Ha Noi - Sapa

Five Evocations:

1. Being mesmerized by the hotel receptionist dressed in traditional Ao Dai dress. I was leaving my most prized possessions in storage at the hotel while I went on a side-trip to Fansipan, but one look at this gorgeous woman put all my fears to rest.


2. The chaos of the smaller streets of the Old Quarter where road-space was divided between card-games, commerce, traffic, parking, pedestrians, and dining-tables.


3. Having my concept of 'overloaded' shattered time after time.


4. Boarding the train at Hanoi Railway Station in the steamy night, entering my shared berth and immediately bumping into a pair of smelly size twelve feet hanging from the opposite bunk.


5. Arriving in Sapa to the crisp dawn air and feeling not at all ready to climb thousands of metres.