Sapa Trek #1

"Trek" as we understand it is a multi-day walk. We have done a few. What they call treks in Sapa can be as short as a day-hike, and that is what we opted for on this visit. The first day was from Sapa down to Cat Cat village and the waterfalls there. Mostly downhill. I would have preferred entirely downhill. But it was only 5k, or maybe 5 miles, and the taxi back to the hotel was there waiting for us at the end.

Perhaps the best part of our Sapa experience was 

our guide, May, a 29-year old Hmong single mother, 

whom we had engaged through the tour company; 

she met us at the hotel upon arrival; she understood 

our interests were mostly cultural and not athletic; 

her English, learned from tourists she said, was the 

best we encountered in Vietnam

Our hike is in there somewhere, down to Cat Cat villages; 

several hundredsteps, hard on Vicki's knees, but she held up

Hazy, even in the afternoon

Construction everywhere in Sapa, from small to large scale

Curiosities along the way

More good fortune: Vicki's articulated walking stick, purchased 

last summer in darkest East Anglia, finally gave out in Sapa; but 

for 6U$D she found an even better replacement in this market 

stall; probably very close to where they're manufactured

Valley view

Us, there

One of the things Vietnamese tourists do in Sapa is to rent indigenous 

peoples' costumes and do selfies; we'll see more of that 

Rice is a one season crop in Sapa; everything would be more
green in July; and hotter

An up and down world

Indigo, in someone's garden; May knew all the plants

On a mountain-side, terraced world, retaining walls are everything

Water feature: fish farm

Returning from labors on the mountain-side above

Cat Cat Falls

Divergent footwear for the trail

Traditional bridge construction

Less traditional (welding in center)

Upper falls

Could be a scene from Maine, or the Appalachians, or the
Rockies, no? OK, ignore the bamboo

Us, there, again

French outpost from 1922

Just as we arrived, there was a traditional dance...more sticks
and baskets...

Selfies in costume

Among several water wheels at the falls

And a water-powered mortar/pestle grinding machine...

the old fashioned way

On To Sapa

After our debarquement (bien, not mal) the luxury van took us back to Hanoi and the O'Gallery Premier hotel, where we had booked an extra night and stowed some of our gear. Next morning, another luxury van picked us up for the trip to Sapa and our two treks there. Sapa is in far northwest Vietnam, up in the mountains, home to a variety of indigenous peoples, Hmong and others. A French outpost was established there in 1922. In more recent years Sapa has become a tourist destination, partly the scenery, partly the trekking, partly the indigenous villages. We were there for all three, although our trekking ambitions were quite modest: downhill, please, and take the taxi back up to the hotel. Sapa is terraced on a mountainside at about 5,000 feet, with noticeably thinner air than we've been accustomed to.

Another day, another luxury van; and more interesting fellow travelers, including
a couple from Kent who shared a number of British garden destinations with us

There were two rest stops along the way, neither as interesting as the marble 

shopping center nor the water puppets 

But there was still plenty to see and learn; for example,
Vietnamese bus tourists do not wear shoes on the coaches;
the bus provides flip-flops for them to wear at the rest stops

Thus; not very sanitary if you ask me

Both the rest stops en route to Sapa seemed oriented toward nationals and not
us foreigners

Vietnamese driving in the mountains was a thrill ride, buses leap-frogging buses
on blind corners, 15% grades, etc.

The rest stops were these huge three-sided buildings; this one had a huge tiki
warehouse within

In the valleys and for most of the way, rice; lots of rice

Bongs for rent, or sale...

Bus station is a great place to change/rotate tires

Anyhow, the luxury van deposited us in a timely fashion at our hotel, the Chau
Long Sapa hotel, which was notable for several reasons...a big beautiful room

A bath-tub, only the second we've encountered these two months

A portable fake fireplace

A nice balcony

View from the balcony, overlooking a bit of Sapa (it's not a quaint mountain village
anymore)

Not least, this, a lighted, high-tech toilet/bidet;
disappointingly, unlike the rest of southeast Asia, the color
did not change every five seconds...pink, green, yellow,
etc.

Instructions on toilet lid

Remote; the heated seat was enough for me; I did not try the other operations
for fear of bodily harm

View from our table in the dining room; bonsai everywhere

The sad thing was, for the first night and day, we were evidently the only people
there, in all the 60-some rooms; rather than set up the customary breakfast
buffet, they just brought it to our table

A display of Hmong skirts in the restaurant

Azaleas blooming in the lobby

And a big aquarium

Street scene outside the hotel

Interior courtyard, four of the seven floors; beautiful place, nice people; I hope
they can weather the storm...

Halong Bay Cruise, 3

Our cabin, at the stern of the Dragon's Pearl 2 conveniently overlooked the deck from which repairs were effected the second night aboard. We didn't watch--it was late and dark--but could hear muffled clattering from midnight until about 2:30, when I thought I heard a muffled cheer and applause. By the time we got up for breakfast, the ship was underway, and we learned that, despite the mishap, we were still going to see the cave on Skyview Mountain and also still going to see the fishing village and the oyster farm. Three things in which we had little interest. The emphasis on these cruises is on activities, not the scenery (much less the geology). We saw far less of the scenery than we'd hoped to see. But Indochina Junk apparently felt that since none of the activities were curtailed, there was no harm in never getting to the bay and islands we had paid to see. Oh well. As with other tours and cruises, there is enough fine print and caveats to ensure the passenger has no rights and no recourse. Not a new lesson. We still much enjoyed the scenery we did get to see. It's a spectacular place.

Underway! On our own power!

Skyview Mountain, where seemingly every cruise puts in to see the cave; Vicki
and I demurred; it was 300 steps up to the cave and back down, and she wanted
to save her knees for trekking in Sapa (next post) 

When the passengers returned, the crew had raised the sails; flimsy show-sails,
I thought

Dragon's Pearl 2 then made for the fishing village and loaded us into the lighter

For our tour, via row boat, of the fishing village and oyster
farm

Thus

Among the karsts

Another day, another arch

Fishing vessels

Approaching the oyster farm

And a presentation on oysters and pearls; this is a pearl farm

Harvesting an artificially induced pearl

Quite a bit more than I wanted to know about oysters; though a week later I
was slurping them down at an all you could eat sushi extravaganza

Oyster farm

Our ship awaits, ready for the return voyage to Ha Long...maybe 90 minutes

It was easy to follow our progress throughout the three days; we never got
remotely close to Bai Tu Long Bay

Last views of the karsts

Approaching Ha Long harbor and journey's end