NORTHERN VIETNAM - Hanoi, Sapa, Halong Bay

HANOI (May 21-23, 26, 29, 2013) 

Hanoi was everything we wished and hoped for and is what you would expect of a developing Asian city.

There are motorbikes flying everywhere and in all directions. We later learned each person owns at least one motorbike although two or three is quite common and the city has a population of over seven million people. That means a lot of motorbikes on the roads!

A traffic circle gone bad. Or perfectly fine in the eyes of the Vietnamese.

There is constant honking from all vehicles. But the horns aren’t used like they are in Canada. Here the horn is used to say “hello” or “I’m coming up beside you to pass you” or “can you move out of my way”.

In amongst these vehicles there are ladies carrying around fruit on baskets suspended on a pole they carry over their shoulder to sell to shops and any passerby.

You sure stick out like a sore thumb as a Caucasian person and anyone driving a taxi, tuk tuk or motorbike who sees you walking around will ask you if you want to pay for a ride somewhere. After several “no, thank yous” they eventually give up.

Even worse are the shop owners or street vendors. They will actually follow/walk with you for blocks asking you if you want to buy a fan, or a hat, or a bracelet. They don’t take “no” for answer until at least the tenth the time. We had a bit of this in Thailand but nothing as persistent.

Here some lady selling fruit came up behind Adrian and put her pole on his shoulder before he even knew what happened. We of course took pictures but then had to pay more than normal for the pineapples. Pineapples were tasty though and we got some good photos out of it.

But as long as you are in the right mind set, the city is an exciting challenge walking around, bargaining and finding a decent place to eat.

In terms of eating, we ate a LOT of pho (noodle soup). We love it back in Canada and the real thing over here is just as good. We also tried some nice cakes from local bakeries. These were established as part of the French influence as they once ruled the country. Our favourite dish we tried was called “bun bo nam bo” which is a dry noodle dish with thin strips of beef, bean sprouts, garlic, lemongrass, green mango and peanuts in a tangy sauce.

Bun bo nam bo

Our first two days in Hanoi were spent planning out and budgeting our time in Vietnam as well as the rest of our trip. But we were able to get some sightseeing in as well. We walked around Hoan Kiem Lake and Ngoc Son Temple on the Lake. After that we caught a water puppet show nearby that showcased the beginnings of Vietnam and some traditions of the Vietnamese people. We were also hoping to make it to the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum Complex but we either didn’t wake up in time (the mausoleum anyway is only open from 8-11am with the last entry being 10:15am) or we were too tired after coming back from our trips to Sapa and Halong Bay. We booked these two trips on the second day and allowed ourselves some resting time by coming back to Hanoi for a day before setting off for the next trip.

Our hotel is the green one in the middle. The Vietnamese like to build tall and narrow buildings. Great way to optimize space but can be a pain with no elevator.

Hoan Kiem Lake

Some of the water puppets "off stage"

 

SAPA AND AREA (May 24-26, 2013)

On our third night in Hanoi we got transported to the local train station to catch a night train to Lao Cai and then onto Sapa for a hill tribe trek. We decided to do this one together as the temperature is much cooler compared to Chiang Mai and the trekking was meant to be easy so I thought I would be able to handle it and get the experience of meeting hill tribe people and spend a night at a homestay.

The night train was an enjoyable ride. We shared the cabin with a couple of Asian girls but they were quiet and kept to themselves. The beds were comfortable and long enough for us to lie almost completely straight. We were meant to arrive at 5:30am the next morning so we called it a night by 10pm. Adrian managed to get a pretty decent sleep but I think I must have been a bit anxious because I was constantly waking up. By 4:30am the train staff were knocking on the cabin doors to advise us we would be arriving at Lao Cai station soon.

In our cabin on the night train

After waiting around an extra hour for some people arriving on a later train we all loaded into a minibus and drove the twisty windy 38km to Sapa Town. Once at the hotel in Sapa we checked in for our trip, showered, had breakfast and prepared our packs for the trek and homestay that night. By 9:30am we were off.

We began our trekking by first walking through “downtown” Sapa and following the road out towards the villages and rice terraces. In the first 2kms or so on the road we got to know our guide and the rest of the group. Our guide was from the village we would be homestaying in and was dressed in her traditional “going out/to the market” attire. She spoke very good English which she said she could attribute to her husband who studied English and the many tourists on these trips. The rest of the group consisted of three hilarious Malaysian guys and two friendly English girls. In town we were joined by our guide’s mother who was carrying her daughter on her back and other hill tribe ladies and their babies who would be accompanying us for the rest of the day.

Leaving Sapa

Before long our terrain turned into dirt paths and steeper hills and the landscape of rice terraces completely surrounded us. Such a beautiful setting but a hard way of life. We were told and later saw everything is done by hand including the planting of each individual seed. Along the way we saw water buffalos, pigs, chickens and roosters. We even saw a large snake that had just been caught and killed in a village we passed through. Supper was taken care of for them that night! Our guide was great at stopping every now and then to tell us interesting facts about the area and if we had any questions along the way she was always able to answer them.

Working our way down into the rice terraces

Shosho and Pang

A nice scenic shot of the rice terraces behind us

Rice terraces and corn fields

After about 12km we stopped for a late lunch in a nearby village. It seemed to be the place where most groups would stop because as we made our way into the building we were swarmed by villagers wanting us to buy their handicrafts. We managed to literally get cornered until we bought something. We didn’t appreciate the pushiness but we did want to buy a couple things. And we were able to use our bargaining skills to get the items at a decent price while still helping them out a bit financially. So in a way it worked out alright. Then finally we could eat!

After lunch it was just another 2km or so until we arrived at our homestay for the evening. Even though the air was cool I somehow still managed to get a headache so I went down to try and sleep it off while Adrian continued chatting with the rest of our group.

Unfortunately these trekking trips are quite popular and so our homestay wasn’t nearly as interactive and authentic as we were hoping. In terms of interactive, well it wasn’t at all. Our guide pretty much just dropped us off, said we would be staying here for the night, and she’ll see us tomorrow morning. There were no introductions to the family and I don’t think they spoke English. They made us supper and breakfast but they didn’t eat with us either time. We also got to try some rice wine but they didn’t partake in it with us.  They were nice enough but I would have liked to spend some time with them. As for authentic, technology is everywhere now. In the afternoon and early evening members of the family were watching a movie on their computer. And if we had brought our laptop or smartphones, wifi was available and free to use.

Our homestay for the evening

The next morning we started our trek again with it raining on and off. The rain actually started in the evening sometime and so the paths were pretty slick. We were meant to trek through a nearby bamboo forest but because of the conditions we took a different way and walked to a waterfall. There wasn’t much trekking planned for the second day so we stopped for lunch around 12pm and were then transported back to the hotel.

 

Hard at work in the rain

Group photo before we were transported back to the hotel

At the hotel we were able to shower, have an early supper and chill out. Then we were driven back to the train station for another night train back to Hanoi.

HALONG BAY (May 27-28, 2013)

We spent a day in between our Sapa trip and our Halong Bay trip in Hanoi to catch up on some sleep. The next morning we were picked up at 8am along with three girls from the Philippines to be taken to Halong Bay City, 3.5 hours away. From here we were then transported onto our boat for the next two days and one night.

Our guide for the trip/cruise was great – good English, funny, informative, constantly updating us on our itinerary. The boat was nice. We got our own room and ensuite. And the food was delicious – lots of seafood, rice, steamed vegetables called morning glory, spring rolls, etc. We’d like to think it was worth spending a bit more.

Halong Bay is the one of the three World Heritage Sites in Vietnam and it is gorgeous! The weather wasn’t the greatest but cruising around the ~3,000 limestone islands in turquoise waters was beautiful.

After our lunch on the boat we were taken to Ti Top Island where we climbed a hill for a great view of the Bay and then went for a refreshing swim. From there we got to do some kayaking in amongst the smaller islands and through a floating village. It was fascinating to learn and to get a quick glimpse of how these people live.

At the top of Ti Top

Me feeling like a celebrity getting my photo taken with a bunch of Vietnamese girls

Kayaking around the islands

Floating village

Once back on the boat, Adrian met two Englishmen who would be joining us for the night after being out all day. The three Filipino girls and I took part in a mini cooking class where we learned how to make fresh spring rolls with rice paper, noodles, pork, egg, vegetables and pineapples. Before long it was supper time. And soon after that we tried our hands at squid fishing. No one had any luck but it was fun to give it a go.

Halong Bay sunset

The next morning we woke to clearer skies and a nice Western breakfast of pancakes, bacon, pork sausages, and fresh fruit. This prepped us for our cave exploring through Sung Sot. Once again our guide was very informative and provided us with fun facts about the cave and pointed out all of the different shapes and “animals” people have found over the years.

Once we returned to the boat, it was time to pack our bags and check out while we made our way to the City. And once we arrived in the City we had an early lunch and then made our way back to Hanoi.