Last night I travelled from Hanoi to Lao Cai on the night train. I arrived at the station around 6am. I had a breakfast of a crepe and coffee for 8.000 dong ($.50). The coffee is the best I've ever had - it's thick, smooth, rich, and sweet. I could easily get addicted to this. When I drink coffee back home, it'll taste like bad water.

Our driver picked us up in a Russian jeep; probably left over from the American War. The seat was soft, so I had nothing to complain about. The ride in the jeep reminded me of a trip to Anza-Borrego State Park with Jason; I was constantly being thrown in all directions due to the quality of the terrian. After 1.5 hours of keeping my head on my shoulders, we arrived at Coc Ly where there was a weekly market of Flower H'mong minority. Their clothing is extremely colorful, and must take a while to embroider.

I saw only 5 other tourists at the market, so I knew I had been successful in getting slightly off of the tourist trail, even if it was only for a few hours. The people in the market were selling meat, chickens, tobacco, rice wine, pigs, and clothing. While we were strolling through the market, one of the tobacco vendors must have been bored. He invited me to smoke tobacco out of his water bong, and was delighted when I obliged. Hoa thought this might be because he's used to westerners smoking cigarettes. We continued through the market. The most popular way of greating me was 'hello' and a gesture towards their wares.

After spending a couple of hours in the market, we boarded a small boat and headed downstream on the Chay River. Although this wasn't the 1960's, I felt slightly like I was in Apocalypse Now.

We visited a small village, where several people invited us into their homes. The first home was made from mud, bamboo, & grass. There were 4 beds, 3 pots, a fire, and a television. The floors were made of pounded dirt. A baby was sleeping underneath a mosquito net, oblivious to the dogs barking outside.

On our way into the village, I saw two small children walking along the path. The smallest girl hadn't noticed me, so I made a small noise to get her attention. As soon I she saw me, a lot of dread and fright swept over her face and she fled towards her mother.

We made our way to the local school house. Class was in session, and as I walked by I was greeted by 'hallooo' about 30 times by various children. I bought some biscuits from the village and gave them to the teacher. She distributed them to the children, and after they started eating they settled down. When I left, the school door filled with smiling faces, waving hands, and 'halloooo's.

The jeep picked us up downriver. On our way to Sapa, our jeep broke down while climbing the 10% graded hills. While Hoa and I were killing time, we went to visit another school. We went to the classroom where english was being taught. I introduced myself to the students and read a few basic paragraphs in front of the class. After we left, Hoa explained his discontent with the state-run schools. The teacher didn't know much english, was pronouncing words incorrectly, and wasn't explaining the meaning behind western holidays like christmas and easter. (That was the lesson material for the day.)

By the time we returned to the jeep it had been fixed. They dropped me off at the hotel, where I was able to take an ice cold shower in 60 degree weather. I remember eating some inadequate food before going to sleep.