Blogs from Northwest, Vietnam, Asia
May 22nd 2012
After finishing the loop in Tha Kaek it was time to plan my onward journey to Vietnam. My visa for Vietnam started on 1 May and I returned from the loop on 2 May. I went straight to the bus terminal to check the busses going to Vietnam and discovered various options. There is a direct minibus to Hanoi which leaves every other day or so but it takes 17 hours. After having been on one for more than 9 hours previously, I decided that I couldn't do 17 hours one a minibus. There was also a bus going to Vinh which is in the north and not too far away from Hanoi (well not so far means probably about 10 hours). I decided to take the bus at 8pm. I went back to the bus ... read more
The height of scamming and the top of the country. Connection?
Published: May 2nd 2012Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Sapa
April 28th 2012
A night train in Vietnam is like anything else in Vietnam: crazy. People rushing, pushing, falling, and screaming to get to a train that could very well possibly leave without them. There are no platform numbers, few train "staff" (even fewer who speak English), and the police in green uniforms hardly offer comfort with their austere, unsmiling faces. I was saved by an equally-overwhelmed British couple and we all safely got out to the train...but didn't know which one was ours. Which mass of people do I follow? That mass of Vietnamese or that one? A girl who sat next to me in the waiting room, who also gave me a pitying face when I hoisted my now-too large bag on my back, came back for me and beckoned me to follow her. Once in my ... read more
“Everyday is sunny with Chung” A Weekend in Sapa
Published: April 25th 2012Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Sapa
April 7th 2012
We left it a bit late getting train tickets to Sapa, so we had to settle for a sleeper bus. What an experience that was – the sleeping arrangements would be reasonably comfortable if you are built like the average Vietnamese person. For an Aussie bloke who is 180cm tall I am about 20cm longer than then bed was designed to accommodate. As a result I spent the following 12 hours hoping my knees would still work when we arrived. We travelled to Sapa with our friends Chung and John. Lucky they are both the perfect size for the sleeping bus bunks. When I took a look at them in their bunks they looked very comfortable compared to me. Dancing with the Hmong women On arrival in Sapa a group of Hmong women met our bus ... read more
April 4th 2012
Friday, 30 March 2012 - My company organized a one day trip, so I traveled with my colleagues to Thung Nai which is located 100km northwest of Hanoi. Thung Nai means "valley of deer" as deer were coming to this valley in the old days. When Hòa Bình hydropower plant was built in the 1980s, the valley became a reservoir. The mountains were partly submerged in the water and they became islands, as a result the landscape is similar to Hạ Long bay. We left Hanoi at 7am and back to the city at 7:30pm. When we arrived at Thung Nai commune, we rented a boat (about US$60) and cruised on the reservoir. We visited a couple of temples and I saw some interesting things there. Along the way to the temples, the Mường and Dzao ... read more
March 31st 2012
We organised our four night/ three day tour to Sapa from home and are delighted to learn that we are traveling with just one other couple, Anna and Drew from the UK. We'll be a very intimate group for the next few days. On the train however, Hannah and I bunked down with a Vietnamese couple for the duration of our overnighter from Hanoi to Lao Cai. I've included a map of the region, so you can see that Lao Cai is on the border of China and Sapa is another 30 or 40 km up a windy, very misty and mountainous road. Sapa has an altitude of about 1600 m and I was very surprised on the drive up to have my water bottle top pop like a champagne cork when I went to open ... read more
March 18th 2012
Patek 16.3.2012 - Sapa - Ta Van Dnes byl na programu prvni den nasi 2-denni tury. Vstali jsme v 8h na snidani v nasem novem hotylku (hotel Prince,15 USD na noc se snidani. Prisel nas pruvodce,asi 20lety Hmongsky kluk (z vesnicky Cat Cat), trochu stydlivy na prvni pohled. Sedame do autobusu,vyzvedavame jeste dalsich 5 lidi a poodjizdime do dalsi vesnicky vzdalene asi 2 km jizne od Sapy. Od tamtud uz po svych. Jdeme z kopce, nasi spoluturiste hodne foti a povidaji, coz by nevadilo, kdyby se co 5 min nezastavovali a nefotili se navzajem. Uz od pocatku nas pronasleduje parta "tet", jak jim rika Miki, ktere se nas stridave vsechny vyptavaji odkud jsme, jak se jmenujeme a kolik je nam let. Nejvic je nam sympaticka mlada 20ti leta Su, ktera vypada tak na 14 let. Zastavujeme ... read more
March 7th 2012
OK, folks – the theme of this post is, “We don’t have a clue.” It’s liable to turn into a sermon, so I apologize, but we learned so much recently about how people in other lands live (even after our trip to India) that I can’t resist writing. We’ve met so many people on this trip who believe that they’re surviving pretty well, living lives that are truly poverty-stricken according to American standards. Even though we’ve seen so much on our previous trips, this trip has been a good continuing lesson for us on our essential cluelessness about the real lives of most of the world’s people. We left Hanoi after one night and traveled northwest into another “ethnic minority” area, centered on the town of Sapa. After our time in the Central Highlands, we looked ... read more
February 27th 2012
We arrived in Vietnam last night on a short flight over from Taipei. Before i get into Hanoi, i want to wrap up our stay in Taiwan. Our last night in Taipei included an all you can eat BBQ buffet which Jordan insisted was Korean BBQ style restaurant. Not only did the food keep rolling out but the beers and ice cream as well. Wonderful way to conclude the marathon of food i call Taiwan. After dinner, we walked around to find some mole skin (does not exsist in taipei), whiskey and "fine art" aka my future business venture. Back to Hanoi, Day 1: On first impression it's everything i thought it would be but with much more of a small town feel and with way more westerners. Our transition from being the only white people ... read more
February 25th 2012
Long, Long long overdue! October 2011- October holiday trip to Hanoi, Halong Bay and Sapa, Vietnam. Travelled with: Kate A., Amirita, Tanya, Megan H., Meghan, Terri, Leslie, Pat and Kate N!!! I can now say I have been to the North, middle and South of Vietnam. Not bad for year one! Enjoy the pics:)... read more
February 22nd 2012
What a difference a day makes...It's a struggle to leave the warm duvet, knowing in all probability the weather hasn't changed from yesterday. Still pretty cold in the hotel, but needs must, biological if nothing else and eventually stumble down into reception. Sunshine, yes it's the sun and there's a mountain peak. Rush for the camera just since this might be a short lived glimpse of Sapa scenery. And it is as the place is enveloped once again in thick fog. It's the last day in Sapa, at least I've seen a mountain! Oh look, it's clearing again - sunshine, warm sunshine too.... read more
