Thankfully Sapa (our first town in Vietnam) didn't disappoint & we enthusiastically devoured our first taste of hearty food in the form of 'Cha-Ca' (charcoal grilled fish), "Cao caul' (Doughy noodles, croutons & roasted pork fillets) & vermicelly prawn spring rolls!
Following a piecefull nights sleep in the Mountain View Hotel, we breakfasted in luxury on our balconies leather sofa's before setting off down the valley on a 4hour hike. Passing along muddy paths, we worked our way through rice ( ed - & maruana- or should I stand corrected at 'hemp') fields, & bamboo woodlands before crossing a stunning waterfall near the the river bed to our 3rd homestay of the trip. Although not greEted at the door with a pink egg or drink this time, the rice wine did again come out for our consumption, but this time to the cry of "Ba, Hi, Mot - Doyyyyyy!" (3, 2,1- down it!) althought I abstained as once bitten, twice shy!
The following morning, through monsoon rain we walked back up the hill (at a considerable slower pace - ed. thats because it was a mountain!!!) & returned to Sapa, before catching the train to Hanoi.
Being another huge city, Hanoi has its own charm, however it's the mopeds that swarm the streets and pathways like ants around a fallen sweety that really characterises the place. Enough so, I might add to suggest that its possibly safer (and wiser) to remain on whichever side of the street you end up on & only consider the other side as a destination to review during your next trip! Still we did take in a few 'tourist' sights such as Hoa Lò prison [better known as the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ where high profile prisoners (such as Senator John McCain) were incarcerated during the Vietnam war & interrogated via various means!] that served to remind us of the troubles this nations been through over recent decades!
Being another huge city, Hanoi has its own charm, however it's the mopeds that swarm the streets and pathways like ants around a fallen sweety that really characterises the place. Enough so, I might add to suggest that its possibly safer (and wiser) to remain on whichever side of the street you end up on & only consider the other side as a destination to review during your next trip! Still we did take in a few 'tourist' sights such as Hoa Lò prison [better known as the ‘Hanoi Hilton’ where high profile prisoners (such as Senator John McCain) were incarcerated during the Vietnam war & interrogated via various means!] that served to remind us of the troubles this nations been through over recent decades!
However cross the street we must, as it was at this point on our trip that we departed from the protective bosom (ed. they've got to come in somewhere in his blog!!) of our 'Intrepid' group & went it alone! A great group of individuals i'm sure Miranda and I would be pleased to see again & folks that made our first 4 weeks a pleasure!
All alone in the wilderness we consulted the 'Bible' (Lonely Planets guide to travel) and booked our Halong bay trip.
One mad bus journey later we boarded our choice of craft (40m long junk, sleeping 20 max) & set sail into the beautiful emerald waters of the south China sea that surround the limestone karsks of the bay. Regular readers will be aware that I've used the term a few times already during this trip, but honestly "awesome" doesn't do the beauty of this place any justice at all, so DON'T just take my word for it, visit it for yourself as you'll not be disappointed.
Our ships Perser ( ed. many of you may have to look this one up as I didnt know what it was!!), compaire & all-round friendly guide was nicknamed 'happy budda' & although we'd normally avoid 'welcome drinks' in fear of being sold a 'timeshare' we felt we should duly participate in the entire ships activities else be shunned by the rest of the guests as the 'smelly, unsociable gypsies'. However the decadence of the gourmet food that arrived at our table & the look in Miranda's eyes said it all! ....yes, Carlsberg probably make the best larger in the world, but 'Indochina luxury cruises' win hands down in Haylong bay!
3 days & 2 nights on board flew past. Our 2nd day, when we had the entire boat to ourselves- [less 7 staff at our beckon call,] we jumped from the 5m deck into the water, got stung by jelly fish, kayaked around secluded grotto's/pearl farms, clambered amongst the stalligtites/mites of secret caves & went squid fishing. However despite these adventures, the defining moment of the cruise was sitting on the bow, drinking a cool glass of beer & watching the sun set over the karsts/fishing vilage on 'Cha Van' with my nearest & dearest!
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