Dec 25 2006, 01:31 PMChu Lin, Vietnam4 photos

On our last day in Sapa we were numb and lifeless, idly waiting for the night train to take us back to Hanoi for a final day of shopping, writing postcards, and pondering about what has passed in the last 27 days. Our trip was almost over, but not quite yet. In short...

Dec 25 2006, 03:22 AMLo Sui Tong, Vietnam2 photos

On Christmas Eve, we celebrated our victory over the mountain in a karaoke bar in Sapa. Over a couple of bottles of Hanoi vodka, our mood got progressively lighter, while our singing got progressively worse. At 2:00 AM, after scaring away the other customers with our take of "Hotel...

Dec 24 2006, 02:30 PMSan Sa Ho, Vietnam5 photos

The second day proved much more difficult. We started early and made the steep ascent to the peak in just over four hours. The descent was a long, up and down struggle, covering a considerable distance back to the road. We were picked up by an old Russian army jeep and arrived back at the Sapa...