Visting hanoi and sapa

For me to visit a capital city like Hanoi in the north of Vietnam is very different from the typical capitals of S. E Asia. In Hanoi you will find lots of communist influences (as in the hammer and sickle symbols, statue of Lenin, Vietnamese red flags with the distinctive yellow star in the middle and reverence for Ho Chi Minh) set amidst often colonial French buildings and the typical Vietnamese tube building! They build many of their of their buildings in what we can describe as a tube style where the width of the building is narrow but the depth of the building can be very long. Staying at the old quarters which is where all the hustle and bustle is. At first you will be confused with the various streets and roads but after some time and with the help of a good map you can orientate yourself and walk around to find streets which seem to specialize in nothing but paper, in artwork, in metal products and even in coffins. The curious thing is that there does not appear to be any KFC, McDonalds, 7-11 or cinemas around either! Food is not a problem in Vietnam and you can get good and cheap food ( a meal can costs less than VND 10000) from the dirty road side stalls to the nicer cafes and restaurants. If you have no problem eating from the dirty road side stalls where people sit on small low stools(why they all have the low stools I don’t know), and eat their fantastic beef/pork noodles etc and then wipe their mouth with tissue and then throw it on the floor. The more modern cafes are not only nice in décor but serve good western often French food as well. This is what Singapore, KL and other capitals looked like in the 50s I supposes. There is already a non stop hustle of scooters and vehicles on the road where to cross the road is a great skill. For whatever reason the drivers there like to honk their horns at almost every opportunity. So not only do you get smoke pollution but also endless noise pollution. Slowly the western influences will creep in I am sure and eventually everything will become more orderly, Nike will conquer, Big Mac will enter the market and cinemas will entertain people, another 10 years or sooner it will look more like Bangkok. You can stay in Hanoi for a few days before the noise and the traffic will drive you crazy and after that it is time to take a 8 hour train trip to Sapa. Sapa is very much up north and in fact only a few km from China. In the late 70s when there was a a border conflict with China, china in fact invaded the Sapa before being driven out by the reknowned fighting spirit of the Vietnamese army. Don’t mess the Vietnamese army who have defeated the French, Americans and Chinese. Anywhere the reason why people go to the Sapa region for 3 reasons namely the scenery, the minority people that live there and the cool weather of the highlands. The scenery at Sapa and around there is beautiful with lots of rolling hills and valleys, stepped paddy fields, rice farms etc. Go in their winter season and the place can be often covered in clouds and when the stun does make its appearance and the clouds clear make sure you get the chance to admire the nice views before the clouds cover it up again. When the clouds and mist envelop the whole town, you can hardly see beyond 5 m at times in front of a vehicle or what’s in front of you as you walk. A whole building can disappear behind the mist. Needless to say if you enjoy the cold you will probably like that experience. Sapa is also the home region of the ethnic minority people of the Vietnam. Their dress code and their looks set them apart from the typical Vietnamese and the more prominent ones seem to be the black Hmong and flower Hmong people who still go about in their traditional clothing. They have been heavily influenced by the modern tourist and the black Hmong women and girls can be seen all over sapa trying to sell their products to the visitors. Be sure to make treks and visits to their village and markets like Bac Ha Sunday market if you want to see the ethnic people in their more natural setting and way of life as they go about I the hustle and bustle of a market that seems to sell all the essentials for living in the mountains. As I see the ethnic girls go about selling their products to the tourist, I cannot help but think what does the future hold for them. They do not seem to go to schools for education and they work tirelessly trying to earn a little money in even the biting cold from the tourist. What will they be doing in 5 years from now or 10 years from now. Can they survive in the progressing and more expensive world or will they change and adopt the ways of the modern people.

Discover North Vietnam 7 days, tours

Day 1: Hanoi arrival (D).Our guide will meet you at Noi Bai airport and escort you to a hotel in the center of Hanoi. The tour will start in the afternoon with 2 hours cyclo tour around the Hoan Kiem Lake, Ngoc Son Temple and Old Quarter streets. You are then attend the Water Puppets show. Enjoy welcome dinner and overnight in Hanoi.Day 2: Hanoi - Ninh Binh (B/L/D)Vietnam TourEthnic people8:00 A.M you will visit Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Ho Chi Minh Residence, One-Pillar pagoda Tran Quoc pagoda, Quan Thanh temple, Army Museum and Hanoi Flag Tower. In the afternoon, departure to Ninh Binh. On the way, visit Hoa Lu - ancient capital of Vietnam in the 10 century and the remaining two temples of Dinh King & Le King. Dinner and Over night in Ninh Binh.Day 3: Ninh Binh - Ha Long bay (B/L)8:00 our car will drive you to Tam Coc, then take a sampan on winding streams deep in rice fields and limestone rocks to visit Tam Coc cave. After lunch leave Ninh Binh for Halong bay. On the way, the car will stop for the short visit to Tran temple and Pho Minh tower in Nam Dinh province. Dinner and Overnight in Halong.Day 4 : Ha Long Bay - Hanoi (B/L/D)Hanoi Hoan Kiem LakeHoan Kiem LakeBoat trip through majestic HaLong bay. Enjoy beautiful landscape of HaLong Bay, naturally formed by islands and islets, explore natural caves or sunbathing. Enjoy lunch on board. Return to Hanoi in the afternoon with stop over at Phu Lang Pottery Village at Bac Ninh. In late evening take the night train to Lao Cai - Sapa.Day 5: Lao Cai- Sapa (B/ L/D)You will arrive at Lao Cai at about 6.30. Short car trip to Sapa of about 40km from Lao Cai. Check in a hotel in Sapa. Relax or optional visit in the morning. In the afternoon, 2 hours trekking to visit Catcat village, home of a Black H'mong hill tribe, which is just 7 km from Sapa town. Overnight in Sapa. Day 6: Sapa (B/ L/D)Halong bayHalong Bay8:00 taking a jeep trip to Lao Chai - Ta Van village, Home of Dzay and Black Mong hill tribes. While trekking around the village, meeting and talking with local hill tribes to learn more about their daily life, customs and traditional habits. Optional visit around Sapa town or take a rest before taking car trip back to Lao Cai train station. Get on the train return to Hanoi.Day 7: Hanoi (B)5:30 our car will pick you up the the train. After breakfast, take a bath and relax at Sunny hotel for a while (check-out time is at noon) before the car will take you to airport for departure home or more visit the South of Vietnam.Type of tour: * Private tour. (This is the sample tour, you may go with all details above or we can modify to fix your way of travel) * Easy/Adventure tour * Departure: Any dayFeature of tour: The life of urban, suburban, country side and hill tribes Vietnam people. The beautiful landscape of North VietnamPrice in USD per person

Siem Reap - Battambang - Bangkok - Ko Tao - Ko Pha Nang

Week nine has been another week of callosal journeys and very uncomfortable ones at that: Siem Reap to Battambang in a speed boat that had no speed and took 7.5 hours, a taxi from Battambang to Poipet on the Thai border with another 4 hours to Bangkok in a mini van. Bangkok to Chumpon on a night bus followed by the last leg of the journey on a a ferry at 7am in the morning. That sufficied!The Lying Planet described Battambang as "an elegant riverside town showing the best preserved French-period architecture in the country". Surely someone mixed up the name of the town and the description. Instead it was tatty, dirty with nothing to do or see. The boat from Siem Reap to Battambang was small, noisy and had side slats to sit on which were hugely uncomfortable. Initially there was equal distribution down both sides of the boat of Cambodians and travellers but Capitan pointed at me to swap sides as the travellers were weighing down their side. All was fine until we passed another passanger boat and SWOOSH, SPLASH. Me and all the Camodian children were drenched as we were caught in a wave. The screams were replaced by laughter as we all assessed the muddy soaking. The floating villages along the Tonle Sap were interesting: shops, houses, petrol stations, schools and Police stations all built on water. The journey took extra time due to low water levels at this time of year so we were all very glad to get off the boat in Battambang.After a lovely vegetable Amok dinner the night before in the company of a nice Austrian couple Battambang had nothing more to offer. The day however started with a challenge: how to get out of town when the daily 12 o clock bus to Bangkok was not running due to the New Year. The hotel owner tried to exhorbantly charge me for a taxi but the words "you won't get it any chaper" meant Rabbitts had a mission to accomplish. I got a lift via moped with all my bags once again to the taxi stand at the other end of town and my driver found me a taxi to the border. Little did I know that for 10 USD I would have to share the taxi with 7 other adults, 2 children and a chicken! There were four adults in the back, a baby and a little girl sharing my knee with four more adults in the front. The driver shared his seat with a passanger wedged up against the door. The lady managed to breast feed the sweetest little baby boy and throw up into a bag at the same time whilst the driver drove for two hours one handed (it was automatic) and speak on his mobile phone. Luckily the chicken in the boot didn't suffocate nor leave any presents on my bag. The border was easily crossed but I was feeling quite unwell by now probably due to the greasiest omlet ever for breakfast. Water, aircon and a hunky hungover Canadian sat next to me sorted me out for the four hour mini van trip to Bangkok.Bangkok was celebrating the last night of Songkram so Jen who was in the mini van and I went and got soaked and covered in talk. We were undefended with no supersoakers but had the best sober fun for a long time making our way down the Ko Sahn Road. It was refreshing to see mainly Thais down a road which is normally so full of tourists and they were having a fantastic night. I stayed near the Ko Sahn Roadin the most unfriendly guest house ever: Four Sons. My first single bed was uncomfortable, my room tiny and not at all sound proof. I expected all of the above from Bangkok but it all contributed to my feeling of utter exhaustion. As a consequence The Grand Palace, Wat Phra Kaew, Wat Pho didn't get my fullest enthusiasm but as KV put things into perspective "it wasn't as if I had to go to work the next day" and so I pulled myself together. I called Lloyds Bank to sort out yet another disputed debit on my account, bought a USB card reader to replace the one I lost last week (sorry Dad) and succumbed to a filllet of fish and fries at Macdonalds in the MBK Shopping Centre. (utter shame on me)Leaving Bangkok involved another all night journey but what greeted us weary travellers at the other end was well worth a night on a bus and ferry: Ko Tao. The 7pm bus left us at Chumpon ferry port at 2am and after Sean the Super Snorer had kept us awake for part of the journey having to stay awake until 7am was a bit exhausting. It didn't matter too much though because I met two great Scottish girls: Tracey and Gill from Glasgow. Upon arrival at Sairee Beach I managed to find a smelly "luxury villas" hut for 200 baht a night as no one was interested in offering a non- diving Rabbitts a special deal or a free hut.I met up with G and T for our first sundowner and dinner that evening which was a theme consistant with the rest of the next week in Ko Tao. Maya restaurant with its lanterns and sand sculptures for Pad Thai and the Lotus bar for our fill of Chang beer and buckets. It was fantastic to stay somewhere for more than a few days after the mega journeys through Cambodia and also to have some great company. Tracey is very funny and Gill (Pap) loves to take lots of pictures so that explains the pictures of us laughing on Facebook.The week culminated with the Full Moon Party on Ko Pha Ngan which was rumoured to be cancelled due to elections being held on the same day. There was however no evidence of cancellation as the hundreds of bucket stall holders set up for business. I went to Ko Pha Ngan on my own and had to stay up all night as I didn't have any accommodation. I bumped into loads of people: Sean the Super Snorer and his large group, Will from Asia Divers, I hung out with the Chippendales from Canberra for ages, met some lads from Enfield and bumped into the lads from Hull who ran off in the other direction. Thanks boys for that number. Strange really when it was them who mentioned the Full Moon Party to me all that time back in Vietnam!

Good afternoon Vietnam, (Hanoi)

We touched down in Hanoi, the Capital of Vietnam, mid-afternoon and took the transfer to our hotel in the old district of the city. We ventured out for a quick look around, quickly adopting our Chinese policy of lane-by-lane dodging of cars to dodge the mopeds - then realising that not looking and walking at a steady pace was slightly less alarming. I think the owners of Katie Melua's 9 million bicycles in Beijing have all moved to Hanoi and upgraded to mopeds...On our first night, we walked down to the beautiful lake at the centre of Hanoi and found our way amid the back streets deep into the old quarter and to Ma May Street which was delightful. All the shops/restaurants were refurbished to the traditional tube French Colonial/Vietnamese style houses and we sat on the balcony of one such house for our evening meal - the first meal which can be classed as delicious in over three weeks.The following morning, we went back to the old quarter for breakfast - we took a good walk through all the streets densely packed with people absorbed in their day-to-day business. Each street is named after the products which are/were sold in it - we saw Shoe St, Food St, Bag St, Silk St - there are apparently a total of 36 different streets each named after the products sold. My favourite street is Ma May Street - it is full of wonderful little restaurants and shops with street people selling flowers and fruit from large wicker baskets supported over their seller's shoulder by bamboo. We later walked to Hoan Kiem lake in the park and sat on benches relaxing for a while before heading off to find the Opera House in the French Quarter (with a lot of Art Nouveau style buildings) and then for lunch.In the afternoon we walked to Hoa Lo Prison, Maison Centrale, more famously known as Hanoi Hilton. It is best known as the place where the American POWs were held (incarcerated) during the Vietnam War but was designed by the French to hold the more outspoken/patriotic Vietnamese during their rule of the country. The guillotine was regularly used and heads were put on display to try to dissuade further uprisings. Unbelievably, prisoners were still tortured at this prison until 1969. To top it off, as recently as 1953, over 2,000 prisoners were being held at this prison in a space to fit 500. It was quite alarming.An amusing story we heard whilst inside was about a couple of US Air force officers who were captured and had concocted a story (rather than face torture) about two other members of their squadron who had been court-marshalled for refused to fly US missions against the north. Thrilled with the propaganda, visiting Japanese communists were told this and it filtered back to the US. Unfortunately the officers had named their imaginary pilots as Ben Casey and Clark Kent and when the Vietnamese found out they had been duped, the prisoners were tortured again!We met our new group in the evening - a total of 7 people including us - and went out for another fantastic meal. The group Kitty(NZ), David(NZ), Tracey(CAN), Jenny(US), Paulette(AUS) and our tour leader, another Tracey(AUS) immediately hit it off - we have been so fortunate with both groups.The following morning, we travelled northeast to Halong Bay. Arriving at the port around mid-day, we set off immediately and had a fantastic seafood lunch on the boat (a mix of a junk and a pirate ship!) We cruised along passed beautiful karst peaks in the water which with the misty sky made for some fantastic views although not such great photographs. We sailed through communities living on the water and visited some amazing caves resembling lunar landscapes - then on the way back stopped for a little swim, arriving back at the harbour early evening. We dined at a small local restaurant and had a brief look around the market before heading to bed.The following morning, the bus took us back to Hanoi and we decided to head to the Military museum to have a look at the old US aeroplanes and helicopters. Mark became terribly excited when he spotted a Huey and so we spent a while taking photographs before heading back to the hotel in preparation for our overnight train to Hue.NB: One of the girls on our new tour was supposed to be travelling with a friend through Vietnam but unfortunately her friend was in an awful mini-bus crash (killing 3 people) whilst on the road (the same route as us) to the The Great Wall of China.

Hanoi Pit of Quality

For the benefit of several readers (well, Mark, Steve and Rob) I'm going to get all the Nam cliches out of the way in one go. So here they are: I haven't seen any vets like John Rambo, Magnum or Jim Robinson. I haven't found out who really robbed the Bank of Hanoi. I haven't developed a thousand-yard stare (yet). I haven't even been incarcerated in a Hanoi Pit of Hell.Instead I have been wandering around Hanoi drinking in what a thoroughly cool place it is. Hanoi is busy all the time, and rush hours are manic. There are mopeds everywhere. If you've ever seen the Wirral Egg Run (type it into Google if you haven't), imagine that amount of motorbikes but all riding in different directions all day and yet not actually crashing into each other.So as you can imagine, crossing the road is a bit of an art form. But in fact crossing the road is quite easy if you do as the locals do and just step out into the constant flow of mopeds hurtling towards you from all directions. The Green Cross Code man would probably turn in his grave but incredibly nobody gets hurt. I could stand on a street corner watching mopeds negotiate junctions all day. Its like a giant formation motorcyle team.The old quarter of Hanoi is the place to be for travellers, and has a decent mix of bars and restaurants with tons of decent hostels as well. I was a bit disappointed with the nightlife (not enough people to fill all the bars and restaurants) but that wan't enough to stop me from instantly liking the place.As a break from the noise and fumes we took a boat trip out to Halong Bay (I think its in Tomorrow Never Dies at the end). Unfortunately the weather was a bit on the crap side and we couldn't see much, but the gist is that its a bay (hence the name) with about 3000 small rocky islands in it. The low mist meant we couldn't see much of them but in fact it gave them a pretty eerie quality that I was quite pleased about.The boat trip was one of these overnight jobs, but unfortunately (like the bars) there weren't enough people to fill the vast number of boats that run every day. Still, we met some nice people on there and had a pretty nice evening, then met our first cockroaches all over the bottom deck where our cabins were. There weren't many of them but the sight was still enough to ellicit screams from Carly and Vicky (and me). Nothing we can't handle though, so after blocking every gap and crevace in the cabins with bog roll Graham and I did the manly thing and set of on Operation Roachhunt with our trusty torches and sturdy shoes. They really do make a horrible sound when they get squished.Anyhoo, we made it back to dry land safely and back to lovely Hanoi. I'm pretty lucky at the moment in that every place we've been to I haven't wanted to leave. Off to Hue next for some R&R.

Bangkok, Thailand Da

Bangkok, Thailand Day 3 ***I got up pretty late today after my late night out to the night bazaar so I got to meet the lady who cleans the rooms on my floor. I really have to mention her here. She is so efficient and polite. The mattress is maybe three quarters her weight and yet she effortlessly picks up each corner of the mattress to swipe the sheets in. She’s pretty small, probably only reaching my shoulder but she does her work really fast. And the thing is at the various places I stay at, I always see at least two or three ladies cleaning each room but she’s alone and she takes care of all the rooms on my floor. I’m really amazed at her work ability. If only I could bring her home.Anyway, I’ve been feeling increasingly tired…I think it’s because I’ve been travelling for the past week and a half and just busy visiting places and doing stuff that it’s wearing me down and not to mention the heat. The thought of going out, walking to the BTS in that heat really puts me off. So I’ve decided to stay in again today which I really shouldn’t because of time limitations. Before, I left for this trip, I had already planned to visit Ayuthaya, visit a friend and do some shopping. By staying in today, I had effectively taken Ayuthaya off my plans.So having made that decision, I stayed indoors, did some reading, watched TV and slept. I did go out for lunch though. I went back to the alley near my hotel for some food. At about 6plus in the evening, I decided to venture out for more food. I decided to go to Mahboonkrong (MBK) for dinner and hopefully do a little shopping.The shops at MBK start to close at about 2030 so I didn’t get much shopping in after dinner. I left MBK at about 2100 and decided to head to Patpong to walk. While sitting the BTS to Patpong near Sala Daeng station, I saw the Ferris wheel at Suan Lum Night Bazaar still in operation. It’s not close!! So I decided to go to Suan Lum instead because I didn’t have the chance to do much shopping last night. I got down at Sala Daeng BTS and walked to the Silom MRT station to sit a train to Lumpini MRT station. The MRT is a subway while the BTS is a network. Offhand I think, Sala Daeng and Sukhumvit stations are interchanges for the MRT and BTS. A map of the stations can be obtained at the BTS.Anyway, Suan Lum Night Bazaar is still open, I’m so happy. According to one shop owner whom I asked, she said the date of the Night Bazaar’s closure is not confirmed yet. I hope that they don’t close the Bazaar. I love the place and atmosphere.The Ferris Wheel at the Bazaar.The open air food court at the Bazaar. There is a stage where singers sing to entertain the crowd. Nice atmosphere.A mobile ATM. A very good idea.At about nearly 11pm, I decided to go back to the hotel. I walked outside the Bazaar to hail a cab back. There was a taxi line forming so I opened the door of the first cab. My first question to the taxi drivers in Bangkok are always…Meter? To my dismay, the first four cabs I asked didn’t want to switch the meter on. I was thinking if this carries on, I will have to take the train back. I will never give in to these unscrupulous drivers who are out to cheat tourists. Anyway, finally I found a very nice driver who was willing to take me on the meter. And I think he saw me opening and closing the taxi doors in front because when he was driving off, he started to scold them. He kept calling them mafia drivers and said they were bad. I am so amused by this driver. He was really nice and chatty. He speaks some English so he was asking me where I was from and how long I had been in Thailand etc. After some conversation, he started to scold the mafia drivers again. Such an interesting cab driver. When I got off the cab, I paid him the amount the four drivers in front asked for, which is twice the meter fare. Again I’m not stingy but it’s the principal behind it. The taxi company states that taxis are suppose to be on meter but these drivers don’t follow the rules. They stand on the fact that we are tourists and try to cheat us. They assume every tourist who goes into the country is rich which isn’t true. And even if some tourists are rich, does that mean they can cheat them? And seriously we as tourist have to play our part. Some of us justify the extra by saying it is ok because in our own currency, it’s probably just a few cents. Why haggle or be stingy over a few cents when it means a lot to them. But it’s the principal. And because one or two tourists are willing to pay, they spoil the market for every other subsequent tourist because the taxi drivers get the impression that tourists are rich, can afford and are willing to pay. If you really think you want to give the driver a couple of baht more, do it as a tip. That’s what I do. No matter where I go, be it in Cambodia, Vietnam or Thailand, I always try my best to pay market rate and I never take rides with those who try to cheat me. If after the ride, I think the driver went the extra mile, I’ll tip him.I think those who read my blog think I am an uptight b***h, always complaining about this and that but at the end of the day it’s about making a stand for what I believe in. And I think for too long, a lot of us have given up standing on our principles for various reasons. I once was that way too but a good friend who believes in standing firm on her principles has led me to re look at what my values are, what I’m willing to concede and what I’m not. Thanks J.UPDATE: I chanced upon an article on Suan Lum Night Bazaar. The article said that May 1st is the last day of the Bazaar, however the shopkeepers are protesting against it and have stated that they will not close. The matter is now in court as to whether Suan Lum will get to stay or not. So for those who want to visit the Bazaar, do ask around if the Bazaar is still open before making a trip down. If anyone has confirmation that the Bazaar has closed or is still in operation, please post a comment here for the convenience of other visitors. Thank you for your help.

A trip to the sea.

Well, not content with our last little jaunt (an attempt to do what many nomadic tribes failed to do – assault the Great Wall of China), we thought we could do with another nice relaxing break – this time by the sea. We chose a place called Qinhuangdao, two hours from Tangshan, near the sea, perfect. Of course, we didn’t bank on getting a little merry the night before (Thank you I don’t think Mr Muller!) and having to endure a 2 journey, hung over, stood up on a packed Chinese train!That aside, we got to the hotel and OMGFG!!!! Luxury! I had really forgotten what luxury was – but it wasn’t the plush interior that got me excited… oh no! It wasn’t the carpeted floors either! Not even the Gin stocked mini bar (although that did raise a big ole smile!). It was something you lot probably take for granted – A BATH!!!! Oh my gods, a real, deep, clean, hot water spouting bath! I almost had to change my underwear!Having got over the shock of the bathtub, we decided to explore Qinhuangdao’s sea front. It was amazing to see the sea again – hear waves, feel sand getting between the toes and of course the numerous huge tankers passing by. We were so over awed with the sight and spectacle that we almost didn’t realise that we had somehow ended up in Port Talbot! It was almost exactly the same! Beautiful beaches, amazing waters, and there, off to our left a huge dock loading all manner of ecological unpleasantries onto ships…Even that didn’t spoil the mood though – we spent our time wandering the beach, smiling amiably at the locals and staring, awestruck at the sheer number of things they sold that were constructed purely from sea shells and glue :o/ All in all we had an amazing time, and even found a workable swimming pool there! But the best of all came on the train ride home…Anyone familiar with the Chinese transportation system will know how difficult the journeys can be – had to book tickets 3 days in advance, and then all sold out apart from standing room (again!). We got on the train, expecting another two hours of standing in the carriage, but as the train pulled off Valmai was grabbed by the arm and lead down the corridor to a spare seat – amongst a group of devout Buddhists and two monks travelling to Beijing! We spent the whole journey back conversing in broken chinglish, sharing sunflower seeds and being force fed garden-pea flavoured ice lollys! I kid you not… Life on the road uh?So I’ll sign off this one with a thank you to that kind group who gave us seats (and seeds, and pea-flavoured lollys!) and to you, my Buddhist friends ‘a mi tuo fo!’