It is a very different atmosphere in Sapa, from other parts of Vietnam that we have visited so far. It is colder because it is higher up and can actaully get chilly in the evenings even though it is stiflingly hot during the day. I was a little disorientated when we arrived in this remote tribal town, to be greeted immediately by young children, dressed in traditional clothing (I think the name of their ethnic minority is 'Mong' people) speaking good English with crisp American accents - much better English than any other Vietnamese I had spoken to before. I wondered why this was and asked Hoang. He said that it was because a lot of the children (who's charm and friendliness is primarily in order to sell you things) don't go to school, and learn their English from meeting tourists. The people in his town don't seem to stop working - trying to sell things from early in the morning until late at night.
During the trek we were informed that all Vietnamese people are happy that things are 'changing' in Vietnam. The five point star on the national flag (with each point representing the peasant, the worker, the intellectual etc.) will apparently soon be changed to include a sixth point - for the tour guide.
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