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Day 2: Ta Van to Seo Mi Ti

A cheeky cockerel wakes us at 5.30am - I don't care about this after I see the breakfast of banana pancakes and chocolate sauce (no guilt after the previous day's exertions!) A whole hoard more porters turn up to carry the tents for our camp that evening. It's a hard slog right from the start, but the team spirit is very evident - even when some of it is like rock climbing. Our second guide Tsieu Yen teaches me some Hmuong language (generalised translation):

"mosu" - well

"chi mosu" - not well

I ask a passing porter "mosu?", he nods profusely, a beaming grin breaking out across his face, even though the 40-50Kilo weight on his back is bigger than him. The porters are simply amazing - they nimbly trek through all terrains in plastic sandals with no problem at all. I had issues carrying my 16Kilo rucksack through Heathrow airport, so how they carry up to 60Kilos deadweight is a mystery. They don't even look sweaty (in stark contrast to us!). A highlight of the day is probably sticking my head under a small waterfall - blissful cold water.

"Don't swallow it, keep your mouths closed..." Libby (trek leader) frantically warns us. A stomach bug would be a very bad thing at this point.

Lunch in the rainforest is great - the sun is not out so is not too burny on my sore arms and we see our first leech crawling across the tarpaulin (doesn't look like the one in James Bond at all). A huge spider on a web grabs our attention - yellow, black and green striped. We are fascinated and take pictures up close. Chi asks the porters what type it is, but they won't go near it...

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