Blogs from Northwest, Vietnam, Asia - page 73

Hi, After 3 weeks in Vietnam, this is not my favourite country. Espically I did not like the sellers in the streets of Hanoi and Saigon that are really annoying and pushi. Their trials of making a living is not my cup of tea. The common taxi option is cyclo or a motorbike. Those drivers are horrible and very pushi as well. Sometimes they cheat as well, few dollars only, but still, very annoying. One other thing that I did not like is the way of travelling. Since Vietnam is very long and narrow, Saigon on the south and Hanoi on the north, between those 2 cities connects, more or less, one line. All travel agencies in Hanoi and in Saigon sell the 'Open Bus' ticket between those 2 cities with options to stop is attractive ... read more

The next day started off brilliantly. The sun decided to grace us with its presence. No change in the temperature though. It was still cold. I had to check out of the hotel as I was going for the homestay tonight. I left the big backpack in the storage room and took the bare essentials (toiletries, extra tops, camera, a bottle of water, etc, etc) in my little haversack and waited for my guide in the lobby. It was the same guide as the day before. It was a different set of people today. All females travelling solo! We had time for small talk and got to know each other better as the day progressed. The natural scenery was totally breathtaking as we made our way to the villages of Lao Chai & Ta Van. Although ... read more

Hi all, I made it! The hard part of the trip and most beautifull is behind me already. I'm in Sapa enjoying a day of rest after another couple testing days. This place is like being in zoo but instead of animals it is minority groups that are the attraction. There are loads of tourists here and if I want I could eat burgers and pasta here... strange! Let me talk you through the last few days of riding through the most remote parts of Vietnam. 14 Dec, Lai Chau to Tam Duong (aka Lai Chau). We knew the day was going to be long and hard. The guide book (Lonely Planet, Cycling Vietnam, Cambodia and Loas) turned out to be very outdated once again (thank god): the road was nicely paved! The bid they did ... read more

If there was still some 'Laos' in us, it was quickly shaken off as we swapped cockeral crows for motorcycle horns as our new form of alarm clock. In Hanoi, 2 wheels rule the road and there are motorcycles everywhere you look. It took us three days to perfect our 'crossing the road walk' (shutting your eyes, crossing your fingers and just stepping into the oncoming traffic!). We spent a few days seeing the sights of Hanoi, although we found that the best way to experience the city was to just sit still in a cafe and watch the mayhem unfold around us. To give our ears a rest from the continuous motorcycle beeping we sought refuge in the moutains of North Vietnam and borded a night train to Sapa to do a three day trek. ... read more

Onto Sa Pa, a quaint mountainside town in the North Western corner of Vietnam. We came here for one reason, to climb Mount Fan Xi Pan; Vietnams highest mountain at 3143 metres above sea level. We started the three day trek after a days rest around town and set forth with happy optimism about the climb. The first day was a very hard slog, seven and a half hours of ascent ranging from steep, to very steep, to vertical, with little respite. Sometimes we had to haul ourselves up the slope using bamboo plants as improvised ladders and on several occasions narrowly missed falls that might have ended up in injuries that at that hight could have proved extremely inconvenient. Anyway we prevailed and enjoyed ourselves in the moment and with the inspiring scenery that surrounded ... read more