Blogs from Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 70

Okay, I would first like to clear up something mainly for those who think that traveling is all easy and glamorous (Matt and the anonymous person who decided to tell me to go home lol:) I wrote about the bus trip after traveling for 20+ hours on buses climbing the mountains and feeling sick almost the entire time! Could you blame me for writing the honest truth of how I felt?!?! SUE ME :) Moving on... well we stayed in Sapa for 4 days and 2 of the days we spent trekking into the minority villages to see first hand the lives of the people here. WOW what an experience this was. The first day we started hiking early in the morning (it was cooler then but still hot). You have to see this place for ... read more

Greetings from Vietnam! Well we're in Vietnam....it's a releif because we wanted to see something new and stop spending money in China!! We took the sleeper bus and it was literally a couch bus with 3 rows of beds and 2 bunks up...but the back had 5 tiny ones at the back side by side with no divider!! Worst seats in the house!! The gravitational pull at the back felt like we were on the worst ride at wonderland....but 10 and a half hours seemed okay....bit tired and wanted to shower but we had to get on another 10 and a half hour bus ride (normal seats) to the border town. So literally 24hrs of bus and the second one could have been going around the same mountain in a circle for the entire time because ... read more

We spent a couple of days on Khao San Rd in Bangkok, enjoying phad thai, banana pancakes, fruit shakes, Thai massage and all the other backpacker staples. We then up with my aunt Patti, who will be travelling with us for the next month. Hanoi The three of us flew to Vietnam and landed in Hanoi, the capital. We had heard that Hanoi is a really crazy place, but nothing can prepare you for the utter chaos you encounter. We took the local bus into the Old Quarter and were bombarded by the sights and sounds of the bustling city. Scooters are the main transportation method and they are everywhere AND they do not follow any of the rules of the road. Crossing the street is an adventure sport. It took us awhile to master the ... read more

The family had been up a long time by the time us 'scruffy western backpackers' awoke. We were all suprised and delighted to be hangover free, and decided that rice wine is actually great stuff. A leisurely pancake breakfast preceded another half days gentle strolling through the beautiful paddies. The weather was quite rainy, but rather than ruining the day it added some nice variety! The walking was far from hard, and I would recommend that anyone who is physically fit and wants to get some exercise while seeing this area should either go by themselves, or hire their own guide and describe the pace they want. The amount of food I've eaten these last few days has certainly exceeded what I've burnt off - and I was planning on losing a stone this week! Sapa ... read more

Trekking Many people have their own idea as to what a trek is, as opposed to a stroll. To my travel agent 2 hours at a slow pace was a day long trek. To me it was a brief stroll. Nonetheless our guide was very fun and informative, and although the path down to the Cat Cat H'Mong minority village was busy and very well trodden the surroundings were beautiful and the people very friendly. When they weren't trying to sell you things that is! H'Mong The H'Mong people are one of a number of minority groups within the area. They are Vietnamese citizens, but do not consider themselves Vietnamese (although most speak the language). They wear distinctly different clothing from the traditional vietnamese dress. All other local minorities are in the same category, and the ... read more