We boarded the train from the Gold Coast to Brisbane International Airport and checked in with Singapore Airlines for our flights to Singapore and further onto Hanoi in North Vietnam. We're on our way.
Our advance booking at The Little Hanoi Hotel which included an airport pickup eliminated being hassled at the airport by the hoardes with "Please come to my Hotel" - it was especially welcome after 19 hours of travelling.
Heading into Hanoi on the freeway I was very quickly reminded we were actually in Vietnam - we passed a farmer on his scooter which had a .5 square metre wire cage loaded up with about 7 live piglets - all jammed in and hanging out through the wire in every which way. It was only a few minutes further on when we passed a scooter with a sole driver who was transporting two queen size mattresses which met at the top above his head! What a hoot!
The Little Hanoi Hotel is in the French Quarter of Hanoi, close by to most places. Our accommodation at $28 US per night for a double deluxe room includes breakfast each morning and complimentary airport/train transfers. Our room is large with a massive king size bed and this little hotel is as clean as a whistle. The staff are very friendly, attentive and helpful.
The best way to see a place such as Hanoi's Old Quarter is to set out on foot - so off we went. Close by Hoan Kiem Lake is the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre which puts on a fantastic show. This form of puppetry originated in North Vietnam, is over 1,000 years old and is enjoyed by all. The puppets are mounted on long sticks with the operators working from behind curtains in feet deep water. This form of entertainment had its origins in the paddy fields. The show is comprised not only of puppetry but also of music, drumming and beautiful singing. Our dinner in the evening at our hotel was wonderful Vietnamese cuisine. I'll give the strong coffee a miss but I am enjoying the Vietnamese tea. Apparently the terminology "Dog Lover" takes on a whole new meaning in North Vietnam - so we'll steer clear of dark meat and choose chicken!
The following day we set off on a long walk to visit Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum, his vestige and home on stilts which are all located within the Presidential Palace area. Ho Chi Minh, the man, affectionately known as Uncle Ho is revered by his people and was known for his simple style of living, gentleness and the dedication he had to his nation and people.
We bused to Halong City and were then taken out to our Junk "Poseidon" for 2 days of cruising in Halong Bay. Vietnam is well known for it's beautiful area of Halong Bay which is comprised of more than 3,000 islands in the Gulf of Tonkin. The limestone pinnacles of the islands jut out of the sea and the scenery is spectacular. The food onboard our Junk was fantastic and we thoroughly enjoyed the activities of kayaking and caving. Our three day trip has been organised by our hotel and so far so good, it has been great. In the morning we visited Cat Ba National Park where Pat joined a group for a walk and climbed 300 stairs (steep and dangerous) to reach the lookout which was used during the war. We had an overnight stay on Cat Ba Island, visited Monkey Island and spent a couple of hours lazing on the white sandy beach while the monkeys showed off in the trees behind us. Back on board the Poseidon we had a delicious seafood lunch before heading back to Hanoi. We were very warmly welcomed back to the Little Hanoi Hotel by Lily and the evening staff and were handed the keys to our lovely room 201.
Ninh Binh is approximately 90 klms south of Hanoi - here we visited the ancient city of Hoa Lu which was the original ancient capital back in the 10th century. There are very few ancient ruins in Vietnam, said to be a result of bombings during the "American" war. Pat chose to take a 12 klm bicycle ride from Hoa Lu to Tam Coc - I chose the air conditioned van due to the 40 degree heat. The surrounding countryside is just what Vietnam is depicted as - lush brilliant green rice paddies, water buffalo and their handlers in conical hats working in the fields. These conical hats (which are brilliant for cool and shade) are worn by just about everyone - even me.
Tam Coc is known as The Halong Bay of the Rice Paddies as this area has the same limestone rock formations as Halong Bay. We climbed onto a little row boat to see the Ngo Dong River wind its way through the paddie fields. Mostly girls row these boats and they alternate between the use of their hands and feet for rowing - quite fascinating to watch. They also push the paddles when rowing as compared to us - we pull the paddles when rowing. We rowed 3 klm upstream and crossed under 3 grottos (keep your head low). On the return journey Pat took over the main paddles and had a row for about one kilometre - our guide enjoyed the little bit of relaxation on the 6 klm round trip. We helped row from our seats with shorter paddles - sore shoulders next day served as a reminder.
On our return journey to Hanoi we had 3 retirees from Melbourne sitting in the front row of seats behind the driver - they kept us entertained with their commentary on the magnificent and experienced driving skills of our driver. I find it better to sit behind and not look at how they overtake a vehicle with 3 vehicles coming at us from the opposite direction ... yes we definitely are in Vietnam!
Back at the Little Hanoi Hotel we were given fresh towels for showers before they organised our taxi to the train station for our overnight journey on the "Orient Express" to Sapa. Our 4 berth cabin was very comfortable, however, very early in the evening a young man joined his lady friend in the top bunk - making our cabin a 5 berth instead. How the hell they squeezed 2 people into that bunk I'm not sure, but there were no complaints from them!
We checked into the Mimosa Hotel in Sapa for $10 (discounted from $15) per night - later, again discounted to $8 per night for a 5 night stay - great value with views across the mountains and a large room and bathroom. Prices in Vietnam are very cheap if you are prepared to shop around - some hotels are highly priced but can lack the down to earth atmosphere of the smaller ones.
As it rained shortly after we arrived, we decided to spend the day walking in the town of Sapa and through the bustling markets. In the evening we met up with Debbie & Ian from Nelson in New Zealand for dinner - we first met up at Halong Bay on Monkey Island. They are avid bike riders so were giving us some encouragement to travel on a motorbike - they claim it to be one of the greatest ways to get about and see the mountains and the hill tribes. Pat hasn't ridden a motorbike in 35 years so we quickly dismissed that idea.
The women from the hill tribes dress in their traditional clothing - carry their large baskets (or babies) on their backs and offer their homemade wares for sale. They tend to follow visitors for ages asking for your name, how many children and grandchildren you have, what are their ages and whether they are boys or girls - they also want to know how old we are. Life expectancy is lower in Vietnam, so by the time people reach 60 they are looking at the end of their lives - they think it's amazing that we are in the same age group and travelling about so ably.
The following day we decided to throw caution to the wind and hire a motorbike. Pat chose a 125cc bike and we set off for the day, covering over 100 klms. Warren and Patty from Lismore also hired a bike from our Hotel, so we all set off together. We left the bikes at the top and hiked down to the Cat Cat Waterfall alongside Cat Cat village and later visited another village called Ta Van. At one point we picked up 2 young ethnic village girls of the Hmong Tribe who wanted a lift up the mountain (3 on a bike???).
When we reached the village at the top we were invited into their home to meet the family and see their home. This was a great treat - especially to meet "Mama" who is considered to be very old at 80 years of age - she made my Mum at 82 look like a youngster! It was a privilige to be welcomed into their home with its scant furnishings including a couple of small stools, a table and a sewing machine. The earthen floor in the very large kitchen came complete with a chook and 6 chickens running around! The bedrooms were upstairs in a loft area and the timber home was very cool inside out of the heat of the sun. In one corner of the kitchen was a large drum full of black dye which they use for dying the cloth they weave for their traditional clothing. We met the ladies' brother who was caring for his 3 small daughters - we presume his wife was in town selling her wares.
We took the village pathway back to the main road which was very rocky and rough in parts. The villagers and the children are very friendly - as as we rode by lots of them would wave and call "hello". After lunch in Sapa we set out to find some caves - we overshot the turnoff by about 10 klms so headed back to Sapa and experienced travelling through rain whilst on a bike! Hmmm! Stinging rain, insects and foggy glasses. Hmmm! We met up with Debbie and Ian for dinner and thanked them for encouraging us to hire a bike. It was a magnificent day - one we'll never forget.
Rain seems to have set in so it looks like we will be on foot for a couple of days. We were lucky enough to see a colourful funeral procession heading through Sapa - hundreds of people in front of and behind the deceased person - relatives of the person were all wearing white headbands.
In the evening we joined up with Ross & Sally from Townsville and Linda & Bill from Paluma - there certainly is no shortage of Aussies in Vietnam. We ordered a large Hot Pot for our table and thoroughly enjoyed the evening and the cold refreshments. Ross & Sally have also retired and like us they spend 3 months of the year travelling overseas and a couple of months touring in their caravan back home. Saturday night is the Love Market here in Sapa, so we're off tonight to check out the attractions. We booked our bus tickets to Bac Ha and hope to visit the Sunday markets when we're there.
We were approached by an elderley lady to buy her wares in Sapa - we were later told that she is very famous all over Vietnam because she is 90 years of age and has married a man of 30 years of age - apparently it was the first marriage for both.
Bac Ha's markets are very well organised - plenty of shade and places to eat and drink. I didn't like the animal markets where they were selling off animals for food - amongst the animals were about 6 beautiful little Husky puppies - they were only being inspected as food not as pets - it kind of turned my stomach a bit - I had to walk away.
Well it's still raining so we've decided to head to Lao Cai on the Vietnam/China border and cross the border today. All was going fine when Pat's Lonely Planet of China was confiscated - we tried to encourage the border guard to let us take it as we have had it on 3 previous trips into China - he said NO - PLEASE CO-OPERATION!!! Reluctantly Pat handed it over. About 100 metres away from the border we boarded a bus for the 9 hour trip to Kunming, when a young man came on board and asked if we'd like a copy of the Lonely Planet - it was the same version but a newer book for $20 so we took it. We'd be lost without our Guide Book - an essential for independent type travel.
We spent a couple of days in Kunming which is a very big city - I am very impressed with the beautiful tree lined avenues and the cleanliness of the streets - perhaps there has been a big turnaround since the Olympics. We checked into the Camellia Hotel where Pat and Kelli stayed about 12 years ago. Our morning walk in the City ended up being about 12 to 15 klms. Along the way we visited an old Palace and enjoyed listening to a group of elderley musicians playing their traditional string and flute instruments - their Conductor was also an elderley gentleman.
We decided to take the train to Dali, which ended up being an 8 hour trip in a hard seat train. In our compartment there were 5 people sitting on the two lower bunks. The trip was pretty uncomfortable and following on from our big day of walking I was feeling pretty wrecked. A lady directed us to a lovely hotel just outside the main gate of the Ancient Walled City of Dali - we hit the hay at 9 pm and didn't get up until about 8 am - I guess it was a kind of jetlag.
We have noticed lots of construction here in Yunnan Province, namely freeways, new fast train rail lines, bridges, high rise residential buildings and generally lots of construction - we can't see that the GFC has affected this part of China - perhaps China also had a stimulus package programme. Travelling through rice paddies the fields are full of workers - ploughing and planting and all are working up to their knees in water. The countryside is covered in rice paddies with rice and vegetables of all varieties being grown.
Dali at an altitude of 1,900 metres is a beautiful old City with a range of mountains as a backdrop and it has been built alongside Lake Erhai Hu. This ancient city in Yunnan Province is located at the foothills of Tibet. The buildings are traditional old style Chinese with pictures etched into the walls - depicting the scenery and lifestyles. The town has a series of channels winding their way through the cobblestone streets - these once supplied the city's drinking water.
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