See Ya Sapa....

Another late start today, I felt so tired this morning. We are checking out today so we left our backpacks at our hotel and set off to sort out our credit card bill from dinner last night as the restaurant manager told us that the machine didn't work but the transaction was debited from our card. The waiter told us that he understood that we had been charged twice but we needed to return in a few hours to see the manager so off we trotted to our cooking class. We were early so we were offered pineapple juice while we waited. Soon enough our chef arrived to whisk us off to the market to buy the ingredients for our dishes. We are learning chicken curry cooked in coconut and green banana, tofu and pork in claypot. The markets are very similar in most towns, there is a meat section and a vege section. With all our ingredients in Alvo's basket backpack we headed back to the restaurant to start cooking. This class was more like a demo which we were a bit disappointed in as we wanted hands on like the last one. Our chef told one of us to write everything down so we can remember and cook at home. He also told us that his restaurant specialty was wild pork wrapped in wild betel leaf and told us that he was going to show us for no extra cost because it is so good. We were happy about that as it was also a bit pricey for what we got. He was a nice guy but as usual the price was more than we were told yesterday. The food was nice, the curry was mild but tasty and the view was great. Ok, off to sort out our bill......the manager was very understanding and refunded us our cash, glad it did not result in an argument due to the language barrier. We decided to walk around town as we have lots of time to kill before getting on the bus, there is a small lake near the centre of town that we walked around and then stopped in at a little cafe for some coffee and a sit down. We took photos of the water fountain which is quite a large monument in the town and set off again to find something else to do. We stumbled across a massage joint that cuts nails etc and seeing as though mine needed a chop we headed in. I don't mind getting someone else to cut them for $3 and Alvo had a foot/leg massage for $4 so that was 30 mins well spent. We saw a bar yesterday that had 2 for 1 pina coladas so that was our next stop. They have traditional plum wine which tastes a bit like port so that was my poison while Alvo slurped on the pina coladas. It was raining on and off now after a bit of a sunny start to the day and when we saw a break we took it and headed to the hotel to get our bags and eat somewhere near the bus station. There was a local looking eating place that we sat in and the prices were ridiculously cheap and the food was some of the best we have had and after letting the chef know this she offered us some fruit which was a pomegranate I think but green, it was good. Time to hit the bus station and we were able to get straight on the bus which was a surprise as usually we are left waiting for an hour or so. We are backseat bandits this trip and we have been assured by the driver that he will drop us off near the airport.....although we asked about 5 people & showed them a note we got written in Vietnamese but still were unsure they understood. The back seat is quite roomy although when full it looks like 5 sardines squashed in a sardine tin. There is only 3 of us back here so far so we will see what happens. The first leg of the trip is to Lao Cai where we picked up some extras.....2 more very tall strapping young lads for the back seat so there goes our roomy little area. Looking out the window the road is very windy and narrow....like Dorrigo ranges on steroids with buses and trucks passing each other almost at a stand still and with not much more than a hairs breadth between them, at this point I am highly recommending the train for anyone who wants to do this leg of the journey. Oh, I am also recommending that you book your entire Vietnamese adventure through a personal tour guide that can do everything for you as buying anything seems to be a rip off and talking to anyone is near impossible. I realise that I am in a non English speaking country but you would think that being such a tourist destination that most people would have some sort of idea. I have even showed some people words in their own language from the phrase book and they don't understand. Anyway on our toilet stop we ended up going up an alley way tonight because the toilets were so filthy and stinking and a girl was telling someone there was someone in there going in the hand basin.....eeewwwwww......I am really disliking the bus travel here & the grotty people. Again we have been assured that we will be dropped near the airport and we have about 4 hours before we need to get off. Seeing as though we really don't get off the bus until morning I will sign off now hoping to write again soon. Tanya xx.