We managed not to get squashed and flattened by the swarm of oncoming motorbikes on the streets of Hanoi ( just because we closed our eyes, kept on walking and mumbled prayers 24/7 ) !!!!!!!!!!! After seeing the splendid water puppet show and getting lost several times in the narrow streets of the old quarter in the north of Hoan Kiem lake, we ( I didn't manage to get rid of the british chick yet) squeezed our fat bums into a tuc tuc to see uncle Ho's Mausoleum and his fancy stilt house. On thursday we decided to take an overnight train to Lao Cai, where we catched a bus up to Sa pa, well known for it's rice terraces and minority villages. We hiked through the rice terraces the following 2 days, stopping at different villages to meet the people of the H'mong, Dzar and Red Dzao. Lot's of kids were trying to sell wristbands, the first sentences they learn must be "You buy this from me", with an expression in their faces that makes it hard to resist. We visited a school and a family, the hands of the 96-years old granny were blue from coloring clothes with indigo. The chinese rice terraces around Guilin may have been more impressive and majestic, as they seemed to cover the complete hillsides, but the vietnamese people seem to be more hospitable and friendly. We left Sa pa on a stormy evening to head back to Ha noi- another overnight train.