well its boxing day at home .... but there isnt a tequilla in site!!! too much red wine yesterday me thinks!!

first thing to be done today was organising :we had to organise for alicia's hotel to ring up and arrange train tickets to Sapa after Kristi and John were denied tickets yesterday at the train station on account of all the trains being full! but a helpful orphan at Christmas yesterday told us that they lie regularly to Westerners and that we should get a local to go buy them and it shouldnt be a problem, and SURE ENOUGH we got tickets for the night we wanted. So me and John are off to Sappa tonight on the 9.15 night train!!

we (Alicia, Kristi, John and I) celebrated boxing day by going to pizza hut ... they had pizza craving and i hit a spag boleg, GOOD STUFF! shortley after we searched a fabric market to get material for something special (not telling as they are gifts he he he) kristi will get them tailored while im in Sapa!

headed home and started packing for Sapa ... not sure what to expect as have heard mixed weather reports ... really cold ... snowing ... warm, so im just packing everything to be safe! Hit the hotel, got the tickets and was excorted to the train station by Ting ....thankgod he was there cause the train station was freakin hectic ... and i thought flinders street was bad ... no signs! no voice overs! it didnt even look like a train station ... no platforms! complete caos that only Vietnamese understand! and Ting took as right to our sleeper and showed us our beds!! quality sevice!

on the train ... the sleepers slept 4 and 2 German women got on ... a bit hoytee toytee, and as i tried to sleep ... my cough flared up ... couldnt get the tickle out of my throat ... they werent very impressed and one of them came across quite rude but i think it was just the accent ... i think she was worried, she was a doctor and was asking me all medication questions ...it must have been the accent!!

Sapa here we come ... super excited!