No. 5 : Hanoi to Sapa

DAY FIVE: Overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa
After spending the morning on the boat with our new friend Shaymus, the Calypso Cruiser made its way back to the harbor and we began the four hour bus ride back to Hanoi.  We made a stop halfway through and enjoyed some ice cream.  When it neared our stops, our tour guide Tien made a very heartwarming goodbye speech where he wished us luck in our lives, our careers, our families, our health, our travels, our happiness, our prosperity...it was a really long speech. And then he said he loved us.  No one said anything which was a little awkward so I said, "I love you too!" Except I think I said it a little too late after he had already started talking about something else.

After arriving back at the hotel, we dropped off our bags and went for a wander around town.  We walked over towards the lake and looked at propaganda posters along the way.  I bought two reprints with the slogans "Breed more cows" and "Breed more pigs" or something to that effect.  When we got to the lake we ordered some Vietnamese coffee and people watched for awhile.  

After coffee we walked around and took pictures, then had a quick dinner at Tamarind Cafe and headed back to the hotel so we could catch our cab for our train.  We took the Sapaly SP3 which departed Hanoi at 9:50pm and arrived in Sapa at 7:00am.  The train ride was a blast.  It was pretty loud and bumpy but we had fun giggling and having girl talk all night.