Took the soft option, deciding to do the overnight train from Lao Cai to Hanoi instead of riding… So we rode around Sapa a little
then headed for the Lao Cai railway station. As we pulled up outside, a local guy came running over and produced a City2Sunrise business card in the name of one Tom Bender! He’d helped …Tom with his train tickets a week earlier, and so we enlisted his help as well.
With the bikes on a later train, we were trusting him not to disappear them… but he was solid and they arrived in Hanoi about half
an hour after we did. Had to feel sorry for ‘Ha’, a teacher from Sapa who was unlucky enough to have the ticket for the fourth bed in
our sleeper cabin… I’m sure our evil-smelling bike gear and snoring scarred her for life!
Sapa
These ladies are from the Red Dzao tribe I believe… flogging wares to tourists.
Terraced Village near Sapa
At Lao Cai we (inadvertently) almost rode across the border to China before the border guards got hold of us and turned us around.
These guys were transporting stuff back and forward through the checkpoint
Lots of Minsks in Vietnam…
That’s China on the other side of the river… as close as we’ll get to it on this trip.
Our sleeper cabin. Quite comfortable, but the beds were about 2 inches too short!
Our conductor… She wasn’t so keen on having her photo taken but couldn’t quite hold the smile in
The bikes were left on the platform, in the hands of Ding our local mate. He came through, and they arrived at the other end intact.