Blogs from Lao Cai, Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 8

If Sapa is the phantom presence you can never quite grasp, one whose impending absence haunts you even as you sit in the soft, quaint majesty of it's powerful mountains and sprawling valleys, then what hope is there for those of us who have come and left - can such longing ever be quenched? or will there always be a sense of emptiness for that which once was and may never be again. But that is now, sitting over the glistening lake at the entrance to the city, a lake which strangely enough we had been so busy that we had heretofore yet to acknowledge it's noble existence, now being only hours until our departure - our entrance five days earlier was much less triumphant, no great trumpeteers to mark our entrance as our somber parade ... read more

Summary: Hanoi to Lao Cai Read more...... read more

Geo: 22.3945, 104.056What a gift our trip to Sapa was! On our own again without our friend Mary, we arrived in Sapa by the night train from Hanoi at 5:30am to cool temperatures. Well, cool to us; they were nothing like the frigid (-35 degrees), snowy weather many of our friends had reported from home in Canada. Upon arrival at our hotel, Fansipan View, we immediately became friends with the manager, Thuyen and her Dutch friend Monique. Next thing we knew we were enjoying dinner seated in a circle on the floor surrounding a hotpot at Thuyen's sister's home acquainting ourselves with sisters, mother, brothers-in-law, nieces and nephews. How extraordinary was our time in Sapa, as we got to know Thuyen, her husband Quang and their baby daughter Anh Ngoc! After that lovely dinner, a couple ... read more

We caught the overnight train (ET Pumpkin $35 each 4 berth soft sleeper) from Hanoi to Sapa. The train was comfortable enough though it was obvious that the advertising photo was out of date! Our fellow cabin mates were two lovely German women, both older than us, who had some wonderful tales of travel to share. The train was an express therefore didn't stop very often and we arrived on time in Lao Cai at 5.30am. It was dark and very cold and we were feeling slightly hungover from lack of sleep. The train got very hot and stuffy during the night and it's movement was jerky enough to prevent a good nights sleep. Most of the tourists on board had transport up to Sapa prearranged but Jerry and I boarded one of the waiting mini ... read more

C'est vrai, je n'ai pas été très ponctuel quant à la mise a jour de ce blog ces derniers temps, mais il faut que je me rende à l'évidence, je ne prends pas assez le temps de faire ce blog, et du coup ca me met en retard, et vous savez ce que c'est, plus on est en retard, et bien, plus on est en retard, tout simplement... Et du coup, malgré le crime de lèse-internet que cela peut représenter, j'aimerais vous conter comment j'ai découvert les montagnes du Vietnam 6 mois après les faits, et j'ajoute même qu'il se peut que tous les récits soient désormais un peu décalés dans le temps, l'important étant que l'histoire soit contée, n'est-ce pas? Revenons donc en Novembre si vous le voulez bien. Pour ceux qui étaient en France ... read more