Our last night in Vietnam and we are back at the Sunway Hotel in HaNoi.

Saturday evening our guide in SaPa, Dao, met us at the hotel and took us to the restaurant where he cooks. It was close so we walked in the rain. The restaurant sits up on the hill with no windows and a great view. We were afraid it would be cold but, they had all the bamboo shades down and a huge fire in the open pit in the middle. He cooked the best beef dish for us.

Sunday morning we left early in the rain and fog to drive to BacHa where the famous Flower H'Mong Sunday market is held. SaPa is at over 4000 ft above sea level and the road down to Cao Lai which sits at close to sea level is 38 km and very steep but in good paved condition. We then drove up the other side of the valley and the road got worse as we went. After about an hour we saw a lot of tour cars and buses coming down, and someone who knew our driver flagged us down and said that we couldn't get to Bac Ha as there was a landslide and the road was covered. Our guide said that the road is dirt and gravel and one side is straight up and the other straight down. He kept saying, "What a pity, you can't go." About then I needed a bathroom so as we drove back they kept slowing down to look at the roadside stops, finally Dao said they were looking for one with a nice bathroom. When we did stop it was at a typical little spot selling a few snacks, a few clothes and drinks, all on tiny plastic chairs and tables about big enough for Kate or Cam, with a blue tarp to hold the rain off. The bathroom was the second worst squat we have seen in the whole trip and that is going some. You have to touch nothing to stay healthy. We sat down and had tea before driving on.. our driver poured tea into all the cups, rinsed them and then tossed the tea onto the road before filling them to drink.

We went back to Loa Cai and saw the Chinese border, the Red River is the dividing line there and both cities are quite modern and built right up to the river with a bridge and modern border offices.

We then went to an interesting pagoda that had a zodiac circle and huge marble carved animals for each sign.

The rest of the afternoon we wandered around a couple of markets and waited for the train. The town was full of tourists since the major attraction was Bac Ha Market.

Our train car on the way to HaNoi was even noisier than the first one but we managed to sleep through it.

Trang, our HaNoi guide, was waiting beside the track when we pulled in and tapped on the window. All of the guides have been very responsible and really take good care of us. We left from the train station at 5am to go to the Perfume Pagoda. It was something that we sort of wanted to skip, but it was too early to get into the hotel so we went, and it was wonderful.

The village of Houng Son is about 40km west and they control the pagoda which is up in the Perfume mountains west of the village. The only way to get there is by boat of which there are hundreds docked in the river. There are no motors and each boat is rowed by one or two people depending on the size. It is beautiful country with lots of trees and mountains that look just like the ones in HaLong Bay. This month is the busiest time there, as it is right after the Lunar new year when all Buddhists make a pilgrimage. It is like their mecca.

Today was not a "'busy day" since it was Monday, but there were thousands of people there. The cave is at the top of a mountain 2.5km up a path. We walked in the footsteps of millions of Buddhist pilgrims. Or rather we walked down in their footsteps, on the way up we rode a brand new German made cable car. The entire 2.5km of the path was lined on both sides with booths selling food, drinks and souvenirs.. they all seemed to have the same stuff. The people take big trays of food into the pagoda and then carry it all the way back down to eat after it is blessed. The cave at the top was huge and people crowd in and stay there all day, eating and sitting.

Some of the food stalls had dead animals hanging out front, dogs, cats, rats, deer, goats and chickens. We didn't eat until we were back in the village. Trang ordered lunch for us and we had a special treat, whole fried shrimp, head, tail, shell, legs and all. He dished up a large helping for me and I chewed it down... really wasn't too bad if you didn't think about it.

Everyone was so friendly and wanted to talk with us since we were the only westerners there. Most tourists come later in the day. A couple of college girls asked us to pose for a picture with them. Since we were going on 30 hours in the same clothes and no shower we added a bit of perfume to the area ourselves. We were very happy to get back to our hotel and shower.

Tomorrow we leave for home at 11pm.