Blogs from Lao Cai, Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 9

It was something of an inauspicious start to our time in Vietnam. The border itself was an easy stroll across the Red River between checkpoints. However we were not even through Vietnamese customs before we were nearly chased back into China by touts. Vietnam is renowned for its touts. They don't call it Vietscam for nothing. Here, the ordinary rules do not apply. You're no longer a fascination to the locals, as in China. There's certainly no fear of impersonating an authority figure, or just plain lying. While we have grown to appreciate the Vietnamese industriousness, it is no surprise that that industriousness has long been known as deviance to South East Asian rivals. In the strictest sense, we weren't even in Vietnam when the Lao Cai mafia started to try and liberate us from our ... read more

Geo: 22.4751, 103.974I love border crossings, although I'm always a bit on edge until I'm through because I don't ever give myself any leeway with visas. This is the first border I've crossed with my bike, the first of many I hope, I leave it outside while I head in and get my passport stamped, I'm then sent round to join the queue at customs with all the other bicycles, tricycles etc. which was funny. I managed to cross without hitch, across the bridge and into Vietnam and the differences between the two countries are immediate especially the buildings which are narrow and colorful instead of multistory. I spot a church across another bridge which I head for as it's the first one I've seen in a long time, and outside is a fantastic market, everything ... read more

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