"You Buy from Me?!" - Sapa -

Well, its been a while since our last post, but we have certainly been busy!

From Hanoi we caught a night train to the northwestern mountain town of Lao Cai, which is only a few kilometers from the Chinese border. We took a "deluxe" sleeper train, with four people to a cabin. While waiting for the train to depart, we were much anticipating who our fourth party member would be. Despite our fears that we might have a less than favourable fourth roommate in our cabin, we were pleased to find that it was actually a very cute little Vietnamese girl and boy. Although they were very shy at first, Candice coaxed them into the cabin with Canadian flags and pins. We had a great time playing and joking with the kids (two turned into four when their other brother and sister jumped into the room as well), until it was time to turn out the lights and doze off for our 8 hour ride to Lao Cai.

Our first Vietnamese friends!

In Lao Cai, which is a rather unappealing industrial city, we were picked up by our hotel minibus and drove for about an hour in the fog.  When we arrived at the hotel, we felt like celebrities due to the number of locals crowding around the bus waiting to meet the new tourists.  "Hello, what's your name, where you from, you buy from me?" were the only phrases we heard from the touts the entire trip...  

Touts...

Our first hike was nothing spectacular because of the copious amount of fog.  Although the fog looked mysterious, we didn't get to see the surrounding scenery very well that day.  When we got to the first village, we learned that the men get to choose their wives and the women can't refuse.  We also learned that the people play with their dogs throughout the summer, but come winter they cook them up for dinner.  This is why all of Sapa is full of puppies, and only a small amount of full grown dogs.

Candice says :(

After our hike we returned to the hotel and were rather surprised by the bathroom. The toilet and sink were normal, but the shower head came directly out of the centre of the wall, turning the entire bathroom into a large shower! We then wandered into the town of Sapa and through the market. After Candice showed interest in a handmade blanket, she was immediately swarmed by roughly 10 H'Mong touts all saying "You buy from me, you buy from me!" and shoving their blankets into her face. Seeing the incoming touts, Andrew and Chris quickly moved away, but Candice was too slow. It took about 15 minutes and some stern reprimands from Andrew to finally lose the last of the sellers. We definitely learned our lesson with that one!

A terrified Candice.

The next day we set out once again, this time for a much more interesting hike. Through the fog, we trekked up and down narrow mud paths lining the rice terraces seeing very little except what was within about 20 feet. After decending a particularly treacherous set of paths, we came below the fog and into a beautiful lush river valley.

Later that day we arrived at our homestay in a small rural village. Thankfully they had electricity and running water, but our meals were all cooked in a large wok over a wood fire inside the house. We were unsure of what to expect of the homestay, but we were very pleased to see that it was extremely well kept and tidy. Dinner was several courses, each cooked in the wok and then quickly reheated later, and was followed by a particularly potent home made rice wine that tasted more like vodka than wine. Several shots, and a few gravol later, we returned to our beds for a long and deep sleep.

We are currently in Ho Chi Minh City waiting in the lobby of our hotel for a night bus to take us to Phnom Penh, the capitol of Cambodia. 

- Andrew, Candice and Chris

Holidays in Hanoi

Over the past couple days we've managed to cover quite a bit of ground. Our hotel is in the historic Old Quarter of Hanoi, and just west of Hoan Kiem Lake. From our hotel it takes about 3 minutes to walk to the lake. The entire city is in constant motion, and silence is a rarity except in the middle of the night. In order to cross the street one must simply walk out into a stream of traffic, careful to maintain a constant pace, and watch as the traffic flows around. None of our traditional rules apply in Hanoi, but we actually found it quite easy to get used to, and in some ways it is a welcome change, despite its apparent randomness. The 30th and 31st were both national holidays in Vietnam so the city was packed with nationals as well as tourists over the weekend.

In terms of shopping, there is certainly not a shortage of merchandise.  Each street is generally full of one specific item.  Our favourite street thus far is silk street, closely followed by shoe street.  Walking through all the sellers can be an exhausting task. We have found that the best way to get out of a sale we no longer want is to offer the seller a ridiculously low price which tends to make them give up.  Dong Xuan Market was one of the most interesting markets we've seen.  Full of different smells, some good, and some not so good...  The smell of the festering cooked duck is surely one we will never forget, as well as the raw meat often seen sitting out in the hot humid weather and the many live animals including fish, rabbits, turtles, and frogs.

View of traffic circle from the restaurant balcony

 Chris and Candice enjoying some fresh juices

 First Pho breakfast in Vietnam (after 45 minutes of searching)

Andrew the Adventurer 

(just prior to someone attempting to steal his camera) 

 Shoe Street!

 Some questionable looking, and worse smelling, chicken

 A typical corner store in Hanoi, no space is wasted

Someone never took Foodsafe..

 This guy, on blacksmith street, has working figured out!

Candice tries her hand at hawking pineapple

 The bar at 69 restaurant, a restored Chinese merchant's home

 View down the street from our hotel

The Red Bridge spanning part of Hoan Kiem Lake

Tomorrow we will be checking out of our hotel in the morning and then catching a train later that evening to the mountain village of Sapa, about 8 hours to the North-west. We will be in Sapa for 3 days, and will be staying in a local homestay one night and a hotel the other night before returning to Hanoi.

We Made It!

Well, after a grueling 24 hour journey through the Canadian, Chinese, and Vietnamese airport systems, we made it to our hotel in Hanoi!

                                             Leaving Victoria

We were picked up at the airport by our hotel and enjoyed one hour of thrilling Vietnamese driving. In their "system" there are quite literally no rules. Everyone can do as they please when driving, and turn intentions are communicated via a series of blasts on the horn. When we arrived, our twenty minute power nap quickly turned into a several hour sleep, intermittently punctuated by attempts at getting up. We had a delicious dinner and a beer at the restaurant nearby and the bill came to three dollars each, not bad! After dinner we set out to venture the neighbourhood around our hotel and found it very pleasant. We were not hassled by any of the locals and soon returned back to the hotel for the evening because we didn't have a map and didn't want to get lost ... yet.

Views from our balcony.

Tomorrow we plan to do some exploring through the city to find Chris a rain jacket and work on our bartering skills.  According to one of the hotel employees, we are a two minute walk away from Hoan Kiem Lake, so we take a stroll around the lake and explore the local markets as well.

More to come once we have fully explored the city!

Candice, Chris, and Andrew