At 9ish, we boarded the Hanoi to Sapa sleeper train, well you can sleep if you can get over the 
shake rattle and roll and heat in the sleeper car filled with four breathing bodies in a small space. A compatible German couple were in the compartment and even as we jiggle our way, Page's eyes were red and puffy and she had the option of not going. We arrived at 6am to the station and boarded a minivan set out on an hour plus ride through the hills. This was to be a sample of the next few days for at no time was the van going in one direction. In addition to up and down there was the right to left. One of the most stark differences between Vietnam and Thailand is the use of the horn. While there are 12 million drivers in BKK and 4 million in HCMC, the difference is the use of the horn. In Thailand, much like here, you blow the horn when you are anticipating that if one of the vehicles does not alter the direction, there will be a crash. In Vietnam, you blow to tell anyone/thing that you are coming and expect the right away. You would do this at a turn, dip, drive, chicken etc. To say that the trip to Sapa was a quiet early morning ride on a fairly deserted road wou
ld not be accurate. I am sorry there are only pictures and not sound. In addition to fighting any long gone car sick issues with the twist and turns, you also have a head ache. When we did arrive in town after a slowly clearing morning sky and arrival of the sun, to a sweet little place much like a small German or Mexican village, you are excited to see that you will survive. Also seeing what appear to be short Alps, you begin to rethink the "intermediate trek" concept and think you should have questioned the intermediate part of 
hike.
shake rattle and roll and heat in the sleeper car filled with four breathing bodies in a small space. A compatible German couple were in the compartment and even as we jiggle our way, Page's eyes were red and puffy and she had the option of not going. We arrived at 6am to the station and boarded a minivan set out on an hour plus ride through the hills. This was to be a sample of the next few days for at no time was the van going in one direction. In addition to up and down there was the right to left. One of the most stark differences between Vietnam and Thailand is the use of the horn. While there are 12 million drivers in BKK and 4 million in HCMC, the difference is the use of the horn. In Thailand, much like here, you blow the horn when you are anticipating that if one of the vehicles does not alter the direction, there will be a crash. In Vietnam, you blow to tell anyone/thing that you are coming and expect the right away. You would do this at a turn, dip, drive, chicken etc. To say that the trip to Sapa was a quiet early morning ride on a fairly deserted road wou
ld not be accurate. I am sorry there are only pictures and not sound. In addition to fighting any long gone car sick issues with the twist and turns, you also have a head ache. When we did arrive in town after a slowly clearing morning sky and arrival of the sun, to a sweet little place much like a small German or Mexican village, you are excited to see that you will survive. Also seeing what appear to be short Alps, you begin to rethink the "intermediate trek" concept and think you should have questioned the intermediate part of 
hike. I must admit, at that point, I would not have been too disappointed to have Page say she was too ill to do it. Not a chance, this is one gutsy gal. Born with a curved spine and acquiring glaucoma and a myriad of allergies, has not stopped her from just getting up for any adventure. Other than requiring vegetarian grub and not being able to take most western meds, you did not hear, I won't or don't want to do or eat that. Actually, the only thing for me not to understand, she is not a big beer drinker nor does she drink coffee but still, she was a great travel buddy and appeared most sane otherwise. We had breakfast in a place where when you placed your order, the child left the restaurant and went out for break and eggs. Somehow they did not understand that Page also 
wanted eggs and had to make a separate trip. These are the things that take some getting use to. The number 3 breakfast looked like beverage, juice, and eggs, bread, jelly, meat. What it was really saying is you go a choice rather than the usual eggs and toast with jelly. We paid the extra 2000 dung. The travel folks, although I had very clearly told them that we were vegetarians had not gotten the word to our young guide so she went off to the market to get our food that she would carry with us for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. In the market, we had noted the tofu so at least, if we lived, we would eat. We did notice other things for sale and while I 
will not add a picture, it is fairly rare to see chickens in this condition. When they have the feathers off, they do not have the inspection sticker that says they are free of Asia Flu. Most of the families that buy a chicken, get one that has is neck broken at the market and then is trucked home held by its feet with all the feather still on. A good tip if you are ever in Sapa buying your weekly grub. In someways the market in this little town was similar to many that we have seen in Asia, except the food looked greener and fresher to me and each stall, a clone of the last, appeared to be taking such pride in the product.
There were a few things that we did throughout the trip. Nightly we toasted, "another wonderful day in paradise" and we often thought of our other travelling friends - Cheryl when there folks selling and things to buy,
wanted eggs and had to make a separate trip. These are the things that take some getting use to. The number 3 breakfast looked like beverage, juice, and eggs, bread, jelly, meat. What it was really saying is you go a choice rather than the usual eggs and toast with jelly. We paid the extra 2000 dung. The travel folks, although I had very clearly told them that we were vegetarians had not gotten the word to our young guide so she went off to the market to get our food that she would carry with us for lunch, dinner, and breakfast. In the market, we had noted the tofu so at least, if we lived, we would eat. We did notice other things for sale and while I 
will not add a picture, it is fairly rare to see chickens in this condition. When they have the feathers off, they do not have the inspection sticker that says they are free of Asia Flu. Most of the families that buy a chicken, get one that has is neck broken at the market and then is trucked home held by its feet with all the feather still on. A good tip if you are ever in Sapa buying your weekly grub. In someways the market in this little town was similar to many that we have seen in Asia, except the food looked greener and fresher to me and each stall, a clone of the last, appeared to be taking such pride in the product.
There were a few things that we did throughout the trip. Nightly we toasted, "another wonderful day in paradise" and we often thought of our other travelling friends - Cheryl when there folks selling and things to buy, 
JoAnn when we wondered if what was presented would be a stretch - sanitation, food prep etc. and our french fry steak brother Joe when some signs presented them self and we both smiled. It was hard not to think of the three home since we would have only enjoyed our experience more if there were three more to laugh and smile at what we were seeing and experiencing. Soon after breakfast, it was time for one last flush and start out. Like many towns in VN, the folks are very poor and rely on the tourist to buy their goods. Each trip dresses a little differently, and what they were on their head will tell you if they are married or not. When you see the housing and the know the number of folks living in one space, it is not surprising that there are children everywhere and most, even the children have children. The woman covering her child in the basket probably is not married since she doesn't have a "married hat" on but she will have her child well bundled since it is "winter". 
There are also men, but they work in the rice fields and go to work in their indigo blue outfits, each with a pick and basket. Each person eats about a kilo of rice a day. Thailand produces more rice, but you are much more aware of the rice in VN. While I will say more about the material of the garment later. Each year on NewYears, they complete the new clothes. This is done by making hemp into string and then into a weave of three strands and then woven into cloth and then sewed into a garment and then dyed in the indigo by soaking it and then polishing the materiel. After the cloth is complete, they add the stickery. It takes about 8 we
eks to make the clothing. they use last years for everyday and the "new" for good.While this looked like an alternative to the trekking.. that is even more gear than I had and the roads are almost in the same condition as the trails.
In the pictures of the young workers, t
hey used a relay team to carry the sand and bric
ks down the hill. The shovel man filled the basket and they helped the carrier with the basket to his head. At each stop, the men would help each other move the basket to the next head until the sand was down to the construction site. They did this all day long - first sand then bricks.. In the hills, we say the same process but they used 
motor bikes to load the bags and take them down. They are hard working people who take incredible pride in everything they do and work long hard hours.
hey used a relay team to carry the sand and bric
ks down the hill. The shovel man filled the basket and they helped the carrier with the basket to his head. At each stop, the men would help each other move the basket to the next head until the sand was down to the construction site. They did this all day long - first sand then bricks.. In the hills, we say the same process but they used 
motor bikes to load the bags and take them down. They are hard working people who take incredible pride in everything they do and work long hard hours. We rode a van about a mile or so until we got to the path to start through three villages In the next blog entry. you will see the variations on "path" and some of the rice tiers that are everywhere as we walked. Has been my practice, just before I am about to do something that is a stretch, I picture me and call it the last picture....and hopefully, there will be many more.
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