Sapa and the Love Market

The Vietnamese version of 1st class is open very much to interpretation. The train ride was 10 hours in a 4 bunk carriage with a lovely Austrian girl called Michaela. After the first visit to the toilet we did not go again until we were in our hotel.

The car ride from Lo Cai to Sapa was great and the view spectacular with rice padis growing on the stepped hillside.

The shower in the hotel was most welcome and the view from balcony overlooks the town and the hillside. It is very surreal as the mist and the cloud come and go.

We first ventured into the market where the sights and the smells were not quite what we expected.

Margaret and I have spent the morning strolling around the lake and the town. The village ladies follow you everywhere desperately trying to sell their wares. They seem to be drawn to Margaret like bees to a honeypot.

This afternoon we are going to the village of Cat Cat. At the moment I am on my lonesome. Margaret has gone in search of Adele so now they are both MIA.

Relief they're back. After a quick lunch we are walking down to the village accompanied by 3 very persistent ladies.

Hooray they have given up!

After lunch we set off on out trek to the Cat Cat village, and you guessed it we are accompanied by 4 ladies persistently asking "you buy me". They follow us half way down to the bottom before they give up.

And when we do get to the bottom it is just more shops. It is a very tranquil walk but my knees hurt. We caught the trail end of a cultural show demonstrating bamboo stick dancing.

On the way home Margaret and I caught a scooter as there was no other way I was going to get home.