Off the well trodden tourist path - Sapa to La Cao - Northern highlands, Vietnam

Time to get off the well trodden tourist path ... I had arranged a trip with Greentrails -Indochina - 3 days cycling from Sapa to La Cao.. Sapa is very much on the well trodden tourist path due to it being surrounded by beautiful mountains - a trekking mecca, with added bonus of an opportunity to visit and even stay in a number of hill tribes. Whilst I was keen to experience the mountains and hill tribes, I also was desperate to get on the bike, hence my decision to bike and not trek. The trip entailed an overnight sleeper train from Hanoi to La Cao, the enjoyment of which can depend on your fellow cabin guests. I was sharing with an Indian couple from Singapore on honeymoon, and a Vietnamese businessmen. A pleasant few hours spent chatting before we settled around 9pm for what we hoped would be a good rest....it was not to be, pretty comfortable beds, but noisy and bumpy ride with plenty of stopping and starting and we arrived in LaCao at 5am! An early breakfast at the hotel with my guide for the next few days, Hau, and then the hour transfer to Sapa with "the driver" - I tried to catch a bit of shut eye but the roads were windy. We were heading up to Sapa, following a river path and surrounded by magnifient mountains, although my view was shrouded in mist, clouds and rain!

On arrival in Sapa, it was very misty and raining so off to the market for a rain coat! The market is mostly local produce which the villagers from the various hill tribes (some from many kms away) all dressed in their traditional colourful outfits attend to sell or purchase goods. One mainly sees the women and younger girls out in the market as well as out in the streets waiting to pounce on new ly arrived unsuspecting travellers to sell their handicraft - beautiful silver, colourful bags and material and postcards.......as I was the only mad one out there, the rest of them keeping warm and dry in their hotels....I was soon surrounded by up to 10 ladies - weather beaten faces, threadbare traditional outfits, big smiles and big asks for their goods!

After a couple of hours we jumped in the mini van with bicycles and bags and headed out of town in the mist, rain and up a very muddy pass, stunning scenery of Fansipan mountain if the clouds would open up......at the top, we put our cold gear on and hurtled down the pass, coming out of the clouds and enjoying stunning scenery, lush forests, waterfalls and the odd road construction chaos and as we hit the flatter terrain, rice paddies, tea plantatins and reed huts! We cycled 50/60/70 kms (mostly relatively easy except one long hill....)respectively passing small villages populated with various different minority groups (or hill tribes) living very basically (not dissimilar to parts of rural South Africa) without running water, electricity. The different groups are distinguished by their colourful head gear/bags or jewellery and by their teeth (coloured black) or hair (shaved at the front if you are a married woman) - all considered very attractive. The main groups we came across were (H)Mong (also found in Laos, China, Thailand) and Black Thai. They are largely nomadic and build basic dwellings and farm the land (no rent or taxes) and have limited access to school and healthcare. I wondered if they move away from their tribes to the cities but this is not so, keeping to their familiar way of life. They are relatively shy with westerners (probably because in these more remote areas they are more infrequent) but we came across plenty of children walking to/from school on side of road and they smile, wave and greet Hello. We stopped for lunch in local villages where the guide Hau ordered copious amounts of food which was fabulous to try real Vietnamese food and then in the evenings stopped in small towns where we settled into local hotels and feasted at local restaurants. When we arrived at our final destinations, I would generallytake a walk passed the nearby hill tribe homes, along the main roads or into the markets. I often came across school children who would practice their English "Hello, how ar eyou, Where are you from? with their parents watching in awe. One mother pulled me into her home and gave me water and we communicated through hand signals. One market stall holder took photos of me and introduced me to her friends and husband, and then after dinner found me at the restaurant and invited me into her home for tea, which I enjoyed in their front room on their bed with husband, son, mother in law and a blaring tv. Again hand signals were our way of communicating.

I really loved these 3 days, it was an indulgence but it was worth every cent for the freedom of being on the road, the smiles and giggles of the children on the side of the road, the openness and friendliness of the local people, for the magnificent scenery and the local food and culture.

A tour of Unesco Heritage Sites in Vietnam - 3. Halong Bay

Another well known Unesco heritage and Tourist site is Halong Bay, situated about 100km from Hanoi. I joined one of the 100's of boats that head out for 1/2/3 day trips with first night spent on the boat and the second night on Cat Ba island.
Courtesy of Wikipedia, I have included some context for those who have not visited this site (and I couldn't recall everything the guide said, that is also what happens when you are 3 weeks behind on writing your blog!!!

"Local legend has it that long ago, when the Vietnamese were fighting Chinese invaders, the gods sent a family of dragons to help defend the land. This family of dragons began spitting out jewels and jade. These jewels turned into the islands and islets dotting the bay, linking together to form a great wall against the invaders. The people kept their land safe and formed what later became the country of Vietnam. After that, dragons were interested in peaceful sightseeing of the Earth and decided to live here then. The place where Mother Dragon flew down was named Ha Long, the place where the dragon children attended upon their mother was called Bai Ta Long island.....The bay consists of a dense cluster of 1,969 limestone monolithic islands, each topped with thick jungle vegetation, which rise spectacularly from the ocean.....there are two bigger islands, Tuan Chau and Cat Ba, that have permanent inhabitants.....tere is a community of around 1600 people live on Ha Long Bay in four fishing villages: They live on floating houses and are sustained by capture fishing and marine aquaculture (cultivating marine biota)."

We were not blessed with great weather, it was raining on the drive to Halong city and remained overcast for most of the 3 days. Despite this we were still in awe of the beauty and wonder of the 1000's of islands of varying shapes, sizes and shades of green from the favourite viewpoint, the deck on our junk. Quite comfortable boat accommodating about 14 passengers and 6 crew, in need of a little TLC but I guess being the end of high season, that could be expected. We visited phenomenal limestone caves, they were enormous and amazing formations created millions of years ago. A leisurely 2 hour kayak amongs the islands afforded a different perspective and we were entertained by a few fish eagle soaring above us and betweenthe islands, they were more mesmerising than the islands. I had been warned that there would be many boats and that there is a fare amount of litter, but this did not deter from the experience and on the whole a lot of clean up activity is done in the more visited areas. (there were a few inlets that the garbage boats clearly hadn't visited). A wonderful setting to view the sunset, stars and full moon, but alas the clouds did not clear. I awoke at sunrise to witness another beautiful time of day, still overcast, but very peaceful and still majestic.

We motored over to Cat Ba island where a handful of us hopped off, cycled to the Hospital cave - amazing hospital built during (2nd World?) war by Chinese and Vietnamese within a cave...phenominal solid structure. Settled into rather large (tour group style but comfortable) hotel serving very good lunch. I took a walk along the promenade past floating villages, smar resorts and then followed a sea side path built into the cliffs with fruther great views of the islands. A rather disappointing trip to Monkey island - a little bit of a tourist delight, a chance to get close to rabid monkeys, that only appear when a kind tourist brings out some food. A few intrepid travellers had followed a rocky steep path to seek out the monkeys in their natural habitat, only to be awarded wtih magnificent views, and on our return to the beach discovered where all the monkeys were! Cat Ba island has some fantastic trekking opportunities, into the National Park, but we headed off early to get back on the junk for a leisurely ride bact to shore, passing the famous kissing chickens....not that impressive... but included here anyway!

A tour of Unesco Heritage Sites in Vietnam - 2. Hue

Hue was the capital from early 1800 to 1945 (Communist government established in Hanoi) during theNguyen dynasty who dominated southern Vietnam from 17-19th century.
In the Vietnam War, the city was damaged considerably from American bombings and after the war, many of the historic features of Huế were neglected, being seen as "relics from the feudal regime", but there has since been a change of policy, and some parts of the historic city have been restored.
A beautifully maintained and restored attraction is the Citadel and Forbidden City. I spent a few sweltering hours in the Citadel - a large, walled area north of the Perfume River. Inside the citadel was a forbidden city where only the concubines, emperors, and those close enough to them were granted access, the punishment for trespassing being death.

Braving the traffic, I cycled over one of the many bridges to the north area, enjoying the diversity of the market, getting lost on roads in the forbidden city (most of which is inhabited by local townsfolk and farmers), and indeed taking a few wrong turns as I was enticed by beautiful buildings or cute kids, but being very politely asked to turn around/go the other way!

There are hundreds of buildings, for the Emperors, their wives, guards, servants, concubines, elephants, etc, etc They are in different states of repair but on the whole I was mesmerised by the beauty of the buildings, architecturally and artistically. I was hoping that I wouldn't tire of their beauty as I am sure there are many more temples to come (Laos and China!). And they are set in magnificent walled gardens. Once in the complex, one is literally left alone (as long as you don't stray as I had earlier in the day!) to enjoy the many buildings and for a mere 50,000 dong, it was the cheapest and most worthwhile tourist attraction in Vietnam.

The more important the emperor, the larger the tomb, as I discovered when I opted for a personal motorbike ride to the 3 most important Nguyen leaders during this period, I loved the tombs of Minh Mang for the beautiful architecture and stunning gardens and lakes,Khai Dinh for the beautiful mosaic art inside the buildings and Tu Doc again for the stunning gardens.

Hue was also known for its cuisine, well, this was the real disappointment for me. I found a proliferation of restaurants catering for the western palate, and very few local cuisine spots (except the market stalls). I did enjoy a traditional meal in a restaurant that trains under privileged children, and was not as enamoured by the food as I was in Hoi An. The speciality of the region was shrimps in glutenous mass wrapped in banana leaves, and shrimp paste in rice paper wrapped in banana leaves, both served with a chilli sauce, which can completely overpower the taste but not hide the texture!

I should not fail to mention the DMZ for any of you war fiends out there - a system of tunnels and museums known as the Demilitarisation Zone - I did not visit the site for a number of reasons, lack of historical interest, a full day out, I have seen underground cities before and avoiding an overzealous tourist!

A tour of Unesco Heritage sites in Vietnam - 1. Hoi An

I only planned to be in Vietnam for approx 2 weeks which is seriously not enough time to experience everything this diverse country has to offer. As in life, it was time to make choices.
I did not deliberately plan to focus on Unesco Heritage sites but the well-trodden tourist path and transport routes direct you to these areas. In addition, I had already chosen the seaside experience and would be heading to the northern highlands for mountains and tribal village experience.
Vietnam is a long country and travelling between destinations can take a while, expecially the bus and train options, and so with limited time (in South East Asia, I know I have a year off) I justified the short, cheap flight to Danang, abouth half way to Hanoi and the gateway to Hoi An, a Unesco Heritage site since 1999.





As it was not destroyed by American bombs during the war, it is a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port of the 15th to 19th centuries, with buildings that display a unique blend of local and foreign influences (China, Japan, Holland, India).
It was lovely to stroll down the cobbled streets and riverside, gawping at the beautiful buildings, the bustling market and streets lined with tailors, art dealers, souvenir shops and traditional homes. And the restaurants are prolific, offering fine food, cooking classes and fine wine!
Never one to pass on a shopping opportunity, I ordered some clothes from a tailor, with the large discounts back home, it is not as cheap as it's made out to be but it was fun, and for those who have been here before, I stayed clear of backpacker style clothes and had a couple of my favourites copied (they were starting to look a bit tatty anyway!).
I mentioned the food, some examples are White Roses - steamed rice dumpling with shrimps - delicate and delicious, Fresh Spring Rolls with shrimps, herbs & vermicelli - positively healthy!, and Lau Cao - noodle soup with port, chips, salad - okay!) - I decided to make a day of it, and registered for Red Bridge Cooking class, a professional outfit and fun day, starting at the market - what a feast for the eyes and stomach, and some things, one can't stomach, followed by another leisurely boat trip to their restaurant and cooking class - cool and luxurious, a tour of their herb garden and then the show began. We had a number of demonstrations, we then had a chance to make a few dishes and then enjoyed these as well as further dishes for lunch - gastronomic delight. The menu included: Fresh shrimp spring rolls (including making of the rice paper wrapping), seafood salad with herbs served in a pineapple, Hoi An pancakes (filling of shrimps, pork and herbs), Vetnamese eggplant in clay pot and Steamed Ocen Fish on a bed of fresh vegetables. Perhaps I will get the opportunity to serve some of these delicious dishes to you...next year!


Other attractions:
There is a famous temple called My Son, but unfortunately mostly destroyed by those American bombs, but a nice day out set in beautiful forests, and a leisurely boat trip back passing a few traditional villages. Also would add that after Angkor Wat, any temple is a little disappointing, however, we had a very amusing and interesting guide which makes for a good day out on the tourist trail.
There is also a beach, which I visited on a short bicycle trip, but not the best beach on my travels and quickly filling up with luxurious resorts!

Vietnam - Ho Chi Minh City

Ho Chi Minh City

After my adventurous (and not so cheap) border and ferry crossing fiasco, I decided to fly from Phu quoc island to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City)....the plane was a fokker (???) and it was one of the smoothest flights I have ever experienced! Given my experience in Phnom Penh I was stressing about a big city visit, crowds of people, horrendous traffic, noisy and large (you would never have thought I lived in London happily for 10 years!) and convinced the taxi driver was ripping me off, but he wasn't and the hotel was lovely (I was prepared to spend a little more on accommodation in the cities) and very central, i.e. right round the corner from the main backpacker tourist streets, so it was easy to stroll out, find a restaurant, make some travel enquiries, buy a book.....

I had been warned about Saigon's traffic and motorbikes and that crossing a street is a nightmare, whilst there are pedestrian crossings, these are ignored by motorists/motor cyclists, and the best way to cross is to first make sure that there are no trucks or cars and then slowly walk across the road, don't stop and don't run, and you will be fine! With no logic prevailing, I declined offers of cyclos and insisted I was going to do my own walking tour of Saigon to the Market, Shopping district, Musuems..... Small intersections were mastered with ease (well, followed on the heels of a local) but then I came across a huge traffic circle with about 8 intersections and 4 lanes for cars but imagine rows of 16 motorbikes heading in your direction, but I still proceeded untethered and with a break in the middle of the road, made it safely to the other side of the road, with a little whoop of joy!!!

But I was on the opposite side of the road to the market, oh well I don't like markets anyway - too crowded and having to constantly negotiate. So I headed for the shopping streets.....a bit like a London, Paris or New York street... a bit of retail therapy, why not!!! I had not bought any souvenirs yet, oh, and the art was spectacular.

Losing myself in the streets of Saigon was wonderful, watching the city pulsate with energy, a mixture of modern malls and skyscrapers, old markets and shophouses, and lovely gardens! I visited the beautiful Post office building, Notre Dame cathedral, but had no energy for the War Museum (but took a few snaps on the outside as I relaxed in a beautiful garden). After lunch at a traditional restaurant - love the fresh prawn springrolls and fresh fruit juices, visited the City Musuem - beautiful building but slighly boring content, a cool respite from the heat outside. I then succumbed to a cyclo driver who took me to the History Museum (fascinating account of the different ages/dynasties and an amusing water puppetry show), he then took me to a few temples and then to the Art Museum...well he dropped me off a block away and then demanded 400000dong (that is about $25.....a rip off...) I gave him 200k and then huffed off to the Musuem only to find it closed on a Monday!!!! Mug....but I came off lightly, a couple I met a week later had been robbed 4 times in 4 days in Saigon!!!

Nothing like having a treat when you're let loose in the city, treated myself to dinner at the Temple Club an old Chinese temple with original wood and stunning antique décor. The food is classic Vietnamese, substantial portions and whilst reasonably priced is expensive for a backpacker. I unfortunately only managed 2 courses of spring roll selection and baked fish with scrumptious ginger, chilli, garlic broth, washed down by a delicious glass of wine (so rare for me nowadays!) but could not fit in the famous desserts!

Continuing in the non-backer theme of shopping, fine dining, I decided to pay for the use of pool and gym at the smart Caravelle hotel - state of the art sports equipment (Western quality) and lovely pool, oh and spa....bliss and much needed exercise!

My Saigon experience felt more like a city break, than a backpacker stopover, possibly the best way to enjoy city life.....but the splurge trend was not going to continue.....

Vietnam - Phu Quoc Island

Phu quoc is a beautiful island with many hotels with bungalows and restaurants on the main beach, suitably called Long Beach. The island is about the size of Singapore and is mostly National Park with few roads and even fewer that are tarred. Given its size it was appropriate to hire a motorbike to tour the island, although a very dusty and bumpy experience (especially when first getting used to the gears), but fabulous to ride for miles along quiet roads running up the coastline, with palmtree lined beaches, a few fishing villages and very little else along the way. I stopped at a lovely beach restaurant - Wings - run by a 30ish local lady - 2 tables, 4 deckchairs, no other restaurants, people and just views of the aquamarine blue sea and a lone fishermen. She sat and chatted to me about life while I enjoyed the most delicious bbq/braaied fish and salad - heaven. And very refreshing swim!
I joined Rainbow divers for a day trip - a few hours by boat up the east coast - the diving was very good (compared to Cape Town but not as spectacular as Similan) with 30deg water, 7m depth, 7m viz. A really good dive for checking out the small stuff - nudibranch (snails), shrimp, crabs, rays, and even a small shark. Staff were great and enjoyed delicious traditional meal on board and chilled out on deck. It was pretty quiet, being the end of the season and they shut up shop and head up to Nha Trang where the season is starting there. On the whole, I wouldn't head to Vietnam specifically for a diving holiday, and it will be a while until the next diving opportunity!
I only spent 2 nights on the island and I loved heading out early in the evening for long walks on the beach, watching locals swimming in the sea, fishing boats heading in for the evening or the brightly lit squid boats heading out, the sun setting and then dinner on the beach, sand between your toes, ice cold beer, bbq/braaied prawns.....I am still in heaven! Well I couldn't resist another sunset photo!
After my beach escapes, it was time to head back to mainland Vietnam to experience the wonderful cities, culture and countryside!

Cambodia Part IV: Some leisure time

Well it was definitely time to find a nice quiet beautiful spot for some rest and relaxation after the city experience! I found a direct bus down to Kep - what a pleasure! The bus trip was one of those typical local trips where we left full, but picked up people on the way and placed them on stools in the aisle. And I have mentioned that travel is slow because of the road conditions, but then we were even slower as we dropped practically every passenger at their desired destination and I didn't really know where I was going, but being the only tourist, I was duly dropped off at the bus stop.
Five hours and only 150kms later, I found myself in this small dilapidated seaside resort. French colonialists and King Sihanouk had their holiday houses, most of which were destroyed by the Kmer Rouge during the civil war. It is slowly being rebuilt with a few guest houses, holiday homes and I am sure the bigger resorts will build there soon. It is famous for its crabs and there is a row of restaurants down by the sea serving crabs with pepper sauce (also from the region). I stayed at Kep Lodge set up on the hill bordering the National park and with fabulous views of the bay and sunset, great (if not warm) pool and restaurant.

It was also time to get some time on the bike (see photo, not sure it counts as training), and I enjoyed a leisurely afternoon ride along the coastal road, enjoying the sunset (with a very expensive glass of wine) at the Yacht club, cruising past the derelict mansions and a feast of fresh fish, crab and prawns at the aforementioned restaurants! Oh I forgot to mention the lovely French rose wine, a luxury for me nowadays, shared with an Australian couple from Melbourne.

Just a few kms from Kep, is a small group of islands, of which the largest is Koy Tonsay or Rabbit Island and is inhabited by a few local fishermen and farmers. It also has a handful of restaurants and bungalows catering for the day tripper and traveller who aspires to getting away from it all - as if we are not already feeling quite far from the stresses of Western life! The west coast is a long idyllic beach and on arriving by long boat, you stroll about 100m to your bungalow. With development over the last few years, my basic bungalow had an en-suite (long drop and hand shower), mattress on the floor, mosquito net and electric points (the generator is switched on for a few hours in the evening), and a wonderful palm fringed sea view. With very little to do but swim, stroll along the beach, read, eat and drink, it is a truly relaxing and beautiful experience where one can linger over lunch for hours, lie on beach platforms under the shade of palm trees (watch out for falling coconuts) and watch the magnificent sunsets. We were also blessed with a stupendous tropical thunderstorm in the distance with clouds forming tornedoes, lightning and rain showers in the distance.....well until another storm at 3am with torrential rain which was equally magnificent and I felt a little exposed in my bamboo and grass bungalow! The beauty of staying of overnight is that once the day trippers are gone, you almost feel like you are on a deserted island.

I only spent one night at Rabbit island and then it was back to Kep Lodge for some comfort, lounging by the pool, another bike ride in town and then I was accompanied by 3 of the dogs as I headed into the National park for a scenic walk through forests and with stunning views for miles just as the sun was setting.

After a few days of relaxation, it was time for the adventure to continue. I was ready to leave Cambodia and head for Vietnam. One of the reasons I had chosen to head down to Kep was that there is a recently opened border crossing nearby and a fast ferry to Phu Quoc island. Mr Chen was my resident tuk tuk driver (he helped with finding accommodation, boat to Rabbit island and now my border crossing) picked me up at 6am for a lovely half hour drive as the sun was rising over rice paddy fields, and the locals were getting ready for the day. I was then transferred onto the back of a motorbike for a further 45min drive weaving on waterfilled potholed roads - the views were spectacular of salt pans and more rice paddy fields. The border crossing was a breeze and we arrived in Ha Tien, only to discover that the ferry was full!!! A new plan needed, options were to stay overnight and catch the ferry the next day, take a dodgy slowboat or another 45min on the back of bike to to the next ferry departure point (Hon Chong). Hmmmm, decided on bike and ferry option but wondered what the hell I was doing when my Cambodian guy stopped underneath the highway to negotiate with a Vietnamese guy for my transport to the next town! Well, one has to take some risks and trust some people. I was blessed again with beautiful scenery, mainly along the coast and through small fishing villages and arrived at the ferry office with plenty of time for the 1030 ferry. There were only a handful of tourists and then the boat was full of Vietnamese tourists heading to the island for the weekend. The hour and a half crossing took 4 hours due to mechanical problems with the hydrofoil, with the hydro bit not quite working, a lot of reversing and sideways lifting and stalling, but we arrived safe and a little stressed!!! Time for some more rest and relaxation, but now in Vietnam.....