headed south

Haven't posted in a few days because I haven't done a whole heck of a lot besides simply been enjoying the cool mountain air in Sapa. After the crazy bus ride there, I basically slept and relaxed on Tuesday and Wednesday - occasionally walking around town, eating food and reading. By Wednesday evening I'd made my way around the entire town about six times, knew all the internet cafes and their hourly rates and had tried most of the restaurants. So I was hoping to do some trekking come Thursday and explore the surrounding villages and take in some of the stunning landscapes. Unfortunately, the skies decided to open up overnight and it rained pretty much all day Thursday. Thus, I spent yet another day wandering around the town being attacked by the ethnic minority girls trying to sell me purses, necklaces and marijuana among other things. I did take the opportunity to plan out some of the details for my flights to Malaysia and Hong Kong and take care of some school stuff, so Thursday wasn't completely wasted. When I awoke Friday, it was still raining and I anticipated another day of boredom. Fortunately, the skies cleared up and I was able to take a short walk to the nearby Cat Cat Village, which is a small ethnic minority village a few kms below Sapa. It wasn't the long trek I'd originally hoped to do, but with an evening train to catch, I didn't want to go to far either... Along the way, I met Alex, another french traveler who was headed in the same direction and so decided to tag along with him. Like I said earlier, the scenery around these parts is really something else. The mountainsides are covered with rice paddy terraces which transform the mountains into something resembling a detailed topo-map (I don't think I'll ever not be an engineer at heart...) So now I'm in Ha Noi, the capital, having taken an overnight train to get here (arriving at approximately 4:45AM?!!?) The train was infinitely more comfortable than the bus ride to Sapa despite the early arrival time and accordingly I slept relatively well. It's good to be back in a big city too - though it sure is humid and hot here - even early in the morning. Alright, time to go explore and get my bearings before Haskell gets here tomorrow.