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Blogs from Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 7
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May 30th 2012
We arrived early this morning after getting the overnight train from Ha Noi. We were followed by agroup of different people sending us in random (and wrong directions). I actually managed to get lots of sleep on the bus despite the lightning appearing to hit very near us when we were travelling. Sapa is so beautiful.High up and much cooler. I think leanne and I may head to one of the local villages as we have met a few Hill tribe women who have invited us and not for a stupidly high price.More to follow... read more
May 29th 2012
Tuesday May29 2012..Kunming (China) to Sapa (Vietnam) Spent the day aboard a bus with travelled south alog some very hairy roads. We had the front seats at the top which meant we saw every oncoming vehicle on the wrong side of the road and every time the nearside wheels almost went over the edge! A few toilet stops..no cubicles...just a trough with water running thru it. Spectacular gorge counrty with rainforest jungles as we neared the border. Huge long 38 km downhill slopes with emergency ramps. Eventually got to the town of Hekou which was past the border gate so we had to get a taxi. It was actually quite easy to cross the border which was either side of the Red River. Once in Vietnam the first obvious difference was a clean tiolet with disinfectant!!. ... read more
May 24th 2012
22 mei 2012 Vroeg opgestaan om nog wat dingen te regelen voordat ik begon aan het motor avontuur. Vietnamese Simkaart en helm waren snel geregeld. Toen nog even een powernap voordat ik op de motor sprong! Het avontuur begon! Eerste uitdaging Hanoi doorkomen in dat gekke verkeer daar! Het ging verbazingwekkend goed, al snel reed ik als een echte Vietnamees! (Weet niet of dat zo goed is maar je komt in ieder geval het kruispunt over) Toen herkende ik het punt waar ik de motor had gekocht, dus nog even langs gereden om de stationer wat hoger te zetten. Kreeg meteen lunch aangeboden! Top gratis lunch haha. Na 1 keer flink verkeerd te zijn gereden aangekomen in Yai Bai. Hotel gevonden om de nacht te blijven. Ik had ongeveer 250km die dag gereden. Volgens mij zien ... read more
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
May 21st 2012
Thursday May 21,2012 Breakfast of bacon and egg croissant at local bakery. Then walked around town and down steep road towards Cat Cat village but didnt fancy the hike through slippery, muddy fields and paying the entrance fees. Mist rose as we had coffe overlookig the valley. Pumpkin soup for lunch. Natures View restaurant on Cat Cat Rd , great food, service and views. Sring rolls, Grilled chicken in honey sauce, sauted vgetables and tiger Beer. Misty and overcast. Friday June 1, 2012 Woke at 5am and mist cleared enough to see Mt Fanzipan but by 7am it was cloudy again. Walked to lake followed by persistant Red Dao girl. Walked around streets watching police confiscate any motorbikes which were parked on the road. Had sickly sweet Vietnamese coffe with condensed milk. Walked up the hill ... read more
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Sapa y las montañas talladas del norte de Vietnam
Published: August 15th 2012Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » Sapa
May 13th 2012
Después de cruzar la frontera Laos-Vietnam el viaje a Sapa dejó de ser tan divertido y pintoresco como la primera parte (de Luang Prabang a la frontera); fueron 6 horas en un minibús incómodo para llegar a Dien Bien Phu, una ciudad sin nada de encanto y en donde conseguir un restaurant resultó más difícil que conseguir una aguja en un pajar; al día siguiente tocaba otro minibús del mismo estilo que el anterior por 10 horas... El paisaje de Dien Bien Phu a Sapa fue lo único que nos salvó de la miseria de estar sentadas durante todo el día en esos asientos duros. El primer día en Sapa decidimos alquilar un scooter y recorrer los alrededores para visitar las aldeas de las etnias minoritarias que abundan en el norte de Vietnam y por supuesto ... read more
The height of scamming and the top of the country. Connection?
Published: May 2nd 2012Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » 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
April 8th 2012
So we're off to the mountains of northern Vietnam and our first climbing challenge on the bikes....bit scary! The night train to Lai Cai....well it got us from A to B! $38 each for a soft sleeper was really a bit of a joke given the low level of service, rock hard bunks and poor cleanliness of the trip. With the growing popularity of Sapa the prices to travel there have soared and the night train service is run for tourists, hence the price! We arrived at 7.30am and after a bowl of Pho and buying some banana cake we attempted to find our way out of Lai Cai on the road to Sapa. It took awhile given the lack of sign posts but soon the ascent began. It was a gradual windy climb and we ... read more
“Everyday is sunny with Chung” A Weekend in Sapa
Published: April 25th 2012Asia » Vietnam » Northwest » Lao Cai » 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
