OnTheRoad

First things first - Sapa is absolutely beautiful, the most scenic place I have been in all my travels to date, the only place that compares with the beauty of NZ scenery. Once I find a computer that doesn't just keel over and die when I try to install Picasa, I'll get photos up and you can see what I mean. Basically, mountains, forests, rivers, rice fields, terraces and a temperature which doesn't make me sweat all day long. Unless I'm climbing mountains...

Which my legs are still reminding me I just did. Yesterday was the most hardcore hiking I've done in my entire life. We had arranged to do a two day climb of Mount Fansipan (variously translated into so many different spellings that I'm going with Mount Fancy Pants, close enough) and were surprised when we finished our first day after two hours hiking, having climbed only about 200m in altitude. Our guide somehow managed to prepare an absolute feast for us, so we were rapidly placated. Anyway, the first day's lack of hiking was more than made up for on the second day. Leaving camp at 2250m, we dropped down to around 2100 then proceeded to climb, more or less vertically (hands were used most of the way and in some places climbing had to be rope assisted) more than 1000m vertically to the peak at 3143m. It's just unbelievably steep. Unfortunately the top was cloud shrowded, but we sat down for a lunch and a little rain before beginning the descent along a different route. The pain changed from muscular to joint pain as the continued impacts of the descent set in. All in all, the descent was even more hardcore than the ascent - we dropped about 1700m in altitude to a valley below Sapa, around 1400m altitude, with incredible views once we dropped below the cloud layer. Awesome stuff, look for the photos coming later today :)

Anyway, all is well. Airasia has cheap flights from Hanoi to Bangkok, so I'll probably return to Thailand next and possibly explore the north, possibly go back to Koh Tao and do some more diving and lazing around on the beach until I depart at the end of the month. Maybe a bit of both :)

Update: photos are up.