Vietnam was my favourite trip although I can’t really explain why. It may have been the long two day trek through Sapa, hiking the rice fields and experiencing life with multiple authentic Vietnamese tribes. It also may have been the few days I spent in Hanoi, experiencing the vibrant life and delicious cuisine, and being wined and dined by some of my father’s business contacts. Either way, Vietnam was an incredible trip. Because it was been so long I don't remember the stories in such great detail, but many of the pictures illustrate enough.
My first meal in Hanoi - Vietnamese spring rolls. Shrimp on sugar cane, nuts, herbs, and of course my gin martini on the side.
The only picture I took on my walk about the city. My friend Ng took this of me infront of...I think it's the opera house? We went for cocktails afterward and then a wine bar hop so the camera never made its way out again.
My room on the overnight train to Sapa. Stupid small. I kept waking up every 30 minutes because I thought I'd miss my stop. They don't give you much warning, just a slight tap on the door and I need a heck of a lot more than that to get up on most days.
I don't have any pictures, but we arrived in Sapa very early the next morning and the second I got off the train the tracks were rammed with moving people and tour guides trying to sell me trekking packages. I had already bought mine but it was virtually impossible to find my guides. Typicaly this could have made for a stressful situation but I was too tired to care so I went and sat under a tree until the group found me. Then we were off in a rickety old truck to the start of our trekking trail.
The view from my hotel room.
I had a few hours before the trek began so I decided to check out the local market.
A group of these women followed me everywhere that morning. They are from a tribe that lives in the hills and they hike into town each morning to pick up the trekking groups. They walk back to their villages with the group and try to sell their bracelets, bags and other home made goods. This one had the best harassment tactics so I finally gave in a bought postcards from her.
You can see my hotel in the background. This is our tourguide chatting to us before the trip.
Rice fields in the hills. These take a lot of hard work and up-keep.
Young children playing in the hills. Their 6 year old sister takes care of them while their parents are out working.
Amazing view. Our final destination is further than you can see.
Children swimming nude in the river...the good life.
I thought the houses were so cool. They look like treehouses, kind of like the Swiss Family Robinson.
One of the familes let us in to tour around. This is their pet.
The kitchen.
The living area.
They soak local plants in water for three days. After that the water changes into a blue dye that they use to colour their clothes to differentiate themselves from other tribes.
The first store I had seen for miles.
Our homestead for the night. Some of the locals turn their homes into "motels" to make money. It was nice and clean and we were the only ones their that night.
Watching "footie" at night. The one couple is from the Netherlands and the other man is from France so they made sure the little TV was up and running for the night.
The tribe up bright and early to meet us again.
We walked and walked and this is the waterfall at the end of our trip. I couldn't take any photos because the terrain got pretty rough for a while there. I was glad to have the tribes ladies around as they prevented me from what could have turned into a few pretty bad face plants.
Helping make lunch.
Our view.
The next day we went to one of the largest markets in Vietnam.
You can see by the clothes that these ladies are from a different tribe. Apparently they come every week to find new colourful artifacts for their elaborate costumes.
Me at the boarder of Vietnam and China. I thought this was worthy of a photo.
The next day I took a trip to Halong bay. I skimped out on the tickets which was a bad idea. While all the younger people enjoyed big ships with upper decks to party and tan on, I was stuck on a rickety old thing with a broken air conditioner and a family with seven children. I did make one friend (forget his name) who was in the same pickle as me. We tried to enjoy the scenery as much as possible...it was quite beautiful.
Smile.
Woo done! :)
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