Mountain Light

All of a sudden, just outside the town of Sapa, the dense veil of  mist lifted, bringing clarity to the world once more. For the first time since I descended into Vietnam from Laos two and a half weeks ago blue sky lay before me. It was evening, having spent all day on a train from Hanoi, and crimson streaks of cloud clung to the mountains high above us. After the fog and smog of the lowlands everything felt so bright and clear, terraced fields and forested slopes shining vivid green, the mountain air so fresh and clean. It is strange how the weather affects one's mood, the grey sky of Hanoi seemed to hang heavy over the mind, oppressive, closing me in beneath a foggy blanket. I do not think I could ever live in a place cut off from the sky, coming from Australia I yearn for the freedom of  the wide, open expanse of blue with it's infinite depth. Not that I did not enjoy the lowlands, or was melancholy in such weather, but I could definitely discern a change in my mood and a longing for sunshine.  I joyously awoke to the the sun's radiant warmth this morning, from my balcony surveying Sapa clinging to the hillside beneath steep mountains. Clouds were tumbling forth across their peaks and rapidly dissolving ensuring they would not blot out the sunshine.  Hill tribe women clad in a deep purple cloth embroided with brilliantly colurful designs walk up and down the street, trailing tourists with friendly conversation that aims to sell all manner of trinkets, small purses, silk scarves and the like. Dining here is somewhat of an experience, all the restaurants candle lit and with roses upon fine table clothes. Somewhere in the west you might pay $20 a main, but here it is only $2. It would have been terribly romantic had I not been alone. When the clouds part I can see from my balcony the summit of what I think is Fansipan, Vietnam's highest mountain. This challenge I hope to attempt tomorrow.