Finding Vietnam's best scenery

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Day 409: Thursday 13th August - Too fatigued to venture far

After an hour’s bus journey from Lao Cai I arrive in Sapa at breakfast time. With no map for reference, I haven’t got a clue where the hotel I booked through the travel agency in Hanoi is. Tired after my overnight train journey from Hanoi, neither have I the patience to endure the constant requests for motorbike rides nor to buy something from the hill tribe women as I walk through the streets of Sapa looking for my hotel.
I am not best pleased with what greets me at the hotel. First, I have a disagreement with the guy on reception who is adamant he needs my passport to check me in otherwise he risks a 3 million Dong fine from the police (£100). I hand him my photocopy and explain that my passport is in Saigon waiting to get a Chinese visa processed. He is still not happy and nor am I in the mood to discuss it. Check me in, I just want to get to my room to get a shower and lie down. Things get no better when I’m shown my room - although the room looks what a $12 room should look like , it has neither hot water or electricity. I ask when these necessities will become available and I’m given a vague ‘sometime later’. Having booked three nights in advance through the agency in Hanoi, I’m starting to regret that decision.

When I go for breakfast an hour or so later in what becomes a second home to me whilst in Sapa I am informed by Pete an Australian guy who is the manager that electricity is out for the whole town. My hotel isn’t that bad after all, and once electricity is returned and I can get a hot shower (necessary as Sapa is a cool mountainous town at an elevation of over 1000m) I reflect that I got a good deal from the travel agent. He talked me out of getting a more expensive deluxe room with a view, which was right as at the end of my corridor is a seating area on the balcony which looks out over the mountains. In the afternoon I relax reading a book taking advantage of the views.

Before that, I walk through the town which doesn’t take long as there are only really half a dozen streets. Sapa reminds me of a German Alpine town. It is very touristy, packed with hotels and restaurants, but is given a dash of colour and the exotic by the presence of hill tribe women (mainly the Hmong) every few steps trying to sell you something. We may think of these people as a bit primitive, but their sales technique is honed to perfection and it is hard to resist their persistent requests to buy something from them. They are really friendly though as are most of the Sapa’s local residents. This is a bit of a turnaround after what I found in the rest of Vietnam, but as I think of the reasons why, I stumble across the fact that these people aren’t really Vietnamese. Instead they are Hmong, Day, Kinh, Dao or Tay, the hill tribes that have settled in the mountainous areas of Vietnam as well as Laos and Thailand.

Whilst the Hill tribes are colourful in the streets of Sapa, the men who laze about the streets asking if you want a motorbike every few steps are just plain annoying. I’ve had this in Hue and Hanoi and when will they understand that if I did want a ride somewhere I would approach them? Vietnam officially probably has zero percent unemployment but if you added up all the men that hang about asking if you want a motorbike I think you’d get something in double figures!

In my tired state, several get the short side of my temper. However it is incessant and it grinds you down. The last ten days have ground me down. Illness, the Vietnamese people, beautiful scenery spoilt by mass tourism, missing social contact have all had an effect. Not for the first time In Southeast Asia or Vietnam for that matter I think about home. I think how much longer can I travel? Do I have the energy to continue? Does what lies ahead still excite me? Is now the time to return home? . Is it just tiredness or something deeper and more serious that I can no longer ignore? As the day draws to a close I can’t answer any of these questions.

Day 410: Friday 14th August - Riding a motorbike through Vietnam’s best scenery

I’m feeling refreshed after an early night and a good night’s sleep. Today I want to get a motorbike and ride around the mountainous surroundings of Sapa. This is going to be my last meaningful experience in Southeast Asia and I can think of no better way to end this chapter of the adventure than to ride a motorbike around. The motorbike is THE means of transport in this part of the world and it seems appropriate to bring the last 5 months in Southeast Asia to a close this way.

Over breakfast at my usual haunt, Pete is extremely helpful in telling me a reliable source to get a motorbike from as well as pointing out a number of routes that would be good to do on my map. He also tells me it is not recommended to get food in the villages outside Sapa nor to get fuel apart from at the petrol station in Sapa and that a manual motorbike is more fuel efficient than an automatic. All good tips which set me up for what proves to be a great day.

I find Ching the guy that Pete has recommended outside my hotel and get a motorbike from him for $5 for the day. After filling up with fuel - 40000 Dong (just over a pound) which is good for the whole day and 130 kilometres of riding over some mountainous terrain, I set off from Sapa. I follow the twisting road uphill to Silver Waterfall, 15 kilometres from Sapa. Before I reach it I pass a few small waterfalls, nothing spectacular but as I round the corner and see the Silver Waterfalls cascading down the mountain in front of me I am impressed, impressed enough to stop and take in the view for a minute or so. Pete had warned me of this when I asked me how long it would take to ride certain sections ‘You’ll be stopping plenty of times to admire the view.....it just depends how often you stop’. He was right.

The road gets steeper as I approach the top of the pass which lies on the border between the Lao Cai and Lao Chai provinces. At the top I must be at about 2000 metres altitude, in the clouds and it feels a bit eerie. As I start my descent to Tam Duong - still 30 kilometres away - I come across several landslides and heavy machinery trying to improve the quality of the road. The sections where the road turns to a bumpy dirt track, or a mud bath or where there is a small stream running across the road all add to the fun of the day’s ride.

The scenery on the other side of the pass if anything is better than that around Sapa. The traffic thins out and there are virtually no tourists this far out of Sapa. Fansipan, Vietnam’s highest peak at over 3000 metres rises steeply to my left, as the road snakes down through the valley ahead of me. Closer to Tam Duong, near the bottom of the valley, a river runs alongside the road, and the size of some of the boulders in the river need to be seen to be believed. The river is lined by rising terraces, which climb up the mountainside. Stunning scenery, my favourite section on this part of the ride but little am to know that it will be bettered this afternoon.

I reach Tam Duong at 11:30am, two hours after starting from Sapa. There’s nothing special to the town, rather it is a reference point on the map to ride to. The best of the scenery is behind me, so I do as Pete advised and turn around and head back to Sapa, almost 50 kilometres away. As I climb towards the pass it starts to rain, lightly at first and then more steadily. Of course it impacts on my enjoyment of the ride, but it doesn’t spoil it and it doesn’t affect me too much once I have my waterproofs on. It clears up once I am the other side of the pass heading down towards Sapa. I stop on the roadside a few kilometres from Sapa and have a packed lunch, looking over the valley to another amazing view.

In the final few kilometres to Sapa it starts raining again. It is only slight though so I decide to continue down the Lao Chai valley. It is only 1:30pm, I still have enough fuel left and although I’ve been riding for four hours on a manual motorbike that I have little experience of, I’m having too much fun to call it a day. Even the 15,000 Dong (50 pence) charge to enter the valley doesn’t deter me. It proves to be the right decision as I pass through the best scenery I’ve seen in Vietnam. People may disagree pointing to the more recognised beauty of Halong Bay or the mountains between Danang and Hue or even the central highlands. But, from what I’ve seen of the country it is the most beautiful area, and one of the most beautiful of Southeast Asia. The valley opens up in front of you for miles ahead and is covered in emerald green rice terraces, which are enclosed by mountains. In and amongst the terraces are hill tribe settlements, and on the ride you pass many Hmong women in their traditional clothing.

I ride 16 kilometres down the valley to Ban Ho. The upper section is the best, but the whole valley is a treat. I could go further but calculate that I don’t have enough fuel left, so I turn back to Sapa. The sun is at its hottest and I have felt myself getting burnt all the way down the valley despite the fact that I’m wearing sunscreen (but it is the less than reliable Cambodian sunscreen, and in all honesty more like a face scrub than a sun lotion!!). I then race back to Sapa, having so much fun just riding the motorbike, not to mention the breathtaking views. I get back to Sapa six hours after I started, with a sniff of fuel left and beat the downpour by half an hour. I’ve had one of the best days in Vietnam, it’s been an incredible experience. Up to this point if anyone had asked me I wouldn’t have raved on about Vietnam’s scenery. Perhaps I’ve spent too much time in its cities, but the Mekong Delta was disappointing and even Halong Bay left me wanting more.

I closed yesterday’s diary entry by posing some questions. Whether today has answered them all conclusively I am unsure but it has done the world of good to improve my spirits. It’s for days like this that I continue to travel. Even after a year, the world has a capacity to amaze.

Day 411: Saturday 15th August - An irony and my Chinese visa is granted

There’s an irony to my stay in Sapa. After days of wishing to leave Vietnam but unable to because I was without my passport and waiting for my Chinese visa, now it is time to move on I have found somewhere I could stay longer. It is time to move on because after waiting a week and a half my Chinese visa application has been processed, my passport has arrived back in Hanoi and it will be ready for me to collect in Lao Cai tomorrow. I could always stay longer but I’ve spent time over the last week working out my Japan and China legs of my journey and piecing together getting from China to Japan and back economically (not easy), giving me enough time to see what I want to see and still allowing me to reach Nepal before winter sets in fully and trekking becomes less appealing, and I don’t have a great deal of time on my side. It’s funny that without a job and a schedule I still seem to be travelling to a timetable. However, I simply don’t want to miss trekking in Nepal as it remains one of the things I’m most looking forward to about the remainder of my trip.

I spend the day doing very little. I read looking out over the stunning valley, a few nice meals to treat myself, including a stop at the best cake shop in Sapa which has become an afternoon ritual. I also have time to make a few calls home to friends and family and as I mentioned above to piece together the plan for China and Japan. Otherwise I prepare myself mentally for China.

And that pretty much brings down the curtain on my Vietnam trip as well as my journey through Southeast Asia. I’ll miss Sapa, it is one of my highlights of Vietnam for sure but otherwise I welcome a change of region. I’m ready to move on from Southeast Asia although I do expect the next 3 weeks through Southern China to be similar to this region, but I don’t really know what to expect if I’m honest. That is the excitement with China - I think most of the regions I’ve been to in the world have been similar to my expectations beforehand. I’d been to Brazil before so had an expectation of Latin America, I expected Australia and New Zealand to be similar to the UK in culture and they were and I expected an in your face intensity together with warm people from Southeast Asia and I wasn’t disappointed.

Returning to Vietnam, the highlights of my trip along with Sapa were Saigon (crazy, dynamic, a reunion with a friend, staying in luxury, and learning about the war history) and Hoi An (a beautiful ancient town to relax in whilst you shop until you drop, or in Jeremy Clarkson’s words the ‘Saville Row of Vietnam’). I think my last few days in Sapa have helped to give me a more balanced view of my time in Vietnam but I still believe that the Vietnamese people helped to spoil much of the rest of my time in Vietnam, which is a shame. Hanoi didn’t do it for me although drinking Bia Hoi on the pavement people watching was a cool experience; Halong Bay was good but didn’t live up to the hype as it was too busy with tourists; Hue was a nothing place with the exception of the tombs which were well worth a visit; and the Mekong Delta, the less said the better. I didn’t make it to the central highlands which I’ve heard rave reviews about from fellow travellers but it isn’t enough to bring me back to Vietnam, the Vietnamese people have put pay to any desire to return.

I’m in danger of repeating myself, but after over 5 months in Southeast Asia I’m ready to move on to a different region. I’ve visited 8 of the 11 countries that make up this region only missing out on East Timor (because my insurance wouldn’t cover me), Myanmar (unsure whether to visit due to the Human Rights abuses by the military government) and the Phillipines (was a bit out of the way of my route) so I feel I’ve got a very good overview of what this part of the world is all about.

For my benefit looking back as much as anything else but if anyone wants a guide to Southeast Asia my best (and worst) of Southeast Asia would be as follows:

Best Experiences:

In no particular order my 10 essential experiences of Southeast Asia would be:
• The Gili Islands, Indonesia - Idyllic, and what Bali probably was a generation ago
• Seeing the moonscape scenery of Mount Bromo, Indonesia
• Seeing Orang Utans in the wild, Indonesia
• Visiting dynamic and multi-cultural Singapore
• The most beautiful national park in Southeast Asia - Mulu National Park, Malaysia
• Walking in the cool surroundings and enjoying the colonial charm of the Cameron Highlands, Malaysia
• Thailand’s beaches - my favourite would be Railay.
• Living out your childhood fantasies at The Gibbon Experience, Laos
• Learning about the horrors of the region wars in Eastern Laos, S21 in Phnom Penh, Cambodia and in Saigon, Vietnam
• Angkor Wat - the ultimate temple, Cambodia
• Hoi An - a shopping mecca and a cute ancient town, Vietnam
• Sapa - Riding a motorbike through stunning mountainous scenery

It should have been 10 but I can’t get below 12! If I had to pick one out of the above list as my favourite although it is difficult to choose it would be the Gibbon Experience.

Best People:

1. The Laotians - the warmest people I’ve ever met.
2. The Cambodians - They have the friendliest children who are so cute, and the people too are very welcoming.
3. The Sumatrans - Each Indonesian island is very different, but Sumatra was the friendliest. If I had to choose one place in Indonesia though it would be Yogyakarta on Java - lovely people.

Worst People:

1. The Vietnamese - too commercially orientated. They spoilt my experience of the country.
2. The Thais in Southern Thailand - It was only when I got to the north I saw the warmth of the Thai people. In the south tourism has clearly had an effect.
3. The Balinese - Again tourism has got in the way and all they seem interested in is making money out of you.

Best experiences with the locals:

• Staying in a longhouse near Kuching, Malaysia
• Trekking with John in Bario, Malaysia
• Getting a free lift back to Chiang Mai, Thailand
• Too many to mention in Laos
• A thousand hellos from Cambodia’s children

Generally, the people are very much in your face in this region. In places the hassle can be overbearing but it is part of the culture in this part of the world. Largely the people are very warm and welcoming particularly in the areas not over-touristed.

Best Cities:

1. Singapore - I could live there.
2. Saigon, Vietnam - Southeast Asia on steroids...dynamic, energetic and crazy....I love it.
3. Yogyakarta, Indonesia - The city itself is hot and scruffy but the surrounding temples and the warm people make it.

Worst Cities:

1. Jakarta, Indonesia - Yuck....I wanted to leave after half an hour.
2. Medan, Indonesia - A transport hub for Sumatra otherwise no one would visit.
3. Kuta, Indonesia - Whether it is classed a city or not I’m unsure but it runs into Denpesar, Bali’s capital anyway. Everything you wouldn’t want in a beach resort. A bad introduction to Southeast Asia.

Best Towns:

1. Hoi An, Vietnam - Great for shopping, good food and a charming ancient town. I could and should have stayed longer.
2. Luang Prabang, Laos - Clean, elegant town deserving of its UNESCO status.
3. Kanchanaburi, Thailand - I wish I’d stayed longer instead of being in a rush to get to Bangkok.
4. BSB - Brunei - They class it as a city but the cute capital of Brunei is little more than a town.
Sapa, Vietnam and Tanah Rata also deserve a mention, but its more for the scenery that surrounds them than the towns themselves.

Best places to trek:

1. Cameron Highlands, Malaysia - Tea plantations and an escape from the heat of the lowlands.
2. Mount Kinabalu, Malaysia - One of the highest peaks in the region, a real challenge but worth it for the views at and near the summit.
3. Mulu National Park, Malaysia - I wrecked my walking boots but the gruelling trek to the Pinnacles was worth the cost and effort.

Best Wildlife experiences:

1. The Orang Utans at Bukit Lawang, Indonesia.
2. Cuddling a tiger at the Tiger Temple near Kanchanaburi, Thailand
3. Learning to ride an elephant near Chiang Mai, Thailand

Best Beach locations:

I didn’t do too many of the region’s best beaches but from what I saw:

1. Gili Islands, Indonesia - Indonesia at its best.
2. Railay beach, Thailand - Stunning beach, stunning sea and stunning limestone cliffs.
3. Maya Beach, Phi Phi Ley, Thailand - Only spent an hour there but amazing.

Best architectural wonders:

1. Angkor Wat, Cambodia - One of Southeast Asia’s must sees, and the world’s biggest temple
2. Borodbodur, Indonesia - The world’s biggest Buddhist monument.
3. The Petronas Towers, Malaysia - Very modern but nevertheless very impressive.
4. Omar Ali Suffaiden Mosque, Brunei - A lavish display of Brunei’s wealth.

Thailand had some impressive temples too. If you limit yourself to the main few in Bangkok they are quite special. Sukhothai’s ruins were also were also good.

Countries with best scenery:

1. Indonesia - had the most varied scenery in a region where the scenery is a bit one-dimensional.
2. Malaysian Borneo - The mainland was spoilt by palm tree plantations but Borneo had a wild beauty
3. Laos - Hasn’t a coastline but the lush hills make up for it, and it is so empty allowing you to enjoy it.

Thailand’s Andaman coastline and Vietnam’s mountains around Sapa are also spectacular, but they are regions rather than countries as a whole.

Best Accomodation

• Vietnam, but it hasn’t much competition, not when you staying in budget accommodation anyway! But it is the amongst the most expensive countries.

Worst Accomodation

• Only one place I stayed had hot showers and a western sytle flushing toilet is deemed a luxury - it has to be Indonesia.

Regrets:

Almost too few to mention, but:

• A mad afternoon that I want to forget in Kuala Lumpur.
• Changing my mind about the Mekong Delta
• Going east in Thailand. It wasn’t worth the effort.

And finally.......Favourite Country:

Laos without question. The people make it, and it is so empty in comparison to its neighbours.

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