Week 4 - Goodbye & Good Riddance

So, here goes again.  Don"t you hate it when you write a huge blog and the computer sh1ts itself while uploading ;-(((

After enjoying the relative sanity of Hanoi again after the hassles of Halong Bay, we took the overnight train up into the mountains to Sapa.  After another night of relatively little sleep (overnight travel = hell on earth) we awoke to a new world.  This was the Vietnam we had imagined...  Rice paddy terraces and colourful villagers in their colourful gear.  Despite being something of a toursit mecca, Sapa has a lot of charm and the peddlers hassling oyu to buy something are much easier to tolerate when they are all dressed up in their indigenous gear.

After having the feel of Sapa town, we went for the adventurous option and booked a two day hike with an overnight stay in the village of the Red Zai people.  The first days hiking went smoothly and we arrived in good time into the village.  The homestay was a bit disappointing though as the family never really joined us.  On the second day we watched them preparing breakfast, but they nor our guide never joined us to eat.  Although we were "blessed" in that the "fortune teller" was there to help out the wife with an illness.  He and Jamie really hit it off and we were able to join in with them in drinking the "happy wine" - homemade rice liquer.

The second days hiking was much, much harder with lots of up and down sections that were reall steep in parts.  Having Jamie on the back and adding 20 kgs meant I was absolutely rooted at the end of the day and ready for a good night's sleep.  Did I happen to mention overnight travel before???  Naturally we had booked the overnight bus into China.  Despite being assured we wouldn't have to pay cent more and the everything was organised, of course the minibus driver tried to swindle us and was threatening to put us out early.  I said we would pay at the end, knowing that we were being met by the rep from the company we booked through at the border office.  We sent the bastards home wihtout a red cent.  Small consolation, but at the end of 4 weeks of being ripped off left right and centre, it really leaves a bad taste in the mout.  Despite some beautiful sites and 1 or 2 great people, Vietnam turned out to be a real dud.  Despite trying over and over to look for the good bits, I can't bring myself to give the country more than a 4/10 rating, which is really a shame because of the high expectations we had.  People, save yourself the hassle and go somewhere else.  Vietnam is the worst country I have ever visited.

Let's hope China can restore our faith in travelling and meeting new people/cultures...