Satani Bat Bi: Northwest Vietnam, Part Two

From Sapa, we hired a car to drive us to Bac Ha, about two and half hours away.  The road wound back through Lao Cai, which is right up against the border with China.

Drive to Lao Cai:

Our driver and China in the background:

We made it to Bac Ha late Saturday evening and got settled at the hotel.  I won't bother recommending the name of it - it was freezing cold, no spare blankets, and while they claimed the showers had hot water, there was really just plucked electrical wires sticking out of the wall where a hot water heater would've been.  Nothing like cold water on a cold night to make you shower quickly.  We tried some local rice wine at dinner - billed as a local specialty.  It really is just straight up gasoline.  As Husband pointed out, you can run a motorbike on Bac Ha rice wine.  Headed to sleep to get up early for the Sunday Bac Ha Market.

Bac Ha Sunday market animal auctions:

Did you know albino water buffalos exist?

And many, many horses - all the short, sturdy, stocky variety.

Rows on rows of birds, singing out

Porker in a bamboo barrel

Colorful Hmong fabrics

Hmong market - eyeing sugar cane

And veggies!

Organized chaos...

Later that day we found a guide and headed out of town hiking.  We passed the old Hmong Palace on the way:

Built in 1914 for the father of Hoang a Tuang, the castle was both designed to serve as a residence and a fortress.

Very impressive.  One can only imagine how it looked and felt in its prime.  The palace is undergoing restorations to help visitors appreciate the architecture and style.

Hike commences.  On this hillside opposite our path, the entire area is being cultivated with beans and corn.  YES, the HILLSIDE with boulders!  Amazing.

Probably not the most comfortable saddle.

The peak in the distance is our goal.

The path wound among farms and homes.  Our guide stopped and pointed out tea leaf plants, different types of bamboo, and answered so many of our questions about the paths and history and people who live here.

Robert Frost - the path less traveled.

Our amazing guide!  His dream was to be on Vietnam's national gymnastics team, but sadly he is two centimeters too short. So he earned his bachelor's degree in English and is a part-time teacher, part-time hiking guide.

Walking among cattle paths and fields. Check out those stone walls!

The mountains around us

He's been hiking in jeans and a tee shirt the whole time. We're in full-on hiking gear and sweated through. He reminds us he hikes this 10K distance, with a 3000 foot elevation gain twice a day. Riiiiight.

Grazing water buffalo at the top, and their minder.

The buffalo have spotted us.

The valley on the way down:

We were taking a narrow trail primarily used to herd the water buffalo up hill in the morning and down hill in the evening.

Pretty spectacular views - and so thankful it was mildly overcast!

We passed through a small village and these kiddos came tumbling out, pell mell.

We stopped for a local ice cream.  It's lightly coconut flavored, with sesame seeds, and was so frozen cold it melted about as rapidly as I'd imagine permafrost would.  In other words, perfect.

Nearing Bac Ha

An actual road!

Back in Bac Ha, we persuaded the hotel we'd check out of that morning to let us shower quickly for $4 each, then hopped in another car back to Lao Cai.  After a brief dinner in Lao Cai, we caught the night train back to Hanoi.  In our shared sleeper car (4 bunks, two on the top, two on the bottom with a table in the middle) was a Thai couple!  We practiced the very little Thai we knew, then they taught us a card game.  Pok 8, Pok 9 (meaning Number 8, Number 9) has pretty complex rules I don't remember anymore, but it was fun.  Half way through our game, the train's electricity went out, so we kept playing by cellphone light for a little bit longer before heading to bed.

Arriving early in Hanoi we checked into our hotel and slept for a few hours before heading out.  There was an island in the middle of the lack, where supposedly a 600-year old turtle appears every now and then.  No turtle on our day, but some swampy trees.

 Tofu & veggies for lunch at a cafe, overlooking an intersection in the Old Quarter.

 Our last big outing in Hanoi was to the National Water Puppet Theater.  Originally developed as an art form by rice growers in Northern Vietnam as early as the 11th century, water puppet theater takes place - in water!  The curtain to the back of the stage stays put, and the puppeteers operate their creations via long poles extended under water. When rice paddies would flood, farmers would put on shows for each other using these underwater puppets.

Puppet in whirling fast motion.

Largely choreographed, the night included 9-10 short puppet dances which depicted various legends and stories of Vietnamese history including harvesting, fishing and festivals.

 In between scenes, these ladies would alternate sharing what the next tale was about, as well as provide musical accompaniment during the acts.

 Some puppets up close, after the show.  An entire village supposedly is employed just to make these puppets.  Being used entirely in water, each puppet only lasts 3-4 months before a new one is needed.  We were this close to buying one...

And thus concludes our trip to northwest Vietnam.  There is so much more to explore - Halong Bay, Hoi An, the South...cannot wait to return!

Satani Bat Bi: Northwest Vietnam - Part One

Every year, Thailand, Laos, Burma and Cambodia celebrate Songkran, a word derived from Sanskrit for "New Year."  There's quite a bit of merriment and meaning and temple visits and tradition, but what Songkran is most well known for is being a giant water fight.  So much so, that anyone is fair game.  It's safe to assume that if you're walking on the streets during a few key days in mid April, you will be doused with water and soaking wet.

Songkran in Chiang Mai, Thailand (courtesy of Google Images)

Songkran in Bangkok (courtesy of Google Images)

Realizing they don't want their employees traipsing in and dripping water everywhere, most employers give holiday time on these days.  We're hoping to be here for at least the next couple of years, and will likely experience Songkran many times over.  For 2013 though, we hopped outta town.

Vietnam is the closest country in flying distance that does not celebrate Songkran, so our trip was planned to fly northeast to Hanoi.  We took one day off work, so including Songkran holidays and the weekend, we had five days for travel. Bright and early Thursday morning, we took a taxi out to the "old airport" (now mostly used for domestic or regional travel, as opposed to the long distance international flights out of Suvarnabhumi airport). I'd been there once before, but might have misjudged how long it took me to get there...we pulled up with about 10 minutes to board.  Oops.  A frantic scramble to the boarding pass kiosk, immigration, security, and then a sprint down the terminal to the gate...and we still weren't the last ones on board!  A win this time, but definitely will be leaving earlier next time.  Husband gets honorable mention for carrying BOTH our bags and running while I bolted ahead to make sure they'd wait for us.

Landing in Hanoi was wild.  It was so lush and green by the airport, with little villages and lakes dotting the surrounding area.  It felt like we were landing in the mountain, not by a major city.  After immigration, we spotted at ATM and then were on our way to find a cab to the city.  We'd booked out hotel ahead of time and I heard there's quite a bit of scamming from taxis claiming a certain hotel is booked or closed or whatever, and then driving you to a different spot where they get a kick back.  Our hotel was near the Old Quarter, by Hoan Kiem Lake - near attractions, cute area, and walkable.  Despite arriving super early, they checked us in, and were on our way sightseeing pretty quick.

Hoan Kiem lake area

The lake

St. Joseph Cathedral

After walking around the lake a bit, we headed to the Ho Lao Prison.  Built by the French in 1886, this prison was used by the French colonialist to house political prisoners and later overtaken by North Vietnam to hold prisoners of war from 1964-1973.  Today it is a museum showing both periods of usage by French and Vietnamese.  Pretty grim stuff.

Entrance to the prison:


A re-creation of the detention halls - note their feet are cuffed in shackles.

 Escapees:

A relief focused on the harsh treatment during French colonial times:

Propaganda photos of U.S. prisoners of war having a grand ole' time:

We spent much of the rest of the day walking around the neighborhoods and markets, getting my watch fixed, and soaking up Hanoi.

Watch man! 

MANY motos and scooters in Hanoi:

This is a neat painting, right?

WRONG! It's a hand-stitched piece of art..!  Completely blew my mind.  There were massive pieces in this shop and all of it was hand done.  They said some of the floor to ceiling pieces took two years, with five artists working simultaneously. Incredible.

Veggies and more:

Mangos - yes please! Ripe or green =)

Outside the market walls

Washington Apples in Hanoi - represent!

Vietnam is known for bia hoi (literally means gas beer, but I think a more accurate translation is fresh beer).  It's brewed daily with no preservatives, and comes out in this slightly green color.  There are little stands and shops all around Hanoi with a giant silver tank and spout at the bottom, advertising bia hoi.  It's very crisp and refreshing, and runs around 25 cents a glass.

View from the top of our hotel looking out over the lake.  It was a bit misty/overcast, but escaping 100 degree weather in Bangkok for a few days was amazing...

Capping off the night with a bottle of Bellevue wine - perfect.

VERY bright and early the next morning, we checked out of our hotel to board the 6am train headed northwest for Lao Cai, Vietnam.  Most trains on this route are overnight trains, since it's a 8-9 hour journey, but we really wanted to see the countryside and get some great photos.

Breakfast of champions from outside the train station - a bag of pineapple chunks and rice with dried cuttle fish...mmmmm!

A picture on our ticket of the train

Letdown.  So there go our plans to take beautiful scenery shots.  Not only were the windows completely muddy and dirty, there was this thatched chicken wire on the outside as well.  You win some, you lose some.

Our ride up north.  A bit dilapidated, but functional. Not crowded at all, and carts came through with coffee, water, juice, snacks, etc.

The one pic I snapped from a tiny window opening from the bathroom. Must work on my camera settings...

From Lao Cai, we took a shared van an hour to Sapa, our final destination for the day.  Our wish for this trip was to get trekking among lovely rice terraces in the mountain, and Sapa was the first stop. The higher we wound up in the mountains, the colder the van's windows felt and the shorter the visibility.  By the time we arrived in Sapa, you could barely see 50 feet ahead. It was COLD! As in, 40-degrees cold, wool-hat-cold.

We arrived at our hotel, Sapa Rooms, and this adorable space greeted us - two space heaters were on, a mosquito net (which, when it drapes down, looks like a fairy bed from medieval times), a handmade quilt, and a bronze buddha outside our room in the hallway.  On a cold day, it was the epitome of cozy.

Sapa Rooms has a sister property, The Village Noshery, a short walk away.  We headed over to explore and find dinner.  Such a feast - we've both decided Vietnamese food is the absolute best. Mushroom Pho (noodle/soup broth with masses of fresh herbs and veggies), grilled eggplant, fresh (not fried) spring rolls, chicken satay with peanut sauce (sorry Mom!), and Chilean wine...best meal ever!

How cute is this place?!?

Our walk home included a stroll through the town square.  Some fog had lifted, but it was still pretty eery (and enchanting at the same time).

Saturday was hiking day!  Our plan was to go to nearby Cat Cat Village first, and see how long the rain held up.  It was pouring during breakfast, some sun poked through, then clouds threatened to come back JUST as we were heading out the door.

Hmong fabrics on the way down to Cat Cat


Bamboo forest

Terraces!

We stopped talking around this point, and just started gasping and pointing out the next amazing view.

Cat Cat Village

It was a day of critters, small and big.

Piglets were all over the trail!

TEN chicks!

Along the way, there some markets set up and piglets did not differentiate if it was a market they were at or a lush mountain path.

"Waterfalls" - if you look close, especially to the upper left, you'll see these beautiful waterfalls MIGHT have been rigged to look a little more impressive via tubing and bamboo pipes.

Our hike continued back out of the village, and we stopped for some tea at the top.

This tiny tea shop plant was so bright and vibrant!

Fog rolls in again:

The tea shop was also an art gallery, and the paints were still fresh from creating a masterpiece.  So, of course I bought one! My great grandmother said you always regret what you don't buy, and I'd like to  feel pretty confident she was referring to art as opposed to knick knacks and other clutter.

 As we're waiting for them to package the painting up, a clanking bell outside drew our attention.  Oh, of course - just a boy riding his water buffalo up the hill, sucking on an orange lollipop....

The painting I bought is below (swirling mists and fog around a few lit village tents), while the artist's wife in the background saws a piece of PVC tubing to fit the length.  The painting was on canvas, wrapped around a wood frame.  To take it back to Thailand, she rolled the canvas, and put it in the PVC tube.  So smart!

Various local wines

I'll pause here and go on with part two for another post.