Cat Cat Viilage
While some will tell you need to hire a guide to go into Cat Cat Village, there is really no reason to. The village is only 3 KM South of Sapa and the path is well marked and easy to follow. Just ask someone to point you in the right direction You will need to be in decent shape to do this (and really any trecks in this area) but this path is mostly paved stairs up and down the moutain...remember it rains here often so bring rain gear and hiking boots with good traction and ancle support Please note the area here is quite hilly so you will be climbing up and down the moutain to go to this village.

While Cat Cat is a Homong Village it not as exotic as the other villages since it is so easy to get too...so do it first or on a day when you have some time left over and you still have the energy to do some trecking. Note these children are wearing western clothing...not their traditional clothing...note young children in Vietnam (especially the rural areas) do not wear diapers so they are often without bottoms all together

Catching a night train back to Hanoi

When catching a train from Laocai back to Hanoi, you need to set off from Sapa as early as possible. This is because the bus or van takes one 1 hour to get from Sapa to Laocai (and sometimes this takes longer because the bus or van will wonder around the streets to get more passengers, thus wasting precious time). Once reach Laocai, most people will have their dinner there before catching the night train. Be very careful here because the restaurants here are very slow and they can be overwhelmed by many people trying to eat dinner at the same time. Remember to tell the waitress repeatedly that you are catching a train, and they will then try to serve you dinner faster. If not, they will take their own sweet time and you may land up without dinner before catching the night train.

Weather in Sapa
Because Sapa is at a mountainous area, most of the time it is rather foggy and/or rainy. According to most people, the best months to visit are in May or September because the weather is good and the terraces are filled with rice. December to February can be very cold and foggy due to winter time (however I went in December 2006 and was very lucky to have nice and clear weather). In fact, it even snows in Sapa every few years and I have seen photos of Sapa in the snow from a photography book while at the Hanoi airport. As such, bring enough clothings, rain attire as standby and proper walking shoes for trekking. Most of the terrain is in open space so beware of the sun and radiation.

Sapa/Hanoi

may be safer to buy Sapa train ticket from a reliable travel agent or reliable hotel (reputable one) to ensure you get what you pay for. or just join a reliable travel agent from Hanoi to Sapa.