We live as long as we fly
Pretty soon we made it to Sapa. I've been butchering the photos in Lightroom with my crooked hands here, purely out of boredom. I hope the psychedelic coloring won't be too distracting. Where it's important for the narrative, I tried not to mess with the colors too much.
Almost an interview, though. The phrasing is a bit clunky in places, but I was speaking live, after all, not in writing.
Be it long or short, the train began pulling into Lao Cai city. We didn't really know what time it was supposed to arrive, so we woke up around 5-6 in the morning.
Lao Cai is located in the north, next to it is the resort town of Sa Pa, which is where we were heading. We wanted to go there because nearby is Vietnam's highest mountain — Fansipan, 3143 meters high. We were planning to climb it. The Brits from the next compartment, on the other hand, weren't aiming that high; they were just going to wander around the area.
To get a visa on arrival, you have to submit your filled-out applications with photos to one window, and hang around the second one until a worker in epaulets waves your passport. The organization is a bit lame, but they manage somehow anyway. I left my filled-out forms and photos in my checked luggage, and baggage claim is after you get your visa.
So we handed over three passports and two applications. Earlier I had read that those who didn't provide a photo get their picture taken on a digital camera: that turned out to be true, but not in my case. They simply stamped my passport without such unnecessary formalities as properly filled-out paperwork. That's when I suspected that everything in Vietnam was going to be simple and pleasant. Jumping ahead, I'll say that this turned out to be practically true.