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Published: December 7th 2006
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Ok, so we're not actually in Vietnam anymore, or even Laos (back in Thailand), but tales up until Laos will have to keep you all entertained for now!
The budget just about survived Hoi An; luckily only having 2 days there limited how many fittings we both could attend (Zoe?!). Still, Zoe got 2 dresses, a winter coat, and some custom-made knee high boots, and I got a suit made, all for under 100 pounds (proper money!). Bags a little heavier, we headed to Hue (whoo-aye) where Zoe celebrated her birthday in a 4 star resort (even had a window by the bath!); reluctantly, I went along too! After 2 days of pool-side relaxtion, we explored Hue by taking a tour up the Perfume river to see some Mausoleums & temples, before boarding the night bus for the trip to Hanoi.
Arriving in Hanoi at 5:45am, we were greated by litterally hundreds of locals exercising in the parks; resisting the urge to join in, we stumbled to a hotel & caught up on some sleep. Whilst in Hanoi, we attempted to visit Ho Chi Minh (yep, they've preserved his body) in his heavily guarded mausoleum but were denied, firstly
by the bloody APEC conference & then because "Uncle Ho" can only take visitors in the morning! The highlights of our time in Hanoi came when we weren't there, in our trips to Ha Long Bay & SaPa.
We decided on a 3 day/2 night trip to Ha Long Bay, which (rather bravely for me) included a night sleeping on the boat. Thankfully, the bay is so sheltered by all of the spectacular lime-stone islands that there were no problems of the sickness kind! It's easy to see why they say you "haven't been to Vietnam if you haven't been to Ha Long Bay", and when the sun came out on our second morning (for the kayaking) it was absolutely fabulous - see pics, they say it all. We also did the obligatory jumping off the boat (good fun) & a trek on Cat Ba island, but the kayaking was by far & away the best bit.
After a few more days spent ambling about Hanoi's old quater (cramped, lots of bikes, pavements you can't use so have to fight for the road with said bikes) we got the night train to SaPa; what an improvement from the
You buy from me???
They may be cute, but even they know the hard sell! bus - you can even lie down, just! After arriving in Lao Cai at 6am & making the hour transfer up the mountain side to SaPa we had time to freshen up & eat breakfast at a hotel before being whisked off onto our 2 day trek, which included a home stay in an ethnic minority village. Our group consisted of us, 2 Aussie girls & a lovely old Korean man & his wife (who kept getting left behind!), as well as some local girls from the Black H'Mong tribe - unfortunately, there were ulterior motives behind their "friendships" with us, and they weren't overly happy with Zoe's non-purchases!
The scenery was absolutely spectacular - rice fields on mountainsides is pretty hard to beat - and it was a really enjoyable 11km trek to the homestay, passing through Black H'Mong & DZay villages, complete with locals colourfully dressed in traditional attire (and, yep, looking for sales). The homestay itself took us all by surprise, as the house was fairly modern & we ate seperately from the family; the most bizzare part was after dinner though, when they all settled down to watch the (Vietnamese) news & the guide wouldn't talk to us! The next morning we filled up on a traditional breakfast (?) of pancakes before completing the last 5km of trekking, in which we visited a waterfall & more villages (Zoe was astounded when an old woman insisted she buy something from her before she could take her photo!). Despite the "walking cash-machine" phenomenon being particularly evidant here, it was a fantastic trip.
On the final day of our time in SaPa we visited the local market (where, bizzarely) they were less pushy than on the trek), and climed the tourist mountain (full of gardens, including an ostrich garden), before heading back to Hanoi on the overnight train once more; sharing a cabin with a South African couple, with whom we debated the state of our national rugby teams! Arriving in Hanoi at 5am, we jumped in a taxi to the airport - unfortunately the driver didn't feel our desire to get their & ambled along, but we made it eventually (despite no lights on occassions!). From here we flew to Vientiene in Laos, as we didn't have the time or the patience for a 24hr bus journey! Zoe's promised to update you all on our fantastic time in Laos v.soon - watch this space!
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Jen
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Tis the season
Hi guys! Just been catching up on your last couple of entries, the photos are fantastic. So it’s that time of year again, 25% of UK homes are lavished in epilepsy inducing lights and blow up Santas, and Oxford Street is impenetrable. Starting to make Christmas and New Year plans gonna miss you loads! Take care and have fun (and don’t forget to post my prezzies!), loads of love, Jen x Ps: Work has blocked Hotmail and with no phone line in the flat yet I won’t be checking e-mails regularly!