Amtrack?...not exaclty!

The night train...where do I begin on this one? Let me start off with the options for the night train in order of quality. Hard Seats: wooden plank benches in an un-airconditioned car. Soft Seats: padded reclining seats w/ AC. Hard Sleeper: 6 stainless-steel bunks with bamboo mat stacked 3 high on each side with no airconditioning. Soft Sleeper (deluxe class): semi-soft mattress with sheet, quilt, pillow, and AC. Victoria Train: first class train.

We bought the deluxe tickets for our weekend trip to Sapa(they like the word "deluxe" in VN), which sounded pretty good. The deluxe rooms have 4 bunks to a room, so on Friday night we shared a cabin with Adam and Natasha. The rest of our group also shared cabins in the same car. We set up pallets on the floor for the babies and despite the "smokey" smelling a/c, we slept all right. At least we did have a western toilet (albiet dirty) on our car.

We arrived in (Lao Cai)at dawn on Saturday morning and then had a one hour bus ride up the steep and winding mountian road to Sapa. Sapa is nestled into the hillside a bit more than 5000 ft. in altitude. It is most likely that Sapa was first inhabited by highland minorities of the H'mong, Red Zao, Xapho and Tai, complete with their largely untouched dress and customs. This remote corner of Vietnam was "discovered" by a Jesuit missionary in 1918. In the 1920s the French decided to develop Sapa into replica of their European Alps. They constructed villas, a small hydroelectric station, a church, etc. and all still remain in Sapa today. The town supports a population of about 3300 while the surrounding district is home to about 32000 people. The ride from Lao Cai to Sapa used to take nearly 6 hours, but thanks to a new road it can be done in under an hour.After some rest and lunch, we ventured to the Cat Cat village, home of the "black" h'mong people (the color represents the clothing worn by that particular people group). They welcomed us into their home and then walked with us on our trek (about 2 miles...down and up and all around). The scenery was unbelievabale. The rice fields were golden and ready for harvest, carved out in the most stunning terraced hillsides. We also came across a gorgeous waterfall, water buffalo, and young locals doing their best to sell you hand-made crafts. Sarah did great in the baby-carrier, and even fell asleep along the way. It was obvious how all of those early morning in Tulsa walks paid off for Heather!
Our tour guide was a young man named Son. He learned English from Australians, so imagine a short vietnamese man speaking English with an Australian accent...it was hillarious! He has been married five months, and his wife is four months pregnant. We had the chance to meet her on Saturday night, she is a kindergarten teacher for a nearby village.

Saturday evening we had dinner at a local restaurant and then viewed a demonstration of the historic dances of the area and a re-enactment of the traditional "love market" where young men would come to Sapa and play their instruments to woo the ladies. It was a bit late so we did not stay long. Our hotel was set into the hillside, complete with a small patio and magnificent view. The weather hovered in the 70's, and was very crisp/comfortable in the evenings.

Sunday morning we went to the village of Ta Van, home of the Zay minority people. During the home visit we met a young girl with Downs Syndrome. Most of you know that Michael has a brother (John) who has Downs, so this young girl immediatel won our hearts. She was so tender with Sarah, giving her kisses and helping to feed her. When I looked up at this young girl, I noticed she had a tear in her eye. She was in some way moved by the moment, as was Michael. I think the picture says it all.
After lunch and a late check-out, we finished our village tours with a stop in Ta Phin, home of the Red Zao people. It was a gorgeous afternoon as the son was setting and the local farmers were hard at word harvesting the rice crop. The simple life never looked so appealing as it did on this quiet Sunday afternoon...
Upon arriving back in Lao Cai we drove just 3 kilometers to the Chinese border where we snapped a few pictures across the river and marvelled at how cool it was to "see" China!

As for the adventure that was our overnight train to Hanoi? Well, we were told prior to booking the trip that our ride back would not be in the deluxe car because that train was already full. Instead, we were told we would still have a sleeper car that sleeps six instead of four. No problem, right? Once in Sapa, we learned from two Dutch travellers that the sleeper car we would take back to Hanoi would likely be a "hard" sleeper. At this point, what can you do? So, Natasha and I (Heather) bunked with two other couples in our group, while Adam and Michael bunked next door with college students, some of which were Vietnamese-American studying abroad. One was from Austin, TX and her family of 10 immigrated to the U.S. only 12 years ago. Imagine, if you will, a cabin with two dads, 4 moms, and 4 babies. Sarah and I "slept" on the middle bunk. At first our fan didn't work in the cabin, so the repairman came and twisted some wire together with tape and it worked again. Only, we were a little afraid of a fire hazard! We also didn't have a toilet on our car, so we had to go one over to use a very disusting squatty potty! It is pretty tricky to use on a bumpy train. The only thing I can say that was postive about taking the hard sleeper was riding with the locals and having a "normal" experience that allows you to see things a bit more for how they really are here. Needless to say, our group now has some life-time memories after last night!

It is now Monday afternoon. Heather is and Sarah are taking naps. Earlier, I (Michael) had the final "fitting" for the two suits I am having made, an experience made complete when the tailor (who did not speak English) offered me a cup of afternoon tea. We sat there in silence, grunted and smiled a bit, and I walked away thinking the extra 15 minutes in the shop will likely get me the golden touch on my new digs! We submitted our paperwork to the Embassy this morning and go tomorrow for our interviews. If all goes well, we will pick up Sarah's visa on Wednesday and fly out Thursday night. Enjoy the photos from Sapa!

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