Well it has certainly been a memorable couple of days.... After checking into a seemingly nice hotel (although still 84 steps to climb to the room every day!) and having dinner just around the corner we returned hoping for a good nights sleep..... Little did we know that we'd be returning to a building site!!! While the guys chipped away at the wall, the girls carried the cement up and down the stairs!! The banging continued all sodding night! Needless to say not much sleep was had at all and so the start of the trek was not the best.... But it was fine as the walk down through the rice fields was really pleasant. We stopped for lunch at a minority village occupied by the Mong people, viewing the real Vietnamese way of life. Thier traditional dress is amazing - such vibrant colours. They make it all themselves from Hemp, and try to sell you it at every possible opportunity! I could not get any pictures of them as they strongly believe in reincarnation (when they die their picture is placed on the fireplace, and so if we were to take their picture and do the same whilst they are still alive it would bring their soul bad luck). I learnt this lesson the hard way as a group of kids swarmed around us - i took out my camera and they all ran for the hills!!! It was mad so I asked our guide why. He told me this was the main reason but also that they might have thought it was a gun! Ooops - what an ugly tourist I must make! It is because of this strong belief in reincarnation that they are so poor - if they are poor in this life then they will have a blessed and rich next life. The trek carried further on and down into the hills through really lush rice fields. We witnessed one argument between two members of different tribes about a buffalo eating someone elses grass! It was amazing that just 100m seperates the two villages and yet they speak an entirely different language, have different religions, beliefs and consequently a completely different way of life. We stayed in a Zay people village where they don't believe in reincarnation and thus are prepared to live life now. They are as a consequence richer (in comparison to other tribes but still very poor by our standards!) and better educated. We had a very realxing evening there - its amazing how quickly you learn to do without your creature comforts. we didn't want for anything. The dinner was really lovely - fresh pork, deer and vegetables. After a good nights sleep, and great pancakes for breakfast, we left this morning to start making our way through another minority village back up the mountain to Sapa. The term 'white knuckle ride' became blatently apparent as the transport back to Sapa was on the back of a motorcycle where you were inches from the cliff edge, travelling at break-neck speed round blind bends, with no helmet...the roads were littered with shards of marble, rocks, and stones and...it was raining! For some bizarre reason i found myself holing my breath as we whizzed around the corners - not a good idea when your body is busy making vast amounts of adreanline!! And so we have the luxury prison cell for 16 hours back to Hanoi tonight.......