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Published: March 11th 2008
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Sapa 1
The lake below the hotel Fri March 7th Sapa Vietnam
(Sapa-Hanoi-Hong Kong-Vancouver-Kelowna)
Today is the BIG travel day !!!
It has become evident to us both that Rod should have paid a lot more attention to the details of these final days. To try and jam in Sapa in our final day? (with the overnight train travel involved in coming and going) wasn't my smartest move. We were tired when we arrived, neither of us sleeping well on the overnight train so we had a kind of "groggy" day here and the weather was kind of grey and drizzly, chilly etc.
We both slept fairly well in the single night we were in the hotel only to wake up realizing we were in for a damn long journey back home. Once we leave the hotel it is a single continuous journey (with a few waits in airports etc) and little chance of sleep untill we arrive home.
The hotel is lovely but Sapa itself would probably require more time than we had. It's not so much a destination as it is a jumping off point for trekking and visiting hill tribes etc and between the drizzly weather and the short time we
allowed it really would have been smarter if we'd stayed an extra night in Phan Thiet and another in Hanoi rather than visiting here. I had totally forgotten what an interesting city Hanoi is.. M was quick to remind me what wonderful green spaces and parks/lakes etc the city has. We could have easily spent another day or night their and reduced our homeword travel time by 10-14 hours.
So we wind up spending Friday wandering around Sapa and sitting in the hotel basically killing time until we leave for home. Our car picks us up @ 18:30 and drops us at the rail station at 19:30. The train leaves at 21:00 and while we werent able to get a private 2 berth cabin we were very happy to share a cabin with a very nice Australian couple. We are met at the Hanoi train terminal @ 6 am and transferred to the airport to await an 11am departure to Hong Kong then on to Vancouver and eventually Kelowna.
It's a good thing M and I travel so well togeather for she understands that the tireder I get the more I turn into the "grumpy old fart" that
we both despise.. so she watches for the signs and gives me a good smack when she see's me start to unravel and get impatient with others. This has been a wonderful trip..our second visit to this beautiful country going through dramatic changes as it opens to the world.
We have enjoyed the familiar places from last time and loved the new places..cycling in the Mekong Delta from our base in Can Tho.. golfing in Phan Thiet and the wonderful 4 nights there at the Victoria Phan Thiet.
The vietnamese hospitality, food (and of course the beer), accomodation and organization were incredible. M had always teased me that I ignored the bacon and eggs etc when we were in asia and instead opted for the "gruel" as she describes it (congee) but on this trip it was the Pho...I did eat congee but I soon switched to Pho for breakfast. M fell in love with Vietnamese dairy product (who'd have thought there was such a thing)..swears the Yoghurts are at least as good as in Bali which she claims kicked butt on the Bulgarian (which they claim is the worlds best)..and as for the cheeses..she simply couldnt get enough!
She loves her cheese..and has sampled it all over Europe too but she claims this is THE best ever..possibly because they can use unpasteurized milks? I dunno..but it certainly beats the cardboardy stuff we get in N America and Im not even a big cheese eater.
We have visited something like 36 countries in the 17 years we have been togeather but only 2 have received 2nd visits..China and now Vietnam and while we plan on visiting many more in coming years I'm sure we would both enjoy this lovely country again.
Didn't get a chance to upload this till after we got home..long (somewhere between 36 and 48 hours) depending on whether you count from departing Sapa or waking up in Sapa..but just to equalize the experience..my luggage wasn't in Hong Kong when we arrived there..and M's wasn't in Kelowna when we got home! We had it in Vancouver but Air Canada lost it between YVR and Kelowna..go figure.
She has it now..so all is well..we are home..both dogs are healthy and glad to see us. Now it's back to work and begin planning for the next journey. Thanks to all who commented and emailed..we had
never blogged before but it's been enjoyable to share..if only it was so easy to do from Canada as it is overseas.
No idea what the next trip will be...M has been talking about Costa Rica..but we did see some things on TV while in Vietnam about Egypt that seemed to attract her as well... Time will tell
Cheers
R&M
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