Sapa madness

hey there people,
well we headed north out of the madness thatis Hanoi and into the relative quietness of the Sapa, or so we thought. We got a tour which included an overnight train to Sapa. Of course it was first class all the way, no but really it was. It was pure luxury. When we got to Sapa we booked into our hotel and our group of 9 was broked into two groups. I didn't stay with Colin and it was the best thing i could have done. My group was amazing. We had a super guide, Sho, who was so bubbly and funny and really made the trekfor us. Our group was 3 from Oz and a Kiwi. We ahd somuch fun. My nickname for the trek was Asimoto, I have no clue why but it stuck. We were followe for the entire timeby tribal women trying to sell us everything from bracelets to cushion covers and blankets. It was constant. We had a laugh with them but it got a little grating after a while. I was thinking to myself that Colin would have hated it, and he did. When we got to the hut, massive, we were staying for the night we went ot a hot spring while the family cooked the food. It was a lovely way to relax after such a long and hot trek. After dinner we were given a bottle of rice wine by the family and we were playing drinking games with our guide. It was so much fun. The girls were slowly getting drunk. Myself and Terry, Oz bloke, were invited to drink with the tribal men which was an experience. I never drank so much and we even smoked a tobacco bong. it was really hilarious. Terry was blowing smoke rings and one of the men nearly lost his life with excitement. i guyess he had never seen smoke rings before. I was buzzing from the tobacco. it sure did give you some hit even though it was only tobacco. When we got back to Sapa town we went for drinks with Sho and some of her guide friends. They are all wired to the moon. They are crazy. Also absolute sharks at pool and cards. I reckon when they are not guiding they are playing cards and pool. I swear they would give a pro pool player a run for their money. We had a great laugh and we were all sad to say goodbye to Sho. She was a really cool girl and hopefully she keeps in contact. well that was all from Sapa. Chat again soon.