A WOMAN from Buntingford has spoken about her experiences treking in the mountains of north-west Vietnam in aid of charity. Felicity Sandell took on the challenge to raise money for Mencap, a charity which supports people with learning difficulties. Felic

A WOMAN from Buntingford has spoken about her experiences treking in the mountains of north-west Vietnam in aid of charity.

Felicity Sandell took on the challenge to raise money for Mencap, a charity which supports people with learning difficulties.

Felicity, who has now taken part in two treks abroad, said: "It was a wonderful experience and a very successful trip.

"The people on the trek, mostly from Northern Ireland, were particularly good. The people leading the trek said how supportive everyone was."

After travelling to Lao Cai in March, Felicity and the group were driven to a dusty village in the middle of nowhere to begin their trek in the unseasonally hot weather.

The week was spent in homestays where the travellers slept on mat-tresses arranged on upstairs galleries that surrounded living areas of houses built from wood and bamboo.

The group was supported by local people. Felicity said: "We were among hill tribes - what the Vietnamese call minority peoples - each with their own language and costume.

She added: "There were local people pursuing us with their traditional goods for sale, which, of course, we bought."

The group finished the challenge in Sapa where a banner demonstrating the language barrier was hung outside their hotel reading 'Welcome to MANCAP'.

Last weekend, Felicity travelled to Belfast to be reunited with the people that took part in the trek, staying in a hotel run by one member of the group, Peter Murray.

- For more details on Mencap visit the website at www.mencap.org.uk