How do I sum up Vietnam? A few things spring to mind: friendly locals, rice paddies, motorbikes, misty mountains, beautiful village houses, gorgeous kids, silken oceans, water buffalo, and delicious food!
As we all arrived at Brisbane airport the excitement was clear. Some of us had never met before, though everyone knew at least one other person in the group. We weren’t all strangers, which made for a great start.
The red bridge leading to Ngoc Son Temple, Hoan Kiem Lake.
Hanoi is a beautiful and interesting city, and the hustle and bustle created by so many motorbikes in the street just added to its charm. Strangely, though chaotic on first impression, this mass of transport has its own order which keeps accidents to almost zero. We were staying in the Old Quarter where the streets are narrow, and old, gnarled trees grow over doorways and drip their long branches into the street. Wherever we walked, street vendors in conical straw hats hurried along with their baskets of wares hanging from springy poles balanced on one shoulder. Nearby Hoan Kiem Lake and its temple island was an obvious reminder of an ancient city history and all these things made for an intriguing city that is distinctly different from home.
Apart from its mix of traditional and modern life, the city has a lot of sites to see, including the almost 1000 year old Temple of Literature, and Ho Chi Minh’s mausoleum and grounds, both of which we visited on our city tour, expertly explained by our local guide Thang.
The walk to Cat Cat village.
Sa Pa is a different world again, set in cool misty mountains with women from the ethnic minorities walking the streets, selling their wares, picking up their supplies from the market and sometimes running away from the tourist police! After our first walk to Cat Cat village, many of us honed our trading skills, working out the best and worst way to say yes and no to purchases. It made for some fun, and definitely a few extra purchases occurred due to bad technique.
A jungle clad track
When it was finally time for our big walk we set out with much anticipation. It all started out very civilised, crossing some suspension bridges and walking through villages on cement paths, and remained pretty much that way until lunch which was at a tiny school house. Once we’d eaten and said goodbye to the kids, we were soon in the rice paddies, balancing on the narrow mud walls and trying not to slip off into the mud. The rice paddies eventually gave way to muddy clay tracks that skirted the sides of jungle clad foothills, going up and down, and leading to lots of slipping and sliding, and much laughter. At one point my beloved Canon DSLR camera slipped from my grasp and went cart wheeling down the muddy bank towards the water before I was able to grab the strap. Oops, I didn’t laugh after that one! We all made it through the day, including my camera, albeit a bit dirtier than in the morning, and were greeted by another group of friendly children finishing school for the day in our host village. Our accommodation was a lovely Tay house where our cook and the host family put on a fantastic feast with many different courses, including the most delicious tofu dish I’ve ever tasted (we were all in agreeance about that).
One of the many suspension bridges.
The good food theme continued on for breakfast where we were surprised with crepes and fresh fruit. Lucky we were walking all day! This day saw us walking the tracks between villages, which allowed us some interaction with the locals as they went about their usual day. At times, we walked through jungle patches with immensely tall bamboo clumps which I couldn’t get enough of (you only have to see my photos to realise that). Our lunch stop was a spot on the side of a hill overlooking the valley, and gave us the opportunity to relax while we ate. For a treat, Thang had picked up some sugar cane in one of the villages and he cut up some billets for us all to chew on as dessert.
Misty rice paddies
Off we set again, walking on buffalo tracks and crossing village boundaries designated with bamboo gateways. Coming into our village that day we were greeted with the most overwhelming response from kids at the local school; we felt like rock stars! The first ones we met started chanting ‘Hello! Hello!’ from their verandah, then word spread through the school and one of the teachers beat a drum to signify school was out. The kids poured out of their classrooms, squealing as they ran and mobbed us in the school square. Their teachers organised them into a couple of games, and the kids put on their best athletic performances to show us how fast and nimble they were. It was just so cute. We again feasted that night, this time overlooking the bamboo- and banana-leafed valley below, another lovely spot to rest up.
Friendly kids.
Day three and we were off again, walking through more bamboo forests and villages, at one stage passing a family moving their house piece by piece on motorbikes. Anything can be moved by bike in Vietnam! Some more suspension bridges followed, along with more valley vistas, another fine lunch, and more rice paddies. An easy walk beside the river led us back to our starting point of the walk, the village we had first seen on day one. We had circumnavigated the mountain and were back to where we started.
Rice terraces
The house for the night was another comfortable Tay house, with a very interesting ‘Zen’ toilet that had to be seen to be believed. The village ladies found us immediately and lined up all their wares on the fence for our perusal. We decided to get stuck in and the trading commenced in earnest. After another tasty dinner, the old man of the house brought out his rice wine for our enjoyment. That’s where things went a little awry. Well, it would have been rude to refuse…
In the morning there were some groggy heads as we packed up and waited for the bus to arrive. Our walk was over, and we only needed to thank our hosts and take one last photo before we were off. We headed back to Sapa to freshen up and kill time till we caught the night train back to Hanoi.
The next part of our trip was the Halong Bay cruise, which I was really looking forward to. It certainly didn’t disappoint, with the craggy rock islands too numerous to count and in all shades of blue as they disappeared intothe horizon. It is a breathtaking place.
Beautiful HaLong Bay
There was a perfect mix of sitting on the deck soaking up the view and activity, with a cave visit, look out walk, pearl farm visit, a couple of swims and three hours of kayaking all part of our 2 night trip. The kayaking was definitely the highlight of this part of the trip, and included a paddle through a lightless cave (headtorches a must) which opened out into a lagoon in the centre of the island. It was like paddling into a
silk painting with all the hues and textures, and when we discovered a group of macaques foraging in some trees it just capped off the experience. It was the best way to see this part of Vietnam and I thoroughly recommend it.
Cave paddling
Our boat trip came to an end and we reluctantly headed back to our bus for the ride back to Hanoi. I was sad to leave the green waters and could have stayed longer for more paddles, but all good things must come to an end. All that was left now was to return to Hanoi for some last minute power shopping (there is a lot to be purchased in the Old Quarter!), one more night out together, and to say farewell to our fantastic guide Thang.
To sum it up, Northern Vietnam is a beautiful place full of wonderful friendly people. Experiencing it by foot allowed us to absorb the countryside, the people and their way of life in a way you just can’t get from day trips. Sharing this trip with such a great bunch of people, having so many laughs together and enjoying their company made the experience all the better. Thanks to you all for making this trip a great success!
Cheers,
Tara
To see all the photos from the trip, go to our Facebook page.
