Hmong people near Sapa

Our second day in Sapa, consisted of a good 4 hour hike with two Hmong women to their village down the mountain. We had a great day of cultural exchange with them that included trekking down the rice-terraced mountain, exchanging stories of our families and lives (they could speak English fairly well), enjoying soup together, watching them harvest a garden, visiting their homes and buying some embroidered fabric and jewelry from them.

The women were especially nimble and strong, trekking down the muddy sides of the mountain with ease wearing sandles, while Andrew and I carefully watched our footing as we moved over rocks, crossed through mud and small streams. At a few points in our hike, both Hmong women held my hands to help me down the path. They were lively, humourous and great guides. Definitely a day I'll remember for a long time.

Andrew's New Hobbies

While in Sapa, Andrew acquired two new hobbies: admiring cabbages and giving northern water buffalo a good itching.

Trekking in Sapa

Sapa is a moutainous town in the North of Vietnam, close to the border with China. Andrew and I traveled there to do some hiking in the moutains to see beautiful rice-terraced hillsides and the villages of the Hmong people who live there.

The weather there was the coldest we have encountered since leaving the United States. In Sapa itself, it was foggy, misty and about 45-55 degrees. I know 45 degrees is not that cold, but it is cold when you do not have a jacket, but only a zip-up, hat, scarf, and gloves. It is even colder when none of the buildings have heat. Let's just say that taking a shower was an exercise in self-discipline. A better way to think of our time in Sapa is to think of camping in the fall. Its always cold, you never fully heat up but its pretty and you appreciate the views.

We stayed there for 2 days and 1 night. After we were done hiking, we would go to the 1 or 2 bars in town that had a fireplace to bring our temperatures back up. Then we would go back to our hotel and lay under the covers, this was nice but hard to get out of when you feel so toasty warm inside.

The hiking of trekking in Sapa was beautiful. Once you hiked down from the town, you would get out of the mist to see beautifully terraced hills and valleys. You would also get to visit a number of villages of the Hmong people. Enjoy the photos from our hikes.

Museums of Hanoi

While in Hanoi, Andrew and I thought it would be best to visit the museums of Vietnam, especially those that commented on the Vietnam War. In our few days in Hanoi, we visited the Army Museum (lots of old planes, bombs and artifacts from Vietnam's history of trying to overthrow colonizers -China, France and the US), the B-52 Museum (a collection of B-52 planes and parts shot down during the Vietnam War), the Ho Chi Minh Museum and Mausoleum (the museum itself was very modern and artsy, we didn't get to see Ho Chi Minh in the mausoleum though because it is only open to viewing in the morning hours) and the Ethnology Museum, which highlights the different ethnic groups in Vietnam (lots of good exhibits on the Hmong people).

Images of Hanoi

Here is an image of Andrew at a temple that sits in the middle of Hoam Kiem Lake in Hanoi and the very large turtle that came out of the lake in 1968 (other large turtles have been seen since, this one was 6 feet long). There is also a picture of Rayna enjoy a bowl of pho ga (chicken noodle soup) on the street. The soup consists of chicken, rice noodles, lime juice, chilies and lots of herbs.

Getting Around Hanoi

The easiest way to get around Hanoi is to hop on the back of motorbike and have the driver scoot through traffic to your destination. Hanoi is a honking nightmare of little street rules other than get where you need to go any way you can. It doesn't really make sense to Andrew or myself but somehow it functions. I am just glad I do not have to do the driving and can just sit on the back and enjoy the ride.

the wee hours in Hanoi

So Andrew and I took the night train from Sapa back into Hanoi. The night train is an ok experience. Sleeping in a small room with two bunks and constant stopping throughout the night is not the best way to catch up on your beauty rest, but it is a good way to travel a long distance without letting extreme boredom set in.
As we took the night train back into Hanoi, the only thing we were unaware of is the fact that the train arrives at 4am and we were unable to check into our hotel until 12pm. So, needless to say, we had some time to kill and no where to go. We arrived at our hotel and dropped off our luggage at 4:30am and then hit the quiet streets to see what we could do at such odd hours.
We walked the quiet and lonely streets of the old quarter, until we came upon a street vendor selling pho bo (beef noodle soup) and pho ga (chicken noodle soup). We decided that a 4:30am soup sitting would be in our best interests and it was. Pho bo and pho ga is pretty much the national dish of Vietnam. It consists of rice noodles in a clear beef or chicken broth that is flavored with a lot of fresh herbs like chives, parlsey, cilantro, mint and lime. You can also add chili sauce and some sort of pickled liquid to it as well.
At about 5:45am, we hit the streets again looking for a cup of coffee. Surprisingly, there is little to nothing open at this time as shops are just beginning to pull up their metal gates and prepare for the day. We did see somethings that surprised us though. On a bad note, we saw a pile of slaughtered dogs being cleaned on the sidewalks for eating. On a good note, we saw some great Tai Chi being practiced by older women near the lake and a variety of weird and wacky Vietnamese fitness regiments being executed. One man continued to whip his head wildly in clockwise and counterclockwise motions for five minutes, while another sat upside down on a park bench and swung his legs wildly above him. The viewing of these fun morning exercises was definitely the highlight of our morning.
It is now noon and the city is back to its normal chaotic hum, a very different rhythm than the wee hours of Hanoi.