track our trek

statistically speaking, it was bound to happen sooner or later... the overnight train back to hanoi from sapa was pretty miserable. the empty bunk across from me was used by about 4 different train employees taking cat naps during the course of the night, and 2 at once at one point! dp and i slept w/ one eye open each keeping track of the activity. we got back to hanoi and checked into yet another of the hanoi guesthouse's "sister hotels." it was quite a let down to get back to such dingy digs after our night at the chau long, but we were determined to use the pleasant memories to shore us up...even when the water service was disconnected on the entire block mid-afternoon. but when we woke up in the morning, i noticed a couple tiny bloody smudges on the sheets...telltale signs of bed bugs...still groggy, i jumped up when two big bugs (apparently adults, which look like apple seeds) crawled out from under the blanket. yuuuuuccckkk! my skin is still crawling. while i frantically shook out all of our clothes and sleep sacks, dp killed the big ones, along with 3 babies, which are tiny and translucent except when filled with human blood. the good news is, we had slept wrapped in our sacks on top of the blankets and couldn't find any bites on ourselves...the bad news is, that must mean the blood was from the room's previous occupants...eeewww! unfortunately, the water service hadn't returned by morning, so we were forced to pack up and leave without showers...not that we'd have wanted to be in that room one minute longer at that point. good thing we'd had such good showers...er...2 days before at the chau long! it took me a good 30 mins of inspection and psyching myself up before i'd even sit on the bed at our next guesthouse! lol!