South East Asia - Week Nine
Monday we arrived in Sapa and were met at the stop by someone from a hotel across the road. He was selling the rooms, cheaply. Tired an not in the mood for 6am wanders we agreed, checked in and slept till 9am. When we ventured out we made it to a little cafe and sat outside for breakfast. The hill tribe women here have a reputation for being a little over forceful. We experienced it here. One lady stood near us, offered us what she had, we said no, she still stood there watching. When our food arrived we pretended to be in deep conversation, this didnt worry her, she asked our names, too polite for our own good we answered, smiled, carried on eating. She still was there. Then she started telling us that she had an English friend who was staying with her, she had taught her to sew, would we like a cushion cover, no thank you, etc etc etc. When we paid our bill and left she was still there moving away only briefly to try to sell to someone else. The hill tribes have a great dress. The women are in black knee length skirts, knee high socks and jackets, all trimmed with bright colours. They wear hats and earrings. This is one tribe, another tribe has the women in red turban type hats with shaved heads, or at least partly shaved at the front. All very colourful and all born salesmen. Sapa itself is a wonderful place. It is a mountain town which has a feel of a ski resort, without the snow. The restaurants are log cabins and they even sell hot wine. The town is surrounded by mountain ranges and 9km away is Fansipan, the highest mountain here which is about 3800m i think. Today we walked around the town, looked at the market stalls and planned our day tomorrow. Tom was over due a shave, he was starting to look like a yetty as our electric trimmer is broken. So he thought he would go for the whole hog and shave completely, the first time since we left the uk. It took a while, using up all of my razors but later he emerged.....with a smooze face and a handle bar moustache and goatee. He looked hilarious, like a spanish pedro. I dared him to keep it for 5 days, he agreed. At night we had pizza, pasta, beer and hot wine while sitting outside bundled up in fleeces. People pointed and laughed at El Pedros moustac, Tom regretted the dare for a bit, i didnt regret it one bit but i know there is a dare in the bag for me and i know Tom is waiting for the right time and the right dare, argh.
Tuesday we moved early. We enquired at our hotel about getting a motorbike for the day. He chatted to his friend and said 'yeah sure, its 100,000d', fine buy us we agreed and asked where we got it from. His friend was on the phone and the guy pointed outside. We turned around and a man on a bike appeared, the guy walked us outside, took the keys off the biker, gave us both a helmet and said, 'here you go'. That was quick service, we werent sure if this was a passer by at the time or a friend, there was even a keyring on the key but we paid, jumped on and whizzed off, easy. Stop 1 was fuel. The station was a mass of mopeds. It took us a while to figure out how to open our seat and get to the fuel cap, we finally found it and paid for our 2 litres. Breakfast was upstairs in perfect people watching position, in a bakery with fresh bread covered in our newly purchased peanut butter, its not Marmite -but it will do. We planned the route for the day and headed off. First stop was the market for some lunch, we brought veggies and pineapples, loaded the bag and then drove to our first stop, the Silver Waterfalls. However, we couldnt find the road so instead drove for miles outside of Sapa and into the country. The valley was amazing, all sides staggered for farming and villages. After too far we decided that we were the wrong way so turned back. Once we were driving towards our next places, we found the signpost for the falls, typical. The drive again was long, 7km turns into 10km and so on. We stopped by some stalls on the roadside to stretch and found out that these were the falls. We were getting hassled already to buy things so we quickly got back on and carried on towards Fansipan. The roads here are good, tarmaced and winding up and down mountains, the scenery stunning, the sun blazing. As we approached a corner on a gravelly part of the road, a huge gust of wind caught us and moved us to the other side of the road. Tom managed to control it and stopped and there were no other cars about. We wondered whether to go back, once on the other side of the valley the wind had got up, big style. We decided to carry on, at snails pace and so slowly made the descent. Further round the mountain we stopped, to let a mini tornado cross the path in front of us It was a full on twister. I filmed it but it poofed away as soon as i started to record. Spectacular sight. WE drive and rive, not really knowing how we were going to know which was Fansipan but expecting some sigh, there was nothing. When the talk got half empty we turned and returned towards Sapa. We stopped at the falls but decided not to go up, you had to pay and as its dry season, there is not much water, not much of a falls. We brought bbq sweet potatoes from the lady who had helped us, drank Sapa tea with her which was interesting and she talked us through the many treats she had on her bbq. Pork skewers, nice, sweet spuds, also nice, skewered bird, head, beak, legs all of it and finally eggs, ah but not as we know them, these are fertilised eggs, chicks barbied. We declined her offer of buying them and carried on on our way. Petrol ran low, Tom coasted some of the way but we made it back without running out, good job as these roads are pretty empty. We drove around some more, all other roads you had to pay to get out of and into the next village so we didnt as we were now getting closer to leaving for our train. Beers were had in a little bar on the mountain side over looking the valley,sunny and stunning. Once motorbiked out and all routes exhausted we handed back the keys and got the bus to Lao Cai where the train leaves from.They agreed less than they charged when we arrived which was a pain. We tried to explain the price that we agreed before leaving and gave in,we then tried to explain that we had no more money although we did but we werent opening up the money belt of a mini bus. Tom had to pretend to go to the cashpoint to get money while i waited with the bus and our bags. The bus moved to park, i thought he didn't realise that we didnt have our bags so ran after him. As he turned he saw me and the bus full laughed at the falang sprinting with 2 daysacks. We had hours to kill now before the train left, we thought there would be more to do and I wanted to visit here as its only 3km from China, there wasnt anything though so we did what we usually do when we have time to kill, find a place with a beer and a view. We found a close by restaurant, got us a table and 2 tigers. We ordered friend noodles which when they arrived were instant noodles which we like, fried. We dont think that they understood the concept of instant noodles, that you still have to boil them. They were pretty hard, i liked them, Tom didnt so much. We aquired people sitting here. 2 guys from the uk with mountain bikes sat behind us and Tom asked how far they had come, turned out they had biked 800km in 8 days, all mountainous, go them. I got the giggles, Toms tash was still very obvious but he didnt explain the dare. When they went to check in their bags we watched their stuff. When they went a bus turned up and off walked the 2 girls we went to to Hanoi with, so they joined us for a beer to, our table was surrounded with backpacks from 6 people. It was a good few hours and the beers rolled in, i had a headaches before we left, never a good sign. We all brought baguettes for supper on the train and then got on. We had brought tickets for the hard sleeper, it means you should get a better night sleep than on the bus for nearly the same price, you get a bed and you share the room with 4 others. The sleep was ok, i woke to take painkillers, hungover at midnight.
Wednesday we arrived in Hanoi about 5am.We booked the next train out of Hanoi to Hue which didnt leave until 8pm so we had a day to kill. We got a taxi back to the Old Quarter and sat in a cafe for a brew watching Hanoi wake up. All round the lake people were doing aerobics to loud music, jogging. All very fit and this early there were few mopeds. We had seen enough of Hanoi, not big city people and still feeling unrested we thought of what to do. First to do was to dump our bags somewhere so we went back to our old hotel and luckily they let us leave our bags there for the day. We then decided it was about time for a hair cut. Toms hair was again Lego hair and I was desperate to be able to run my fingers through untangled hair. We found a hairdresser which looked good and was cheap and bit the bullet. Mine started with 20 minutes or hair washing, it was gooooood. Wash, scratch, massage, my hair has never been so clean. Then i explained i only wanted a tiny bit off, she still took an inch off but she went to town and did a great job, i even had it blow dried, the first time my hair has seen a styling tool in 5 months, it was bouncy, shiny, real timotei advert stuff! Tom sat in the chair next to me and had a good chop, probably shorter at the back than he has had for a long time and with a long fringe that we later had to cut but after the hair wash and massage he was happy. After our pamper we bounced down the street to a cafe we found before and made ourselves comfy on the sofas, where we sat for the next 4 hours using their free wifi, eating ice cream, drinking tea and having lunch. After our very relaxed morning and afternoon we got our bags and took a cab to the Megastar Cineplex. The only film on was a chick flick but we queued and maintained our position and got tickets for 1.50 for Valentines Day the film. We asked if there was somewhere we could leave our big bags and they treated us like royalty putting them in guest services. The film was good, we had popcorn and fanta and once it was finished we collected our bags with still time to go. We had spotted wine and canapes earlier, it seemed there was some kind of function going on,. Not one to stand for formalities i went over and asked if they were free or for a party. Turns out they were for a party, but it didnt matter, they said if i could get a plastic cup from the popcorn counter we could have some anyway. So i did and we did. We had a plastic pint cup half full of red wine and sat down to drink it. Within 5 minutes the girl that served me the wine came over, with the rest of the bottle and filled our glass up again. They seemed to like having us there and were so nice. We finished the rest of our pint of wine and went for pizza at pizza hut, it was like our date nights at home, but a hell of a lot cheaper and better service and free wine. The pizza hut staff couldnt help us enough and giggled every time we thanked them, it was lovely. They practised their english and seemed thankful that we were thanking them. After dinner we got a taxi to the train station, waited to board and then made ourselves comfy on our bottom bunk beds. Last time we had middle bunks, they were a bit swayey, the bottoms were better. We red, and snoozed only waking at 2am when we stopped in Vinh and some of our room got off, we still had a long way to go, a long long way.
Thursday the sight to wake to was another special one. We were racing through the Vietnamese countryside, rice paddies either side, morning mist covering everything and sun shining. We were the only ones left in our room. I woke and went in search for coffee and breakfast. I returned with cold strong coffee and no food. My charade for bread didnt work. I found a hot water machine and warmed our coffee up, then we had a cup of tea from our stash of emergency tea bags to wash the taste away. There was still a few more hours on the train before we arrived in Hue. Hue is the old capital of Vietnam, from the 16th to the 19th century. There is a lot of history here. It is also very close to the Demilitarized Zone during the Vietnam war and has loads of places to visit there. We arrived and jumped in a free taxi to a hotel to see if we wanted to stay there.It was cheap and good so we did. The hotel it seemed was further out of the busy area so we strolled along the Perfume River bank, fighting off cyclos (men on bikes who bike you about on a 'trolley' as Tom called it during an 'im hot and dont want to be hastled' outburst) who wanted our business, and into the busy area, still not very busy but busy enough to have somewhere for breakfast and beer and a few games of pool. Tomorrow we wanted to do a trip, either round the city or to the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone). We haggled and bartered and then found a place that was cheaper than anywhere. We booked on the DMZ tour and our bus out of here and to Hoi An, next place on our trip. Bit more walking about, a film in bed and dinner at a local restaurant, noodles soup.
Friday our bus collected us at 6am. We went downstairs to wait for it and were surprised to see that the glass door at the front of the hotel was missing a door and the shattered glass of it was all over the floor. The 2 hotel staff explained that the 2 guys we had met on the train and came to the hotel with had gone out the night before, got drunk, got a motorbike home at 3.30am, one had paid, the other wouldn't. We dont know why, whether they had agreed a price and wanted more now or whether it was the Irish guys fault. Either way a fight broke out and they were all screaming and shouting. It woke up people from the hotel so the staff went out and told them to be quiet. The irish guys went into the hotel and that was the end...until the motorbike driver returned 10 minutes later and threw something big through the glass door. The guys were clearing it up in the morning. Our bus collected us and I slept the whole way to our breakfast stop. Once there we collected our guide who spoke english but we still couldnt really understand her too much but got the jist. We visited a memorial for the locals. Then to the Vinh Moc tunnels where military and villagers lived during the war. They were small and our guide ran off, some of us were stuck guessing which way to go at points but we found the way and got out. After the tunnels we went for lunch, too early. The afternoon we visited a bridge built by the americans, a mountain, and Khe Sanh combat base where chinooks and helicopters now stood next to the old airstrip. The history along the way was interesting, we started to get more of an idea about what it was all about and seeing the pictures and memorabilia was good to see. The journey back to Hue was long and hot, we arrived about 5pm then strolled around nearby to buy a picnic and wine. We found wine but no picnic and settled in for a film. Later we needed food so went out again for picnic things, we ate bread, cheese, Chinese dumplings and red wine in bed, nice.
Saturday morning bus to Hoi An. The normal collection in a tiny van and then to the bus parked down some alley, odd. I missed the big front seats, much to Toms horror as the seats were designed for mini people, 4 hours of squish to go. We stopped at the beach on the way to have a drink and a watch, then back on the bus from the rest of the journey. We arrived in Hoi An, the capital of tailor made clothing for Vietnam. The place is small but there are over 250 tailors here all touting for your business. It is hilarious as you will be walkign down a street and from no where here a 'hello, you buy something'. You know its aimed at you but dont know where it came from, so we just say, 'hello' back. Tom takes to waving, All the cyclos wave and say hi to suk you in so Tom waves as if its someone he knows just saying hi! Our bus dropped us off outside of a hotel that wanted $15 for a room, us thinking that this was expensive walked into town, and walked and walked. We arrived at a hostel, hot and sweaty, they wanted $12, typical. We had gone too far though so booked in here for the night. Brunch was next on the agenda and we headed to the Mermaid restaurant which was yummy. This afternoon we priced up our bus ticket to Nha Trang and then got dragged into a shoe making place. It was like my heaven. You can chose from a book what kind of shoes you want, then choose the fabric or leather and then the heal. Tom chose some K Swiss trainers but we couldnt part with what they wanted as they wanted to take the money before we saw them, which we didnt want to be doing. You could have so much fun here though, such temptation. We walked out through the market, the hustle and bustle and mopeds biting at your heals and into the road where we went to a tailor we had been recommended. Here is where more fun began, We sat for ages being measured, choosing clothes and fabric. When we got to the price we were surprised how much it was so whittled off a few things and bartered down the price. We settled on a pair of jeans each, a pair of convertible trousers and a dress (for me, not Tom!). All shopped out and thirsty we strolled through town and to a place that sold fresh beer for 4,000d, about 15p! We had a couple and chatted to the guy working there called Yum. He was studying I.T and spoke good english. When we ordered the second beer he watched me down my remaining mouthful and said 'Wow slow down, are you ok', you probably had to be there to see his face but we wet ourselves, he seemed genuinely worried! After beers we walked about the town and the market before heading back, getting sorted and coming out again. Hoi An at night is amazing. The little french looking dilapidated buildings come alive with chinese lanterns. There are little lights all the way up the river bank and looks stunning. We stopped for a happy hour mojito and then crossed the footbridge to a seafood restaurant where we sat on the balcony and watched. The food here is cheap, and there is loads of seafood. After dinner we walked some more, brought a cigar (seemed and oddly fitting end to a perfect evening) which turned out to be a pipe tobacco cigar and tasted horrendous and walked home, once more bumping into our Israeli friends. Small world! I was accosted by a lady in reception and agreed to have a massage before bed, cant say that it was a bad idea, it was fab and i slept like a baby!
Sunday and Tom got up and walked over to the posh hotel that we had stopped at yesterday. He managed to blag us a $14 room in the hotel which had wifi, a pool, a giant corner bath, giant bed, tv, room service and enough complimentary toiletries to fill our wash kits, it was a treat and so we spent most of our time making the most of it. We checked in and stayed there most of the day, moving only to re visit the tailors twice for some clothing tweaks and to sit by the pool for 20 minutes. We managed to skype everyone and talk for hours which was nice to do with a good connection and popped out in the afternoon to buy a bottle of plonk which we enjoyed after a good soak in the giant tub. We left for the evening to eat and then returned and watched films and relaxed. Very lazy but very much in need of some slowing down as we count down to Base Camp. Energy conservation is now the name of the game (although that makes us feel guilty!)