took a domestic flight from HCMC to Hanoi, via Jetstar Pacific, formerly known as Pacific Airlines until 2008 when Qantas took over and bring it under the Jetstar family. a return flight from HCMC to Hanoi cost S$164, booked just 1 day prior to departure, cos we keep changing our itinerary so our route and events r very ad hoc. e 2 hrs flight was jus like any other budget airlines flights in spore, jus dat this time round we r surrounded by vietnamese. we flew on the boeing 737 & came back on an airbus 320 n e return flight was significantly more comfortable in a newer plane. so pls choose e airbus if u r taking jetstar pacific.
anyway, after reaching Hanoi, we took e minibus @ US$3 per pax from airport to town, journey took abt 2 hrs inclusive of waiting time (e minibus will oni start moving when it is filled, so if u r rushing for time, dun take it) and e peak hr jam. under normal non-jam condition, a cab arranged by ur hotel to e airport will take slightly less than 1 hr & cost US$15. we saw dat those vietnamese who took e minibus tght wif us clearly paid a very nominal fee, so US$3 was "tourist price". a very impt pt to rem when travelling in hanoi is "e drivers will collaborate wif other ppl to con u!" there's this incident where e minibus arrived at some random street outside some random shop n suddenly 2 guys jus opened our door n say "welcome to Sinh Cafe!" (they noe we wanna go sinh cafe cos we told them b4 we boarded e minibus) for goodness sake, e rd name is wrong, e shop's name is wrong n most imptly sinh cafe wont give us such a welcome (based on our experience in HCMC). so we jus stayed put in e car, told them it's e wrong plc n asked e driver to bring us to e correct one. luckily e driver brought us to e correct plc after seeing them cant con us.
so after reaching sinh cafe, we proceed to book our 3N2D Sapa tour @ US$74 inclusive of return train tic (soft sleeper cabin), 2 star hotel accom in sapa & guide plus all other transfers. we heard from 2 fellow backpackers (who did DIY) sharing e same cabin as us afterwards dat e return train tic alr cost US$50, so our package price was quite worth it. but one thing we regretted was not opting for a homestay (dat means u stayed in e villager's hse) as dat wld hav been a nicer experience. if u r getting a package tour for sapa, make sure to check clearly wat's e train type (there's express & non-express), cabin class, etc etc. alternatively, u can oso take a bus up (like we go genting like dat), journey time shd be abt e same, but not sure abt its cost.
@ e train platform~~
our cabin~~ we met 2 very friendly british backpackers, a teacher & a sociologist. they came from Hue after a 14hrs bus ride to hanoi n was sharing wif us some of their advantures. i tink they r e nicest british travellers i've met so far, n kian feels dat u can alr see their characters from their careers.
so we slept overnite on e train, which departs hanoi @ 9pm & reached lao cai station (e town closest to sapa) at 530am. after a hr bus ride from lao cai, we finally arrived @ sapa town~~
our hotel, emotion~~
sapa is located northwest of vietnam, 350km from hanoi, very close to e border wif china. a few of e ethnic minority grps lived here, wif Hmong being e majority and grow rice & corn on e sloping terraces as their means of living. sapa town lies at an altitude of 1600m, even higher than katoomba (town of e blue mountains in sydney)!
e minority ethnic grps (both young & old) will wait outside our hotel everyday & trek wif us to sell us their stuffs (woven pouch, pencil case, pillow case, etc).
had our breakfast @ e mkt~~
began our trekking after breakfast, visited cat cat village, where e Hmong live & trekked through hilly terrain, rice paddy terraces, waterfalls & streams, etc. sapa is a really beautiful plc, wif its natural landscape coupled wif e paddy fields. trekking in cat cat village is relatively easy, wif pathways for ya to walk.
a little gal we met on e way... e kids here all looked like this, wif no shoes & torn clothes, jus wandering abt... there's a really kind spanish backpacker in our grp who brought clothes & medicines all e way here to donate to the villagers. kian says we shd go & do some volunteering work in e 3rd world countries. i agreed... it's definitely more meaningful than painting e walls of e old folks home in spore (if u've watched e recent variety prog, u'll noe wat i'm refering to). who needs u to paint their walls when there's ppl starving/dying of disease/killed by landmines elsewhere? ok, jus my two cents worth.
a device to make use of e kinetic energy of water~~ damn cool!
buffalos resting on e fields~~ so cute!
had our dinner @ one of e vietnamese restaurant in town, viet curry chicken is quite nice...
began our trekking e nx day in e morning, weather wasnt good to us, rained e whole day, so we had e additional difficulty of trekking in e rain, where everywhere is so slippery. luckily we bought north face waterproof jackets in HCMC, so it has been put to good use!
a little gal trying to sell her stuffs to e tourists...
visited lao chai, another village where the Hmongs lived. trekking to e village is much more difficult than cat cat, cos there wasnt any paths for u to trek, jus stones & mud & grass, crossing streams by walking on a bamboo stick, e male ang mohs in our grp r so afraid they'll break e bamboo stick due to their weight. 
