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Great flight, great food, no messing around - straight there in perfect time, comfortable seats and even a tuna sandwich! I couldn't have asked for more And there was Lottie standing on the other side as I arrived...unfortuantely her rucksack didn't make it to Hanoi so she was trying to sort that out when I saw her (don't get me started, I had a day of "oh I really hope I get my bag! Lol. The normally 'so calm and collected' Lottie was stressing a little hehe) So I went to sort my Vietnam visa, which was surprisingly easy and quick. I had already bought an approval letter online and printed that off for $29 (3 month visa, as I wasn't sure how long I wanted in Vietnam and didn't want to rush) so it was pretty simple when I arrived. It was another $25 dollars stamp fee which turned out to be a lot cheaper than what others had paid. We jumped on a bus and for $4 each they took us to the hostel, Hanoi Backpackers, which was in the centre of the Old Quarter, where the main part of town is and very close to a lovely lake too! Lucy was there too so caught up with her and then Lottie and I headed for some street food - we had our own BBQ on the street, and tucked into a bit of chicken, beef, squid and chicken knee (a little chewy but not a bad flavour at all). We had a romantic walk around the lake where there were groups of people doing an exercise class and salsa class too! Then there were couples perched on every bench we walked by! We found a cool little bar looking over the lake and road, so sat on the balcony and enjoyed people watching! Bed time wasn't too fun, as I first spotted a rat in our bin that was in the dorm, so I threw the bin out of the room in hope the rat would get lost then I had to try and sleep with a very loud snoring man. It wasn't a pleasant snore either, just flippin' loud and ogre-like! Eventually got to sleep.
Wednesday was a chilled day and Lotts and I just strolled around the town, bumped into PP who was still on his tour then met with Stew. We went in search for a jumper as it was surprisingly cold, trousers and long top weather, the first time I actually felt cold on my trip! We both managed to find a jumper J and then went to see the very cultural Water Puppets. I don't think any of us really knew what we had booked - it was interesting to say the least. It was literally a mini-theatre, but the stage was water. The musicians sat at the side and played music as these random puppets just appeared in the water, bobbing up and down for about 5 minutes until the next puppet showed up. It was a very strange concept as the show was educating us about the Vietnamese culture, so we went through some cultural aspects such as the evolution of Vietnamese people from a dragon and some other fluffy animal they believed had produced them (I hope I've got that right, but Lottie fell asleep and didn't take it in and that's what I gathered from the story they showed us!) Then they showed us that the pan-pipes were used by men to show affection towards their 'sweetheart', the ladies used fans to keep them cool and also to flirt with the men, they used umbrellas to protect them from the sun and rain, they respect the animals and try and work in peace with them, they live to enjoy life and make the best of every situation. There was more, but I've impressed myself that I can remember that much J It was worth going to for the experience for sure!
We ended up trying random street food after that, Lottie and I enjoyed some soup dish whilst Stew tried a "spring-roll"...it wasn't a spring roll, it looked like one but it wasn't cooked and it didn't taste of anything really. It was just really dry. But he did then have really good meat balls and rice after that, I was a little jealous. Then I tried some sweet donut looking type thing that some ladies walked around trying to sell. They were like donuts but not as thick or as tasty, I wouldn't have one again. Once we were full on food, we decided to fill up on beer and sat out on a bar balcony chatting and people watching with a Tiger beer for just 18,000 dong (that's 53p for a big beer!)
Thursday we had a chilled morning, had another stroll around the town, played some cards sat by the lake and then got ready for our night bus. We were told we would be picked up at 5.30pm, but we didn't get picked up until 7pm! It was cool though, we were just watching the world go by on the steps of our hostel. The night bus was interesting! It's called a sleeper bus where we basically had reclined chairs...made for the Vietnamese! No space to move that's for sure, and fairly easy to fall off. The bus tries to fit as many beds/chairs in as possible. Once we got settled it was fairly comfortable and after chatting to a guy next to me from Quebec I fell asleep. Toilet stop...well, it wasn't a toilet stop, it was find somewhere to squat. I jumped off and found a tree and a bit of soil to pee in, pretty much right in the buses view, but I was just hoping that everyone on the bus was sleeping or looking in the other direction. I didn't really care; I was tired and just needed to wee. As I pulled up my travelling trousers however, I realised I may not have peed in just the soil as intended. Grrr...not a happy bunny!!! There was nothing I could do about it, just hope that no one noticed J And they didn't. Haha.
We arrived in Sapa Friday morning, 8am (North Thailand). Bright blue sky...it was stunning! Walked 100m to our Hostel called "Sapa Cozy Hotel", checked in to a cute little bedroom, with rather comfortable beds, a TV, warm shower and toilet roll (what more could you ask for!) then headed out for a walk around town. Our day consisted of finding restaurants with great views, eating and walking around the town. All day I couldn't take my eyes off the view - surrounded by incredible mountains and rice fields. It was a great day! It did get cold once the sun went down so we headed for a warm cosy restaurant and had a 3 course dinner (soup & garlic bread, beef and rice and fried banana with honey YUM) for just 100,000 dong (£2.96)!
We spent Saturday walking in the mountains with a guide and visiting 3 different villages. It was a nice easy stroll and it was great talking to the guide who lived in one of the tribal villages with her own dialect. It is incredible how good her English was. The best English-speaking person I have met out here. She was fantastic. She couldn't read or write English, she simply learnt by listening! Her vocabulary was unbelievable, but it was great because she could work as a tour guide thanks to her great English-speaking skills. Her husband stayed at home and looked after the kids and cleaned. (This was not the case about 15 years ago though!) She had her tribal outfit on (which I think was possibly for the tourists as when we actually visited the villages themselves, not all the women were dressed like this, but either way it looked cool) It was interesting to hear how she lived. The women in her tribe would get to choose which man they wanted to be with, and then it was the woman who would move to live with the in-laws. They all owned their own land, and their own animals; some boars, chickens, pigs etc. She was one of 8, and she had 4 kids. They ate rice with a bit of chilli for breakfast, lunch and dinner, and would occasionally eat some chicken or beef. We got fed some great food though - steamed rice, chicken & potato (my first potato travelling!), tofu, beef, cabbage and an orange. It was so good! We were being hassled by the village people trying to sell us purses and bracelets but they went away when we said no thanks. We were really lucky with the weather as a girl we met in Hanoi had returned from Sapa a few days before and she said it was freezing, misty, muddy and she couldn't see a thing. We have had the complete opposite here so far - it has been so sunny, hot and not a cloud in the sky. Happy Days! We enjoyed a pizza in a warm, cosy restaurant today, sat right by the fire. The village reminds me of a ski-resort at night, as people are walking around in coats and hats and the village is lit up and has really cute, warm and cosy restaurants with fire places. They also sell hot wine here- I am tempted to try but it costs more than a meal would, and I'd much rather eat than drink! Lol. I'm sat in bed back at the hostel looking forward to another great sleep. This hostel is £2 a night each for 2 per room - I have had the best sleep here ever! Bring it on J Lottie has packed her bag at long last...it weighs a ton. I thought she travelled light, but I think I may have changed that on this trip. Chuffed.
Night xx
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Graham Baldwin Dongs?! 100,000 for a meal how many zeros to buy a house-not a beach! Mind blowing-anyway sounds good Kel,keep up the good work