3 - Sapa
After the over-stimulating 'Loop', I had to turn down the gas a bit, I was exhausted from 7 days of poor sleep in hostels and then the last days just having the best time in the day and getting a decent night's sleep but still in a big dormitory. The bus we got to Sapa was due in at 3/4 in the morning and I still booked a hotel for that time and to arrive in the morning. I got into the hotel early and tired in darkness and it appeared as if although it was advertised as having a 24/7 front desk, noone was answering the bell or coming to open. After 10 minutes, the doorman woke up from sleeping on the sofa next to the door just out of sight and let me in. He made me a green tea and let me into my room where I slept very nicely into the morning. The mistyness of the lake and mountain-village atmosphere was something I loved, I've always loved places with mist and in a 'cloud-rainforest' setting. Mindo in Ecuador, Betws-y-coed in Snowdonia North Wales, and Baños ...