Sapa and Halong Bay

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Journey to Vietnam

The journey to Vietnam was exciting for all the right reasons: the transportation was unique, we met neat people and we arrived safely and on-time.

Transportation: We were on a sleeper bus. That means the bus had three columns of two foot wide bunk beds. John and I had two lower bunks next to each other. We set off about 7:50pm. It was dark inside the bus so the only thing to do was sleep or stare out the windows. The beds were surprisingly comfortable but the bus was either starting and stopping or driving on bumpy roads so we never got a deep sleep.

We had two bathroom breaks throughout the night and once we stopped at a police checkpoint and they gathered our passports and recorded them by handwriting them in a ledger. Another time, the driver pulled up to a fruit stand and honked the bus horn several times. When I opened my eyes, a woman was helping the bus driver purchase some oranges. When the purchase was over, she went behind the counter, climbed into a bed, pulled up a duvet and pulled a pink curtain across the bed.

People: there were about 12 people on the bus and six of us were westerners. The first two were Linda and Storm from Finland. They spent the summer crossing Russia on the Trans-Siberia Railway then two months in China and are now headed for Southeast Asia starting with Vietnam. We also met Michael from Germany and Daniel from Israel and Switzerland. Daniel had just finished his Israeli military service and was traveling before starting college. We all banded together to make the trip from Kunming to the border and in to Sapa.

Arrived Safely and On-Time: We were scheduled to arrive at 7am but at 6am we pulled up to a bus station and sat there for twenty minutes as they unloaded packages. Then the driver came on board and told us this was the border town of Hekou so we got up, got off, grabbed our bags and the six of us started looking for the border. Turns out it was just down the road.

We walked down to the building but since it was 6:30am it was closed. Linda watched all the bags while the rest of us searched for breakfast. What we found was dumpling soup so our last meal in China was a classical Chinese breakfast.

Crossing the border was straight forward but it did take about an hour for the six of us to exit China and enter Vietnam. We made up the majority of the people crossing from China to Vietnam; the rest were going the other way.

It was interesting to watch the Vietnamese pedestrians crossing to China. Some had just themselves and were running, presumably to get to jobs or to get to a market as soon as possible. A second group had bicycles with various empty baskets and they were mostly wearing conical hats. They also were running, presumably to get to a market to make purchases to bring back. The third type had bikes or carts loaded with something and they were not running because their carts were too heavy.

Sapa

Once in Vietnam, we found a driver to take us to Sapa. Sapa is near the top of a hill overlooking a lovely valley and a mountain range. As our guidebook tells us, this town was literally built for tourism so we can’t complain about it being too touristic. Still, there are many women in traditional dress walking up saying “buy something from me” or “will you buy?” There are sidewalk vendors shouting the same thing. We felt like walking dollar signs.

We spent our first day in Sapa getting oriented but we spent the next two days trekking with a guide named Giang (sounds like szohn). We had elected to take a trek away from Sapa so first we drove about an hour on the main road (which is very rough). I watched many tourists setting out for the local walk to Cat Cat village and they were surrounded by the local women trying to get them to buy something…anything.

After an hour of tremendous bumps and beautiful views we reached the starting place and began the trek. The first part of the trek was on a dirt road. Even though it was wide enough for a car the only traffic we encountered were motorcycles but we encountered lots of those. Giang said many people have them because they can be purchased for as little as $400. Once we left the road and were walking along a trail we encountered many people bringing home firewood. One family stands out in my mind. First came the male water buffalo pulling a log followed by the husband carrying a load of 15 foot long branches. Next came the wife with a carry pack on her back loaded with 4 foot long branches and she was followed by a female water buffalo pulling a load of small logs. Bringing up the tail was a child water buffalo not carrying anything. And wandering back and forth was the family puppy. Giang explained that they use the firewood for cooking and need to gather this much once a week. We passed at least a dozen people gathering or bringing home wood. We had heard about the deforestation problem but here it was in fact. And we could see the results on our walk including a lack of trees and some big land slides. But the solution is not an easy one…any other fuel source would cost money that these subsistence farmers do not have.

That night, we slept at a home stay in a small village in the mountains. Giang teamed with another guide to prepare dinner for us. I tried to help but soon realized I was more hindrance than help. The kitchen was similar to Baobao’s in Shitoucheng. It has two fires because everyone is doing so much cooking. It has a cistern for water but I don’t now how it gets filled. It has several low tables and chopping boards. And from this kitchen the guides made an outstanding Vietnamese dinner. We got a plate of French fries for an appetizer then dinner had six different dishes plus rice. To drink was the rice wine made by the owner of the home stay served in tiny Saki cups.

The house is large, about 40 feet wide and 60 feet long. It is evenly divided into three rooms along the length all of which are dining rooms for the various groups that use this home stay. Above each room is a loft with the beds. Each bed is a mattress on the floor covered with a sheet, a duvet and a pillow. Hanging from the ceiling above is a mosquito net. Out front are a patio and a motorcycle parking area and attached to the back like a lean-to is the kitchen. The house is made of wood with no nails (at least that we can see) and a tin roof. The floor is cement and there is no insulation or weatherproofing. Also out back in a separate building is a bathroom with a sink, a western toilet and an Asian shower (in the middle of the room). I am sure this was added for tourists and is not standard in houses here.

I am uncertain who are in the family and who are the guides among the young folks but there is an older couple who have been introduced as the owners. My guess is they are in their sixties and he is dressed in a suit with a touring cap or Mao cap. She is dressed in the traditional clothing of the Red Dzao ethnic group. While the guides were cooking dinner and her husband was “supervising” she carried two back-breaking loads of wood into the kitchen for the fire. On the wall are many certificates with the same name and, from the dates, we suspect our host was in the North Vietnamese army that fought against the Americans.

We awoke the next morning to the call and response of the roosters echoing across the village. We have not yet learned to sleep through it so were awake from 4am on. Giang once again teamed with the other guide to cook breakfast and they made pancakes (thin like crepes) and served it with bananas, honey and limes. It was an interesting taste sensation.

The second day was an equally pleasant walk with several humorous stories.

John spotted a stick bug walking across the road. He wanted a picture so I put my foot in front of it to stop it. As John took pictures it walked onto my boot then up the outside of my pants. He got a very good picture so I wanted him to take it off, as it was crawling up my leg. But he kept taking pictures. I was getting more insistent and John just wanted more pictures. Finally, Giang took a stick and lifted it off of me.

I spotted a five inch long millipede on the road. Giang explained they were very common and do not bite. John was reaching down to touch and Giang said the Vietnamese version of “boo” and John jumped (I did too) and Giang was almost doubled over in laughter.

We were watching dragonflies and I told Giang how as a boy someone had told John that a dragon fly could sew his lips together. Giang told the story that he wanted to learn to swim and the older boys told him if he caught a dragon fly and got it to bite his navel he would know how to swim. And the bigger the dragon fly the better he would swim. He spent a lot of time working to catch the dragon fly then put it in his navel and it bit him and it really hurt. But when he tried, he still did not know how to swim.

We stopped for lunch in a village we had passed through the previous day completing the loop. There Giang made lunch for us. He asked if we wanted something cold to drink and looked startled when John ordered a coke and I ordered a beer. I read that women do not drink in this culture. In fact, I have noticed several subtle discriminations. John said that when we were booking the trek when I asked a question they would tell John the answer. Also, twice in restaurants I ordered the local “wine” and both times was told “that is very strong” and the staff assumed I would not want it. The second time I pushed it and really enjoyed the Hmong Apple Wine. It was just a strong, sweet wine.

After finishing the trek, we decided a foot massage would feel good so we found a place that offered them. We sat side by side and got a 40 minute foot and leg massage for 100KB ($5) including tip. It felt nice but my masseuse kept wiping his nose, picking his ear and coughing on my legs so I was pretty grossed out. I washed my legs and feet when I got home.

For dinner we went to Giang’s uncle’s Italian restaurant. John had pizza and I had pasta. Giang was there so we got to see him again. He is such a Gen Y-er…he was texting his girlfriend while talking to us.

Our last day in Sapa began at about 4am when a dog started barking, a rooster began crowing and a goose began honking. It lasted at least an hour, keeping us both awake.

For the day, we decided to hire a pair of motorcycle drivers to take us to some sights outside of town. We easily found two but the price negotiations were very confusing. We settled on 120KD but I am uncertain if we started at 150KD or if I misheard and his initial offer was 50KD.

The drive to the waterfall was pretty, winding through the valley along a narrow road with nice views of rice terraces. Silver Waterfall was a good destination for the ride but nothing spectacular. We went about 10 minutes further down the road to Dragon’s Gate Pass where again we had nice views including Fansipan, the highest mountain in Vietnam. It was, however, pretty misty so the views were not the best.

After taking some pictures at the top, the drivers offered to take us to a Red Dzao village on the other side of Sapa. When I asked how much, they responded “same same” which I took to mean “included.” What they meant was “same price as the other trip” but we did not find that out until later.

We drove back to Sapa and out the other side to the village. There we were met by several women selling handmade goods. The one who spoke to us the most was Meelee. She gave us a tour of the town then she offered to show us her house. I wanted to see the inside of a house so we accepted knowing it would pretty much obligate us to buy something from her.

The house was similar to a barn with uneven dirt floors, loosely fitted sides and a tin roof that peaked to about two stories. There was no second floor but there was a place to store food away from the vermin. They had a standard kitchen, a sewing machine and two beds. If I understood correctly, Meelee slept in one bed with her 6 year old daughter and her husband slept in the other. I did not hear where her 9 year old son slept. She had two pigs and a litter of piglets as well as chickens and a kitchen garden. She said they ate very little meat, mostly vegetables and, I assume, rice.

After viewing the house I was again asked if I wanted to buy something. There were five ladies gathered around and as soon as I (reluctantly) said yes they started pulling out hand embroidered work. It was well done goods ranging from wallets and purses to hats and coats but they were so pushy… ”you buy from me.” I found a purse that I liked so negotiated with the maker to 60KD then I offered Meelee 50KD for something and ended up with a cute hat for a little boy.

The drivers took us back to town and that is when we found they had misled us on the price. In hindsight maybe I should have renegotiated but that always feels petty so instead of 240KD it cost 500KD.

Halong Bay

That night we took an overnight train to Hanoi where we had arranged to take a two-day, one-night cruise of Halong Bay. Our train arrived at 4am so we waited in the train station with some other westerners until it started to get light.

We left the train station about 5:45 and walked through Hanoi as it was waking up. We saw sidewalk vendors selling tea, coffee and breakfast. We saw bicycles loaded with fresh flowers slowly pedaling their way to the market. We saw power poles covered with a rat’s next of electric wires that no inspector would ever approve. We easily found the café where our tour started and ate breakfast until the bus left for Halong City at 8am.

Although the drive to Halong Bay was four hours, it was worth it. Our boat was called a junk and could hold up to 20 passengers but there were only 10 of us on-board. Shortly after setting sail they served us a lunch of fresh seafood and fresh fruit. After lunch we grabbed hats and sunscreen then went up on deck as the ship cruised the karst formations. They are other-worldly shapes fading into the mist as far as the eye can see. There are also many other boats ranging from small fishing boats to larger cruise ships.

We sailed until about 4pm then stopped at a formation (island) with a cave. The cave was an uninteresting cave but enclosed in the island was a lagoon with just an underground outlet to the sea…like something that houses a secret sub bas in a James Bond movie. We were allowed to walk a short way on the island to look at the lagoon but not very far and there was no way to the lagoon’s edge because the karst formations are very steep.

Next we re-boarded the boat, sailed around the island to pick up some kayaks then sailed to our anchorage for the night. Several of us took out kayaks to paddle around…it was fun to get a close-up look at the formations.

We listened to the guide speak about Vietnam. It started out as a discussion on making a living and the challenges in Vietnam and ended up a discourse on the corruption at all levels of government and society. As an example of the corruption, he gave our anchorage for the night. All ships are supposed to overnight in one spot on the bay. Our ship has “special permission” to anchor here but if an inspector were to come, additional “special permission” would be required. With corruption so in-grained in the culture, how do you fix it? Our guide was optimistic it could be fixed by the next generation.

Dinner was prawns, steamed crabs, steamed clams and fresh fish with fresh pineapple for dessert.

We slept very well on a comfortable bed and awoke in the early morning to silence except for the quiet hum of the ship. There were no roosters crowing or dogs barking and there were no horns blaring. It was quite peaceful.

We spent the morning cruising the karst formations on the way back to the dock. We also motored past one of the floating villages. The village was about a dozen floating houses spread across a couple of acres of bay. Some had docks and kayaks for the bigger boats to pull up and let people off. Others had fishing boats tied up to them. Our guide told us some families own only the boat. They fish at night and during the day tie up to a relative’s house.

We ate lunch (more fresh seafood and fresh fruit) and pulled into the dock where the bus was waiting to take us back to Hanoi.

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Photos

Gathering Firewood
Docile water buffalo hauling a log uphill.

Beth's Pantleg
With stickbug. "Get it off! Get it off!"

Comments

[Tran]

Your tour in VN not completed if
you did not see a psychic, hehehe..., and I forgot to take you to see one. Hope you have a good time in Phu Quoc Island and "drink" a lot of "nước mắm" (just kidding)