Blogs from Sapa, Lao Cai, Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 7

First things first, congratulations President Obama! Four more years! And now on to my next stop. After a 9h overnight train ride from Hanoi, I arrived at Lao Cai at the Vietnam-China border. The moment the train pulled to a halt, the obligatory competing minibus runners stormed in like Special Forces troops of course, soliciting all and sundry who were still in a dazed stupor from the early 6 a.m. wake-up call. After the expected attempts at exhorbitant over-charging (this is Vietnam after all), I finally managed to get one to settle on the correct price as reported on Wikitravel, and it was just another 1h winding minibus climb to the highland town of Sapa. I had some expectations, as I'd read in LP that in Vietnam, the northern highlands were where "the magic happens". But ... read more

This evening Christine and I are going on a little road trip to Sapa in North Vietnam (near the border with China) to do some trekking in the rice paddies. I've seen the great scalloped edges of the paddy fields from lots of different vantage points in Southern China but i've yet had a chance to walk amongst them– and this may be my final opportunity... (for now...) We are getting an overnight train which i'm quite excited by as I spent most of my time in rough country buses in China and Laos. Our instructions are to go to the Train Station where we will see “ a woman sitting down outside.” She will give us our tickets. Oookkaaaay then... We arrive – and St Pancras International it ain't. Its hot and humid, people are ... read more

A tribute to the hmong people of Sapa Our 10 day stay in Sapa has come to an end. A lot of people would think that 10 days in Sapa is way too much. We were in the same boat at the beginning of our stay. However as time passed by, we got deeper and deeper beneath the skin of this little community in the north of Vietnam and really got to appreciate this place and its people. This is a great privilege having plenty of time to explore. One of our many highlights was the encounter with the hmong people. In the beginning we found them rather annoying. They are eager sales people and really push it to the limit. They almost match the Egyptians in their effort to sell their stuff. However they do ... read more

On the eve of my departure, I got the worse call of my life. Pat Cullen, a great friend and even better person had just passed away in a motor bike accident in the streets of Hanoi. At the tender age of 19, Pat was due home in a week's time. This was not only a huge blow to our group of friends, but a larger than life reminder of our own mortality and the world we live in. I was devastated. Being able to pay your respects in some way is crucial after a loved one passes away... and I couldn't. There was no road side marker to take flowers to and no home or family to console. I was just left with a gaping hole in my heart and friends by my side. It ... read more

At the beginning of the week I took an overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa, a town just a 2 or 3 kilometres from the border with China. Sapa is one of the most popular tourist destinations in northern Vietnam and it's easy to see why. The scenery is beautiful- green rice paddies, mountains and waterfalls. We started our walk at about 9.30 with our guide who was a member of the local Hmong people. The walk took us through the town, up and down some fairly steep hills and alongside rice paddies. In one particularly rocky steep part I thought I'd use the bamboo trees that lined the path to help me down. Little did I know that they would cover my arms and hands with splinters. Probably some sort of survival mechanism to stop ... read more