Hello readers.

I'm writing this from my hostel in Hanoi, while we are trying to kill time before we get the sleeper bus tonight to Hue. After arriving in Hanoi and reuntiting with Sam, we checked into our hostel, which has been great. The staff have been wonderful, helping us with tours, transport and general travel advice. We spent the first few days checking out the city, walking round the lake and exploring the markets in the old quarter. We went to the Temple of Literature, which was beautiful. There is a restaurant nearby called KOTO, which stands for Know One, Teach One. The restaurant is owned by an Australian Vietnamese, and trains youth off the streets to become chefs. The food was outstanding and we had a huge meal for a total cost of $19!! Food is so cheap here!

Monday night, we headed to the train station with a few others from the hostel, all heading northwest to Sapa. We booked a tour through the hostel which was really great. Sapa is one of the coldest and wettest regions in Vietnam, so we were armed with our fake North Face jackets from the markets. The overnight train which was really comfy and I managed to sleep quite a bit. We headed into Sapa town to start our trekking. Our guide advised that we hire gumboots, and we were thinking "How bad can it really be?". He convinced us to hire them and I think it was the best $2 I have ever spent. Because of all the rain, the trail was really muddy and we were all slipping and sliding everywhere. Ladies from the Hmong tribe were following us the whole way, helping us and holding our hands so we wouldn't fall. This of course led to an awkward exchange at the end of the hike when they were begging us to buy their handmade products for exorbitant prices, leaving me with a bit of uncomfortable feeling about them, preying on us as tourists. We stayed at a homestay for the night, which felt very authentic, eating Vietnamese food and drinking rice wine with the family. The next day we did a bit more hiking and then had some time in Sapa town before catching the overnight train back to Hanoi.

We were planning on heading to Halong Bay now but we couldnt justify it, due to both the rain and the high cost of the tour. I wish i could see it, but I guess I'll just have to come back! Tonight we are taking an overnight 14 hour sleeper bus to Hue, which is meant to be a great cultural centre. The weather will also be warmer there which will be great!

So that's our trip so far...

Love,

Monique