Fraser's fables: Vietnam - Part 1 Hanoi and Sapa

After a bit of a delay that caused mild panic, we were met by our driver and taken to our hotel, experiencing Hanoi traffic for the first time. What an absolute madhouse. Now I know why they invented horns. There were roadworks near the airport as they are building a new one and lanes closed, but that didn't stop it from being 'two way'. Luckily we were so exhausted we kind of closed our eyes and held on as we swerved our way into town.

The room was basic but clean, and cheap at $25 a night. We got changed into something more suitable for the humidity and went exploring, eating, sightseeing and arguing about which way to hold the map....

Kelley at Hoan Kiem lake with Turtle Tower in the background.

Mysterious processed meat wrapped in a banana leaf, chilli sauce and Bia Hoi - the best of Hanoi

Guillotine left over from French rule at Maison Centrale Prison

Maison Centrale prison - many different prisoners held here over the years including US fighter pilot (now Senator) John McCain

One pillar pagoda

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum (which was closed)

Opposite the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Presidential Palace

Entrance to the Old Town, where we stayed

Anyone for Crap Hot Pot?

After a couple of days in Hanoi it was time to catch the overnight train to Sapa in the north west. Some more mild panic as our pick up was late and then finally showed up...on a scooter. He put us in a taxi and tailed us to the station and after a mild collision with another scooter on a roundabout, we made it.

Hanoi station, overnight train to Sapa

We had a day to fill in before we went cycling so we walked up the closest hill which happened to be some kind of garden based theme park (not particularly impressive) but provided good views over Sapa. Unfortunately we had arrived post rice harvest so the was a lot of stalk / husk burning going on, therefore all our photos look like they are taken in an opium den.

Sapa

About to head off on day 1 of cycling from our hotel.

Weaving our way down the side of the valley

Rice paddies

More rice paddies....

The advantages of having a guide

After a near miss for Kelley - the rear derailleur completely snapped off and got caught in her rear wheel, causing her to half catapult over the handlebars - a replacement bike was delivered by the hotel cook....who for some reason wanted his photo taken with me, we were on our way again. After reaching the bottom of the valley the only way was up.

Damn steep

Still steep, and hot.

By this time, our guide, Nam, was poked. He'd been cursing his bike all day but for the final push to the village where we were going to stay, he told us to just go on ahead and wait at the top, so we did. He arrived shortly after, looking very sprightly and gave a passing, tooting truck a cheery wave as it went by...

The end of our day is at the top of that pass, one last climb to go.

Accommodation that night was a home stay with a local family. There was a German couple staying as well, they guy was on 6 months of 'gardening' leave between jobs - nice. The facilities left a little to be desired (check out our digs below) but the family treated us to a sensational home cooked feast and a few shots of home made rice wine which pretty much tasted like kerosene but it was rude to resist.

The Honeymoon suite, just as well we were tired.

The next day was raining, not badly but it did ruin the view and make things slippery. We were well off the beaten track today, following local tracks through the jungle.

Slippery track, on a landslip and because of the mist you couldn't see the bottom

Track through the jungle

Battling the mud and the hills, had to walk a bit of this

At least the rain filled the paddies, and stopped the burning.

A little disheveled, and ready for a swim

Nam had promised us a swim and even though it was still drizzling, it was still warm and we were already wet and muddy so we were keen to go. Nam didn't get in but pointed me in the direction of the other side to scramble up on the rocks and jump in. But there was a small green snake near the edge so he told me to forget it, later adding that the small ones are the deadliest...

Still warm enough for swimming

The rain meant that our van that was supposed to pick us up couldn't get down the dodgy muddy road to the village so after lunch we had to pull soggy wet clothes back on and haul ourselves up another steep muddy hill to the van - not pleasant. Very pleased to get back to the hotel for a hot shower.

Vietnamese ingenuity - an amateur power station

The next day was an absolute ripper, hot and clear as there were no fires burning thanks to the rain the day before. We were heading over to the next valley today. Kelley and Nam took the van up the hill while I rode up Tram Tom Pass, the highest in Vietnam - it was brilliant. Road was reasonably quiet and in pretty good nick, about 17km uphill.

Looking down the road from Tram Tom Pass

Made it!

Walk to Love Waterfall, the plant bottom right is Cardamon

Love waterfall

Looking back towards the waterfall

From the top, we had about 40km of descending to do. The road just kept going down, even from the valley floor it followed the river and you still barely had to pedal. Nam took off - he loved the downhill, we went a little more cautiously stopping for photos and once for an accident - a family on a scooter rolling down with the engine off to save fuel. Baby went flying but seemed fine by the time we arrived and everyone else was up and about.

Descent

Looking back along the hills, Sapa is on the other side

Looking toward China.

From the valley floor.

Once we reached the valley it was really hot. For some reason, the valley we were in was consistently hotter than the Sapa valley and by the time we made it to our lunch stop, we were cooked.

Green tea. While we were stopped here a very skinny unhealthy looking bloke stopped to ask us for money - Nam said it was most likely so he could buy cheap opium at the Chinese border.

There wasn't as much rice over this side as it was a hotter climate. But we did come across some.

Unharvested rice!

Rice up close.

Lunch - pretty much in someone's garage, plenty of dogs and skinny chooks wander around to claim anything that you missed. But the food was outstanding.

After lunch we went to the local police station to register for our home stay, only to be told that for some reason it was unfit for tourists so we had to push on to the next town, which was a long slow uphill grind. Fortunatly we did have a van with us but we didn't want to have to use it so we pushed on.

It was uphill almost all afternoon.

By the time we reached the pass the sun was setting but it did make for some nice scenery.

We checked into a very communist looking hotel which again was perfectly adequate. Nam and our driver took us out for dinner at another restaurant that you'd never go into without a local, but again it was excellent although our van driver was perhaps a little too fond of rice wine.

Government buildings

The next day was our last day of cycling and it was another stunner. After some beef noodle soup for breakfast we were powered up and ready to go, albeit feeling a bit squeamish after watching the locals eat chicken eggs with baby chickens in them, apparently a delicacy.

Stopping at a local school.

These kids didn't see many tourists, they were very excited to see themselves in the picture when I showed them.

I think they thought we were movie stars...

Happy as....a water buffalo in water

It was around this area where our van driver stopped abruptly, jumped out, grabbed rocks and started yelling at Nam, who ripped a bamboo fence to bits and charged off to attack something....a rather large snake. good for eating / raw blood drinking / raw heart eating and preserving. They were very disappointed not to catch it although it did mean they could tell their friends they almost caught a snake as thick as their arm....

Rice harvesting.

Final hill.

And by lunch time our cycling was over. Time for some horse stomach to eat and a 'white fungus' drink and then it was back on the van to head back over the pass to Sapa.

A parting shot with the helmets on

After a couple of quiet beers, it was off to bed for an early night, we had a very early start the next day.

Downtown Sapa.

Up at the crack of dawn and driven up to the top of Tram Tom Pass again to start our ascent of Mt Fansipan, the highest peak in Vietnam, and all of Indochina. It was a perfect day for it and after the first hour or so in the dark, ideal conditions for walking.

Fansipan...away in the distance

The track cut through young bamboo forest, regrowing after a fire had decimated native bush. As you can see, some of it was steep, evidenced by the ladder.

Most people do the climb over 3 - 4 days (starting from Sapa.) Others over a couple of days. We were put off the overnight stay given the reviews of the campsites that suggested they were covered in rubbish, and rats. The reviews were right, we saw a rat while stopped for lunch. That spurred us on.

Looking back at Camp 2.

Nam was our guide for the climb as well, and again was feeling the pinch on the uphill with a lot of breaks to point out important 'sights'. But we were making good time so it didn't matter, and he was such a good guide anyway, pointing out such things as tobacco bongs, marajuana plants, introducing us to rice wine etc etc.

Kelley and Nam with the top in sight.

View from the top.

On top of Vietnam

On the way down, true to fom, Nam took off and we saw him for lunch and that was about it.

Back down through the bamboo

Following the creek out

Nam was very proud of himself when we got back, and the hotel staff were surprised to see us back so soon. Nam had told us he was still on the mountain at 10pm on one day trip with a bunch of locals. Our driver from cycling days was back to take us back down to the hotel and he thought Nam was Superman after all his cycling and hiking. He didn't seem quite as impressed with us but this was from a man whose only English he knew was 'Brittney Spears' so we weren't too upset that we didn't impress him.

The next day we walked to a local village further down the valley from Sapa. We were quite sore after the Fansipan hike so it was slow going.

More happy water buffalo.

Can't remember the name of these falls...

View from the hotel balcony looking back up on Fansipan on our last night in Sapa.

We were quite sad to leave Sapa, we'd had such a great time and packed in so much on our stay. It became clear that we had really lucked in with Nam as our guide, he was such a character. He told us that his father had fought in the American War (which is what they call the Vietnam War, of course) and had been effected by Agent Orange. Apparently Agent Orange doesn't so much effect that generation but is passed down and Nam had lost a brother and sister due to issues caused by it - we didn't ask for details. The hotel and hotel staff were amazing, the two owners, Viet and Nam (I'm not kidding, that was their names) were so welcoming. Viet had organised all our tours and was very concerned if something hadn't gone right (like Kelley's bike breaking..) Nam took us out on our last night for dinner at his restaurant and they wouldn't accept a tip when we left, telling us just to come back instead. We got to know most of the staff and another favorite was the head chef, who was about 22 years old and would hold a free cooking class every night. he took this very seriously, handing out pens and paper for us to take down the recipe. He'd diligently check that we'd written everything down and make sure everyone participated in making the dish, and participation was not voluntary. They were top rated on Trip Advisor and we could clearly see why.

The overnight train ride back wasn't as comfortable as the one on the way up, air conditioning wasn't working too well. We had a couple of days to recover in Hanoi before heading to Halong Bay.

Enjoying a Vietnamese coffee from the balcony overlooking Hoin Kiem Lake

We hired bikes and joined the mad traffic. It was actually quite fun, and it wasn't as bad to get around as we thought, as long as you give way to anything that is bigger and heavier than you, you're ok.