Diary entry
Getting active in Asia
1st May 2007 @ 10:40pm
Well actually so far we've not been that active, but have been having fun none the less...
Sunday
Started the day off well with a buffet breakfast at Koto which is a 'training centre' for street kids from Hanoi... essentially this is where Jamie Oliver got his idea from... Koto was set up about 8 years ago and has been providing training to about 20 kids a year, all of whom have gone on to do well in the hospitality industry...
From there we took a cyclo tour round a few of the more unusual sights, including a section of B52 from the American war which is still in the middle of a lake where it landed in 1972, the oldest temple in Hanoi, and the Hanoi Hilton prison.
The afternoon was 'free' so I took another wander and took care of a few little jobs that needed doing...
We were supposed to be on the overnight train to Sapa tonight, however someone at Intrepid didn't quite get themsleves organised in time so we've actually got another day here tomorrow, and head to Sapa tomorrow night.
Monday
To fill in our day we headed down to the south of Hanoi to check out a couple of interesting temples, and take a ride in a boat up a river... hmm, doesn't sound all that exciting, and unfortunatley it wasn't that great... ended up being about 7 hours of sitting doing nothing, either in a minivan or a boat... oh well...!
Still had a couple of hours to spare back in Hanoi for dinner, internet etc before heading for the train at 8:30...
Tuesday
The train ran pretty much to time, so we were in Lao Cai at the expected rather early hour... when they said we were in a 'hard sleeper' they weren't kidding... essentially a layer of uphostary vinyl over a plank of wood...!! Despite this I managed to sleep pretty well, which was great...
An impressive mini-bus ride up into the mountains brought us to the old French summer retreat of Sapa where we've had the day to explore... took a wander round the town, out to the lake, through the market, up the hill, and down to the village... finally a chance to do something...!! though I must say that having got started here at around 8:30 am, and it now being 5:30 pm I pretty much feel like I've done the town...!!
We have a meeting with our trek leader this evening, and then we're off in the morning... I hope that this trek is a little more demanding than the last one was...!!
That's all for now... I expect that by the time I have a chance to add anything more I'll be in China ;-)