The trip from Hanoi to Sapa: A 10-hour overnight train trip, passably comfortable but with noisy rattles and overstressed toilets, arriving at Lao Cai, close to the Chinese border very early in the morning. Still dark. Meeting our local guide and driver at a small restaurant near the station. Vietnamese coffee and breakfast. A one-hour drive along a winding mountainous road with a stop for photography, just enough light for it. The Cat Cat Hotel at Sapa. Our itinerary had mentioned "100 steps up to the hotel" but the hotel had been warned about the 75-year-old Australian with a recent heart attack, so we were given a room across the road, with only 42 steps up. Wonderful views from our balcony, changing all the time. Mists in the evening, cool at night. Pullovers needed when walking to restaurants in the evening. Still had 137 steps up to the dining room for breakfast. Discovered the local form of hot lemon-and-ginger-and-honey drink for breakfast, worth the steps.

Activities for tourists around Sapa typically involve a lot of walking. In deference to my recent heart trouble, we managed to arrange jeep or car transport for the more strenuous or uphill bits. And on our last day at Sapa we had a car trip out to Tram Ton Pass, not on our itinerary but worth exploring further.

Another side trip, to Bac Ha market, a long drive back past Lao Cai, is documented in the next album.