Sapa
Arrived in the darkness of early morning and was led (by tout)to one of the numerous minibuses waiting to pounce on tourists heading further into the mountains. We were told that we would be going in 10 minutes after negotiating a price and getting a deal for the 4 of us for 100000 (the going rate 35000d each). I think he wanted a large group in his bus to start with in order to attract further customers but we looked around and there weren't many people needing transport as the many of the hotels ahd their own vehicles for people who had booked previously. When told that he would be waiting for another train, we did our own searching to find more people so we wouldn't be ha nging around for hours to fill the bus. We ttok a German couple from another van as they were paying more and they came to ours and offered the same price but their driver, when he returned, looked very annoyed with our driver as if he'd "stolen" his money. WEhen the next train came and there were no more customers we took off from Lao Cai to Sapa, up the 30 minutes constant steep ascent - no relief along the way - just climbing constantly, around the winding cliff's edge, into the clouds - I don't think they'd allow roads like this in Australia. When we were dropped in the main, busy, street of Sapa we weren't expecting what we saw. Amongst the beauty of minority clad locals were pizza restaurants and french cafes. Sapa is a small town but the tourists increase the population many times over. Follwing us on our search for accomodation were a tribe of black h'mong women enchantaing us and trying to sell their wares as well as trips out of town into the villages. We quickly got sick of them and didn't know how to free ouselves but eventually found a quaint little bakery with local pastries for breakfast and enjoyed coffee, juice and a variety of coconut, apple and chocolate breads. Next we discovered a clean room with breakfast included which we could choose from a decent menu for $15US. Happy at Cat Cat Twighlight Hotel (mainly occupied by Vietnamese tourists but on one of the busy hotel streets with numerous "Cat Cat" Hotels). Shopped around for an office to get a good trek and guide and eventually booked at Sapa nature Tours which is below Nature Bar and Grill on main street. Many 2 day treks were around $80 for the 4 of us but we went for a $100 one that went away from the tourist trail as we'd heard that the women follow you for the 14k's or so just to make you feel guilty and buy something. As we didn't want to be followed on our trek we opted for a different, much longer, route which you'll hear about later! Had a rest while the other 3 slept for quite a few hours. We decided to try a dinner at a local boutique hotel/restaurant run by an Australian man who we'd met that day. The meals were not memorable although not too expensive in Sapa terms and fresh and filling. The highlight was that we met someone famous!!! As we entered and looked for a table I noticed a gentleman I'd watched for months leading up to our Vietnam trip as his show on SBS showed a lot of the country. I said to Asher, "Who's that man at that table?" He looked puzzled and we took a seat and the adjoining bench table. I overheard a Westerner at the table say, "They're Australians and you've been recognised!" I said to Ash that it was Luke Nguyen from the ccoking show that he'd followed with a passion so he then asked him and he replied, "Of course!" He was very chatty and friendly, as was his producer/director who was accompanying him with two others. He explained they were in Vietnam to do a second series and had just shot an episode out of Sapa with a tofu maker in Bac Ha - look out for it if you follow the show! He also talked with the kids about their favourite episodes and of course we had a photo taken with him. It turned out to be an enjoyable night and we felt gracious that the timing had been right to meet this man we'd followed to inspire our trip.
