We took a cramped overnight train on hard sleeper bunks, from Hanoi to the mountainous region of Sapa in the north. We waited for Stephanie (now called Stiffler) as her train came in about an hour after ours. Because the road up to the mountains was windy and steep, we had to take a minivan to get there. The usual when we get into a new town is to find a roof for over our heads. Martin went off enjoying the welcome cool climate for his search. He did well - the view from our room was spectacular . The valley below us full of terraces with rice and different crops - beautiful different colours; terraces filled with water for seeding. Overlooking us from across the valley was Fansipan - the highest mountain in Vietnam. I chilled out on the balcony in awe at the amazing view, while Martin caught up on the sleep that he didn't get on our journey up. All this for the price of $6 US per night.
The next few days we explored the town with Stiffler, and did a fairly strenuous hike to one of the villages in the valley - Lao Cai. We briefly saw Amanda and Wes after their quick tour, before heading back to Hanoi. Lydia and Jim came into town and we were able to show them the best 'Bia Hoi' places in town, and our favourite restaurant, Gerbera. Back together again, we all hired motorbikes to explore the hills. Unfotunately, we got caught in a storm, so we sought shelter in a local cafe. We ventured out again, but the storm got worse. This time we sheltered with some local Hmong tribe women also seeking shelter, but this made us prime target for buying stuff! Thankfully, Jim is a soft touch and he bought a second new hat! Finally, needing to get home we headed back the 15km to town through the rain. Martin and I picked up a couple of local hilltribe women walking along the road in the heavy rain and dropped them off at different destinations along the road. The last one was grateful for the ride into town - it was seriously wet and cold at this point. For us, it was back to another favourite place - 'Baguette and Chocolate' to warm up, play Scrabble and have a delicious potato, bacon, onion and Gouda cheese sandwich. Yummy! * Mush
No comments:
Post a Comment