Advertisement
Published: November 6th 2015
Edit Blog Post
Yesterday was a major highlight of the trip so far! We got up for the usual hostel breakfast then inquired at the tour desk if there were any good areas we could go if we were to rent motorbikes for half a day. The roads here are terrifying so we hoped that up in Sapa where there is less traffic we would have a better chance at surviving! There was a small village called Ta Phin that was accessible only by foot or motorbike and also had herbal baths. So we rented two motorbikes - mom and dad doubled up on one and I took the other - and we set off with some pretty loose directions for how to get to this village. It was misty and cloudy as we left Sapa but as we went around the back side of the mountain it cleared up and we had an incredible ride!
Great views of rural mountains and countryside in Vietnam - definitely off the beaten path as we saw very few tourists on our way to Ta Phin. It was great going solo as we made lots of stops for photos of the view (and at every water
buffalo for mom...). We got a bit turned around trying to find the herbal baths once we got to Ta Phin but the locals were helpful and we eventually found it.
The baths were perched on a slightly higher hill and were in a small hut with a big window overlooking the valley. They filled big wooden tubs with hot water and some incredible smelling herbs and we all jumped in for a soak and to enjoy the view. As we were getting ready to leave the mist started rolling in so our ride back was a bit quicker as we had already taken a zillion photos. Mom also took a turn on a bike solo and rocked it! Thankfully they were automatic transmission bikes, as we had some slow going on the steeper hills as it was.
We got back to Sapa and went for an incredible lunch that had the best eggplant dish I've ever had in my life (admittedly it was smothered in a delicious sauce and peanuts!). We went for a walk around town as we had seen a brief glimpse of sun during lunch but by the time we got to any viewpoint
the mist was back. Tricky place to visit!
We had our usual happy hour beers and a few rounds of pool at the hostel before going to dinner where I had the best tofu dish I've ever eaten! Locally made tofu in a honey chilli sauce - so good. Dad was in heaven!
There was some confusion in me getting to the right bus stop for my ride back to Hanoi but we eventually learned there was another bus station and I managed to get there on time (barely!) for my night bus. It actually had beds so I slept really well. Mom and Dad will be taking a daytime bus back to Hanoi today but I'm heading off to a music festival this afternoon with Alaysia for the weekend so no updates until I'm back!
Advertisement
Tot: 0.175s; Tpl: 0.012s; cc: 10; qc: 54; dbt: 0.0921s; 1; m:domysql w:travelblog (10.17.0.13); sld: 1;
; mem: 1.1mb
Deb
non-member comment
The mist
It's a surreal feeling I have reading your motorcycle blog... naturally I am thrilled to learn of you on 2 wheels! Calgary is shrouded in it's own mist as I write... with barely 10 feet of vision in front of one's face... so it's timely I read this blog (out of sequence)... I love your mom's fascination with the Buffalo. And both parental units look so carefree and youthful on the bike! Score! And you look lively and fresh and really fantastic! I miss you like crazy and love love live your blogs... happy night time bus riding my friend... xoox