Day 68 Sunday 15th November 2009

Johno says

As we arrived into the remote town of Lai Chau in the northernmost part of Vietnam bordering China we could instantly notice a bit of a chill in the air and we didn't pack much warm clothing - oops! We had another crusty French stick here in a nearby hotel and at 9am our bus picked us up to take us to the local Sunday market at a place called Bac Ha which was roughly an hour drive away via some Police stops and bribes. Believe me this market was very much a local affair and was all about experiencing a highland market rather than buying souvenirs for us. Bac Ha market is a magnet for the local hill tribe people with 'Flower H'Mong' women (from one of the poorest tribes) wearing some seriously colorful clothing including electric pink and lime green… I did see Stace eyeing up a matching bag item so I reckon she liked the colour combo!! There was an animal section to the market held on a muddy open field with pigs squealing, buffalo's, kittens standing ready for purchase and dogs tied up with string which we both found a little emotional - apparently it is sadly a delicacy amongst the tribal people here and Dog is frequently eaten at the end of each month. There was a bit of a scuffle with a local Flower H'Mong woman and a seller which we found quite funny with nuts scattered all over the floor after the argument. We enjoyed a massive lunch with some others from Hanoi and they confirmed that a puppy could be bought for as little as 100,000 dong (little over 3 pounds). Thankfully the kittens on sale were bought as pest control for mice and the Buffalo to work on farms. I still couldn't work out what they would want with the Pig's ears and tails or the slabs of meat laying around which were being picked up by the world and his wife? Our bus then stopped at a nearby hill tribe village and we had our first glimpse of how the local people lived, pretty basic and dated as you would expect really - the rice fields were all harvested and the only life around seemed to be the random pigs, ducks and dogs (or dinner?) plodding about around the site. They were also constructing a new building in the village using wooden scaffold and manual saws! Finally we stopped at the border crossing with China and could clearly see about 100 metres away across the small river the Chinese buildings which were presented with Chinese writing all over them. Finally after a pretty hectic day we journeyed back to our pretty comfortable hotel amongst the mountains in Sapa, it was dark by the time we arrived so all that could be seen was the minimal street lighting and mist!

Day 69 Monday 16th November 2009

Stacey says

Today we had a trip planned to go trekking in the mountains in Sapa, and to stay overnight in a local Hill Tribe home. In the morning we got greeted by our guide, called Lang. She was wearing her colorful tribe clothes, she was very short, and later found out she was 20 years old. We had a 12km hike to Lao Chai Village, stopping along the way to see Black H'mong and Red Dzay Tribes and finally to be staying with a Dzao Tribe family. Each Tribe have their unique dress, and traditions and even their own languages. Only having Vietnamese in common, if they could speak it at all. The tribes emigrated from China and Tibet and settled in the mountains forming their own there own tribes. Their main profit came from opium crops, which the government later clamped down on, so now they survive cardamon, rice and textiles, which they now sell a lot to tourists. Once we had got our group together, we went outside, and about 10 little tribe girls were waiting, they were coming on the trek with us! They were all very chatty asking us lots of questions. Very cute. We walked down through the main town before veering off into peaceful hiking through the valleys. The weather was very chilly, with a lot of fog, barely being able to see past 10m. The girls kept making us little gifts out of the plants by the side made into hearts, or animals, so I had them all over my bag and hair! The trekking was a relatively easy terrain today, all but one steep sandy party, where a Canadian women decided to slide down on her bum! We stopped for lunch in the village, where the sweet little girls suddenly pulled out lots of lots of bags and cushions covers and jewellery and 'please buy for meeee'. it was chaotic! After lunch we continues our trek for 2 hours. I had a little old lady grab my hand and wanted to walk with me, she was 80 years old and mighty fit! She took me far ahead of the group, we just kept walking along smiling and laughing at each other, as we couldn't communicate!! But I got her to turn around as no one else was coming, they had stopped at a primary school. The kids were practicing dance routines and we were allowed to nose around in the classrooms, and talk to the children. After this we then walked onto our homestay. There were just 4 of us at this point, an American guy from Washington who was with a Vietnemase girl from the south (John and Trinh). The house was much bigger than I thought it would be, built from bricks and wood, with a corrugated metal roof, with concrete flooring. The house had been extended 2 years previous as they built it to allow for homestays. The kitchen was basic, with a sandfilled pit where they light a fire to warm up by and cook dinner. A dining area, with a TV! And the bedrooms, which could cater for 20 people. A little later 2 French guys also turned up. (Who were absolutely no fun at all - only asked us one question about where we work, the whole night, no stories to share! Pfffft ) The mum of the family began to prepare us food, lots of fresh vegetables, chicken, and beef stir frys. Way too much food for the 6 of us. Accompanied with plenty of rice wine! Which tastes better the more you drink! It was over dinner we found out John was 74! What a great guy, he did not look over 65 really, in great shape trekking these mountains! After dinner we sat around an open fire and chatted, then headed to bed. Bed was a mattress on the floor, with a big blanket, it was very comfortable and warm!

Day 70 Tuesday 17th November 2009

Johno says

Our guide overslept so we enjoyed a longer than expected sleep. Breakfast was some pancakes with honey followed by some banana's, luckily no rice wine this morning! The family was eating last nights leftovers in the kitchen. It was raining for the whole night but thankfully stopped by the time we left the homestay, of course it was very muddy up and down the mountain so I was like Bambi on ice as I binned my hiking shoes after Africa, one of the accompanying tribal ladies (Jane) that was helping me up the paths was holding me up at times but I rewarded her by taking her legs out on a few occasions - it was very slippery. Stacey ahead of me was doing ok but noticed one or two slippery moments too! The scenery was absolutely brilliant, there was no mist today so you could see for miles around through the mountain valleys! Lang also showed us the local Hemp produce - nice. We stopped for lunch and I offered Jane a token of my appreciation with a couple of pounds, but refused on any wallets, bags or belts that she had to sell me. I left my muddy shoes for the locals and jumped on the bus for our journey back to Sapa. What a great couple of days hiking and brilliant homestay with the local hill tribe family - I will always remember to enjoy my comforts at home now!! Lang seems to be up with the times with a face book profile, we are adding her as one of her friends. We transferred to the night train and met a really nice couple from Israel, after a couple of hours chatting I retired to my top bunk for some sleep.

Day 71 Wednesday 18th November 2009
Stacey says
Arriving back to our hotel at 5am, we went straight back to bed for a few more hours. We have a 7.30am pick up tomorrow to head to Halong Bay. So today we braved walking around Hanoi some more, stopping for some lunch. We had walked down a street of shops selling sweets, so we decided to get ourselves a bag of goodies. Thinking it would be simple enough, in the first shop the man just said an outright 'NO', again it happened at the second attempt, why wouldn't anyone let us buy sweets! Third time lucky, we got some, but the women wasn't too happy.. odd!! After we stopped at a 'Beer Hoi' which are usually found on corners and sell draught beer for 10p, so we sat and enjoyed a glass of beer. We then headed for the Water Puppet Theatre for a 5pm show. It lasted for an hour, it was a good little play, with a live Vietnamese band playing various instruments and some singing, whilst the puppets were dancing around in the water playing out various scenes! After this we headed for a wander around the French Quarter part of town. On the way back to the hotel we got amongst the locals again at a beer hoi, had a refreshing one for the road back home, we had done a lot of walking!! I counted myself lucky for getting home unscathed today, I had a motorbike stop short and ran his wheel into my leg, and a car began to reverse right into me, very frustrating trying to cross roads!!!