Halong bay and Sapa continued

I lost most on my blog., last time .Hope this time better. Now in bed but this time inSapa in the mountains,near the border with china. Life on board the beautifully,highly polished teak sampan was great,the cabins small and beautiful, linen on the beds . The middle deck our restaurant, we where in the company of 4 Germans , 2 Russians and a lovey Dutch couple, who will as it now seems recur again in our story, they are called Paul and Ria. The food on the boat was delicious, spring rolls, Oesters, chicken , vegetables, lovey beautiful prepared salads with sweet and sour dressings. We where kept busy by our guide Man and very well cared for by the whole crew. We explored grottos, fished for squid, tai chi facing the morning sun ! That was a pity as it has disappeared for some time. On the boat it was misty and mystic, here in Sapa it is just plain foggy, cold and 4-5 degrees. Like a bad day at the winter sport. After Halong anothe day in Hanoi , shopping and a visit ti Kotu the cooking school restauraunt teaching underprivileged children to cook and wait table. Then to the Victoria express , to get on board we had to cross the railway lines. Once on board to our cabin which we fortunately had to ourselves. Ellen has written more here over the code for our patenellen blog . I gave you earlier is 123456. Enjoy her writing it is great. She has written a lot about Sapa too. Food on the train was simple but the experience great. I had always wanted to go on the Orient express or the blue train. 

For the English speakers. We went back in time for 24 hours. I was so so cold unbelievable but thanks to Annie had enough layers , that plus a herb b bath and 2 duvets managed to keep me going. We had a walk to a homestead planned 12 kilometers, fortunately we only did the last 2 hours in the mountains in the mist. Arriving at the home of one of the 53 hill tribes we where welcomed to a lunch , of chicken and noodles. There we sat warm at the front crouched around a fire but for the rest freezing. The walls , had slits in half covered by platstic. We decided to have the herb bath , it took 2 hours to heat the water , but we got an extra fire!!!! Too. The guide told us many tails of thier customs and traditions. Then the other hikers arrived ! Paul and Ria just what we needed as we where sick from the cold. Our bathing ritual took place among much hilarity. Then a lovely diner crouched around the table. Super fried potatoe chips tosses in garlic and butter with salt and a little sugar . Divine. To my surprise I slept the night okay . Then the next morning we told our guide, straight back to the hotel please. Once in Sapa we visited the market , ate rice noodle pancakes, bana and sweet potato fritters and great noodle soup. Then to the hotel in bath , then in bed . There we stayed until our massage . We had made a fantastic trip, with some sun and warmth it would have been wonderful, now it was difficult and with the mist disappointing BUT I would not have missed seeing it for the world. Now off to breakfast . pat temperature outside 5 degrees and misty ! Another days adventure before us and tonight in the train back to Hanoi