. The road was pretty foggy and rainy but that lifted as the morning progressed. Very picturesque scenery with all the green and terraced hills. Many sharp bends and twists in the road to climb up to Sapa. Had a good breakfast at the hotel, chatting to all the youngsters who were also trekking with the Sapa Sisters. Everyone gets their own guide and then she tailor makes the trip according to your capabilities. Met young couples from Seattle and the UK and then managed a quick shower before meeting our guide Zee. Zee was from the Black Hmong hill tribe and had been a guide for about 5 years. She was about 5 ft in height so chuckled at my height. We said we wanted the best hiking for scenic views so she gave us an outline of where we should go. We started walking from the hotel, only carrying our day back packs which were crammed with things we would need for the 2 days . We didn't need food as that was all provided, but we did pick up a couple of plastic ponchos as didn't think we would stay dry in the rain jackets we had. When we set out it was still foggy so couldn't really see much of the view. We were accompanied by another lady who we presumed was Zee's friend as was just walking with us to her village or something! We set off down the hills into the valley below - as there had been a fair amount of rain over the last few weeks it was very muddy! As we headed down, the mist and fog started to lift and the stunning scenery began to make itself apparent! There were many groups walking on the same path - one guy covered in mud as had already slid down the path! We soon found out from Zee that our walking companion wasn't her friend but a lady who wanted to sell her wares to us and they wait to the first lunch stop to ask you to buy! She was joined by a younger girl carrying a baby on her back - oh boy the pressure was going to be on for sure! We had to pick our way through some of the muddy paths and was a relief when we could walk on the paved paths (actually roads for them as the motorbikes came beetling along them every so often!) .   The first village we came to was Cat Cat, about 3km south of Sapa, a steep and beautiful hike down and the rice paddies were mostly flooded with water as planting had not begun yet. Some families were preparing the fields, getting ready to plant in the next month, such labor intensive work! Digging in the mud, taking up the grass growth from the fields as well as the walls of the terraces, fixing the walls if falling down. They are just covered in mud as they work, often the whole family is out there, so the kids are kept back from school. This is their livelihood and the rice is grown for their own family consumption so they need to maximize their yields! Seeing old ladies digging up the grass banks and working so hard is a real eye opener for sure! Life is not easy for these hill tribes! We stopped for a break in a little shack with a few seats and tables - other trekkers also stopping here for lunch or snack breaks. We had some pineapple and water - Zee gave some to the baby on the mothers back as they were still following us! We walked along more paths - climbing back up from the valley and had lunch in someone's home where tables and chairs were set out for the trekkers. Played safe with fried rice and chicken - tasted great after the walking and the cool damp hiking conditions. We asked the lady "followers" to show us their wares even though we really didn't want anything more to carry! Settled on a little embroidered purse with zipper from each of them, with the bargaining finally being worked out they set off on their merry way! Can't believe they walk for so long for that small amount of money but guess is their only way of making some extra cash! After lunch was a more muddy hike as Zee took us through fields and balancing on the terraced walls of the paddy fields - we got lost a few times and had to jump through various streams and waterways to get up and down the various valleys . She insisted that we need to do this to get the ultimate views of the
valleys below! Was pretty hard going through the mud, trying not to slip or trip! Kept bumping into some of the people we'd met at the Grateful Hotel and would walk some of the way with them and then branch off. We got to our homestay at about 4pm, it was in the tribal lands of Ta Vak and was a purpose built home-stay for trekkers. An enterprising guy had built it as this is an opportune way to earn some money from the many tourists visiting the area! The downstairs had 3 areas with beds curtained off and a room with fridge where you could help yourself to drinks and write them on a sheet a paper for your bill. Upstairs was a dormitory with mattresses thrown on the floor - each with a mosquito net hanging over them. We had stopped taking our malaria tablets as hadn't seen any mozzies around and wasn't the right season to be concerning! There was a large table on the patio outside where we met a young Swiss couple who had been hiking too, there was also a young French girl who had walked all the way from Lao Cai in the mist at 3am - no idea how she found the right home-stay as no roads and she was walking in thick fog! Brave girl! Had a lovely shower as very muddy and grimy as well as cold from the damp clothes! We spent the evening chatting with our "roomies" and we were cooked an amazing array of local dishes by the young owner who's name escapes me now! His friend came along to help him and we had a good evening with the 2 Hmong guides, 2 hosts and the 5 of us foreigners! We were made to down a few shots of the lethal rice whisky! Aargh! By 930 we were all tired and retired to our dormitory - the French girl put her mozzie net down to escape any spiders lurking and of course once she did that we all followed suit - no way I wanted any spiders launching onto me in the middle of the night! Had to make the mandatory toilet visit in the middle of the night - armed with my little flashlight, trying not to wake anyone with the creaking floorboards!

Tue 4 April
Having gone to bed so early I was of course up early so tip toed around and made myself some tea in my travel mug . Slowly everyone rose - a couple of new faces had arrived during the night! Had scrambled egg and bread with strong coffee before bidding our farewells and setting off for Day 2 of trekking. The weather was a little brighter although the mist had been around first thing in the morning, it was lifting by the time we set off. The first part of the trek was through a bamboo forest to get to the top of a waterfall providing a lovely view point of the valley below. The forest paths were an absolute nightmare - thick mud and slush and our shoes had so much mud on them that you slipped every time you placed your foot down! After about half an hour of this treacherous walking I let it be very clearly understood that I was not enjoying myself at all and would like to continue on the paths or roads - stuff the view I was more into self preservation! We still had to get through the forest - thank goodness for the bamboo which gave me something to hold onto otherwise would have had many face plants or wipe outs! We walked a bit of a way with an Aussie lady with her son and their guide and finally got to the rock waterfall with a hut and other hikers resting - all moaning and groaning about the mud! Bumped into the couples we had had breakfast with on both days . We still had a precarious walk down the hillside and a lot of traversing over muddy terrace walls, balancing on thin mud walls! All this fine if you are a mountain goat like dear Alan but when you are an elephant on your feet it sure wasn't fun! We had agreed that we were going to go to Zee's home on the other side of the valley at Su Pan village for lunch. I was happy to walk on the wide path and road but mortified to see we still had to traverse many flooded terraces to get to her house! By now I had a bamboo walking stick which was a godsend when balancing along these walls and stopped me falling into the water a few times! I was so happy to get to her house and met her husband and 2 of her children. Her husband was one of the 2 village chiefs so was a busy man dealing with everyone's issues and complaints! The 2 youngest kids were very smiley and sweet but of course communication was all through Zee as they didn't speak English. Zee had learnt English through her guiding tourists around but she had never been to school so could not read or write! It is now mandatory for all the kids to go to school until 15 years old then they have to pay to board and tuition fees in the towns - the majority of families cannot afford this further education! Zee's husband made us a tasty fried rice lunch and Zee ran out to get some morning glory and beans to cook with it . He served us green tea in minute cups (shot size) so we had many cups to warm us up! Their home was just 2 rooms downstairs and 2 upstairs. They cook in the kitchen/main room over an open fire but have running water in the room and electricity for the lights. The floors are just compacted mud, felt so guilty wearing my muddy boots but that was the norm (against my Canadian habits!). The kids scampered off to school (they didn't eat with us - presume they had eaten earlier), then a neighbour popped over to talk to Zee and then her younger sister arrived with her baby - so cute! After all had gone we started our walk down the paths to get to the bottom of the valley at Giang Ta Chai where we were to be met by a minibus to take a few of us back to Sapa. Was a great experience although a little too much mud for me on the 2nd day but gave you an insight to how the tribal villagers live and survive in the hills - an extremely hard life indeed! We met up with the Swiss couple in the van and then headed back for the hour trip back along rutted and potholed roads to get back to Sapa . Was looking forward to a lovely shower and warming up again! We were taken back to the Grateful Hotel where the small bag we had left behind was being stored. We said our farewells to Zee and gave her a nice fat tip which she was delighted with as couldn't stop chatting while we walked over to the Sapa Centre hotel where we had booked a one night stay. We left her and walked into the hotel - the receptionist looking horrified with all the mud! We had been told that most of the hotels offer a shoe cleaning service so I jumped all over that! She quickly rushed to get 2 plastic bags to put the mud clogged shoes into - I had walked in my black runners and Alan had worn his Keene sandals throughout! I removed my orthotics as wasn't sure what would happen if they put them in the dryer or something! I also mentioned that we would like our clothes laundered and she said that wouldn't be a problem and we would have them back by the morning (only place we had come across in all our travels that had clothes dryers! Luckily!) The room rate at the Sapa Centre was CA$37 per night so was absolute luxury for us! Wonderful hot shower with enclosed stall - spacious room with 2 king beds and a balcony and breakfast included in the morning . The staff were very friendly & helpful. After changing into clean clothes we went for a much needed cappuccino and wander around the town of Sapa. Sapa was originally established as a hill station by the French in 1922 but today is the center of tourism for the NW region of Vietnam. It has spectacular views overlooking a plunging valley with mountains towering on all sides! It is now undergoing a tourism boom and construction is happening everywhere - so many hotels being built and no controls on height restrictions so feel the quaintness disappearing rapidly! The sun was coming out so we walked around the small lake - very pretty with alpine style hotels surrounding the lake. We just walked around the shops and checked out Sapa before heading back to the hotel and putting out feet up for a while. We noted a couple of restaurants from LP book and by the time we headed out it was foggy again and the view was lost. We found the Nature View restaurant but view was non existent due to the fog! Happy to see they had a small fireplace in the middle of the restaurant so was a cozy place to have a meal, had a delicious 3 course "set" vegetarian meal starting with a tasty soup - a real hearty meal and much needed! Headed back to the room and watched a bit of the CNN news on TV - feel we have really not heard from the "outside" world in a while!  

Wed 5 April
Had a great breakfast at the hotel - the place was hopping with young families and people meeting guides for their days trekking! We got all the laundry back so had clean clothes for the day and the sweet receptionist said she would be up in 10 mins with our shoes! Nothing arrived for an hour and so called down to reception and another girl said they would be there soon . A little while later there was a knock on the door and I opened it to find the forlorn looking young Receptionist with my sparkling, like new shoes, but with a long face and an apology about having spent the last hour searching for the inside lining of the shoes! I just laughed and said I had taken them out (my orthotics), well she just hugged me and couldn't stop saying thank you! Poor thing thought she would be in such trouble as they had been lost and hadn't dared come up earlier - she wouldn't let go of me she was so happy I had them! Poor little soul! We had the day at leisure - looking at stores (most of them full of North Face rip off outerwear!) Alan got a jacket that he hopes will keep him warm on his next locum trip to Nunavut! It was a sunny day to start with and we had some beautiful views of the valley. We had checked out of the hotel and left our bags in storage as weren't departing till 5pm for the Graceful hotel minibus transfer back to Lao Cai to get the sleeper train back to Hanoi! Was a nice relaxing day but fog was setting back in again towards the end of the afternoon . Luckily we got to the Graceful Hotel early as were told there had been an accident on the road and so traffic was slower! We were travelling back with the American couple as well as a van load full. There was a Dutch lady about my age who had fallen in the mud and dislocated her knee and sprained her ankle (very swollen) so had spent the morning in the clinic! The van ride down was a little scary as there was so much traffic and was foggy going through the hairpin bends in the road! The driver started driving like a maniac - overtaking on blind foggy corners - meanwhile it was solid traffic all the way so not sure what he was thinking! After a few nerve wracking incidents and comments from behind us - Alan tapped on the drivers shoulder and told him to slow down we wanted to get there alive! After that he just drove patiently down the mountainous roads and we were all extremely relieved! We had lots of time to spare in Lao Cai so we went for dinner with the Americans and the Dutch couple to the Pineapple Restaurant recommended by LP and had a tasty meal before heading to the station. The Americans were on the earlier train than us so we waited it out and eventually departed at about 9.30 pm. This carriage was a little nicer than the one we came up in - had a little lamp on the table, flowers and nicer linen! We were joined by a couple of French girls so chatted for a while before settling in for the rickety ride back to Hanoi. This ticket was 400,000 Dong each (CA$24).