Dear All,
We have just arrived back into Lao Cai whilst we wait for our sleeper train back to Hanoi. The last few days have been quite adventurous and the mountain area (North West Vietnam) has a lot to offer. We'll start at the beginning and where we left off a few days ago. We took the sleeper train from Hanoi, it was quite the experience. There were six of us to the 'hard sleeper' cabin, I guess when they say hard, they mean you have to be hard or else...
A picture of Jen, happy, before the train.
Jennifer, practising yoga in her bed.
It wasn't too bad (infact we're doing it again tonight as again, only the hard sleepers were available), although Jen dealt with it better than I, most likely as she is a full 20cm shorter than me, and her feet do not touch the end. We were also on the less popular (and cheaper) top tier as there is virtually no head space-tonight we get to be on the lower bunk, no climbing required!
On arriving in Lao Cai, fresh at 6.20am, we settled for a coffee and decided to make our way to where Lonely Planet states is a "Minibus Terminal" to catch a ride to Bac Ha. Turns out, that the location on the map was a construction site and needless to say, the bus didnt come and we, for the next hour, walked to six different places that the friendly Vietnamese pointed, grunted, and mimed to us. Needless to say, we got lost. During this time, we wandered the streets of Lao Cai (not on Lonely Planets top 10 things to do list-they recommend not hanging around for long) and we were hassled about going to Sapa. No, we said, Bac Ha! Luckily, a nice taxi driver took pity on us (whilst watching the show for about half an hour) and pointed us in the right direction, over the bridge we had initially crossed.
Not in the picture- our first spotting of CHINA! on the other bank
We eventually got the Minibus for our journey to Bac Ha, and as we found out, it sure is a popular route. Jennifer and I were forced to the back of the bus to sit on the luggage of others on the trip-as well as a good old sac of potatoes!
Mitch sitting comfortably. (Jennifer thought this was pretty funny and took a picture with about 14 seats and 23 people on the bus at this point-little did we know we would pick up quite a few more people..)
Jennifer and I posing.
A pick-up on the way, a Flower H'mong lady with her young infant.
The H'mong people are a group of minority cultures that reside in different parts of Northern Vietnam.
Click here for Wiki. The Flower H'mong dress in intricate and colourfully striped garments that are truly amazing to see. The main attraction of Bac Ha is its Sunday market, it draws large crowds of local people (especially Flower H'mong) and tourists alike. Here are some (many) photos of the market where everything from food, to clothing to livestock are traded. I won't caption them as we don't have the time, I apologise!
(note from jen: notice the great multitasking mother!)
From the Bac Ha markets, Jen haggled with a driver and we organised our lift to the high(er than Bac Ha by about 200m) mountain town of Sapa.
Sapa, located 1600m above sea, is a tourist town that has sweeping panoramic views of Muong Hoa valley. On arriving (to a blue sunny sky, quite a rarity) and after haggling for our hotel room, we hiked to Cat Ca village home to Black H'mong, where along the way we were lucky enough to see some spectacular views of the valley.
Black H'mong children eating ice cream.
Jen Hiking!
Another shot.
And another.
Just before we were about to get lost.
A local Black H'mong with a young child we encounted whilst getting lost.
On our way back after getting 'slightly' lost.
The weather in Sapa can change quickly and this is the same shot earlier after the clouds have rolled in.
Jen and I relaxing, enjoying a Beer Hanoi from our balcany with a panoramic view of the valley...
Mum, if you're reading, stop. Wendy if you're reading, also stop!
.....
On day 2, we hired a motorbike! Fun was had by all parties, and there were no accidents! We rode around the valley and took in the sights.
A modern day 'James Dean'
Supporting Mo'vember.
A shot.
An action shot!
Rice fields?
Another shot.
Dealing with hazardous livestock.
And treacherous roads! (This was the only part like it, the rest of the ride were on sealed roads! Relax mum!)
A biker chick.
One of the great things about Vietnam is that if you put a bit of effort in, haggle a bit, things can be cheap! For $16 dollars, we got: 1 nights accommodation, 1 day rental of a motorbike, a ride back to the train, use of shower facilities before our trip back to Loa Cai and a bottle of water!
So now, we're waiting for our train back to Hanoi, where we will change transport modalities and take a bus-boat-bus to Cat Ba island. From there we plan to do an boating trip to Halong bay and take a few days to get some Rest and Relaxation.
Until next time!
Jennifer and Mitchell
