Sapa

We headed out of Hanoi for a few days, it was fantastic to escape the heat and constant mayhem of the old quarter. Bit of a mission to get there, an overnight train shared with a couple and their sick kid (we're sure it wasn't helped by the amount of junk he was fed before bed) - he was quite ill. When we arrived in the morning, we were picked up by the tour company and taken back to their office. It was pretty early at this point so we found somewhere for breakfast while we waited for the tour mob to get us a car to our hotel. We headed out to the lodge mid morning and got settled into a really lovely place to stay, it was a bit dearer than some of the budget places we've been staying but well worth it, perhaps their site might demonstrate it best. We were at the lodge for a couple of days, faced with tough decisions every few hours of what to eat and drink - nice. On our last day in Sapa we checked out of our accommodation in the morning and headed into the town. We spent the day having a good look around and catching some of the local minority groups' craftspeople. The official market wasn't open as it was during the week but we still managed to have a bit of interaction and score some lovely work. Another overnight trip on the train, more sleep this time and we've made it back to Hanoi.