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Kate on Tour
Hey from Hué! After a fantastic first week thought I would keep you posted on the trip so far! Arrived in Hanoi on the 5th September around midday and Natalie and I grabbed a minibus from outside the aiport and headed for central Hanoi...which is nuts!...imagine London at rush hour but wịth everyone using the tube travelling above ground on a moped! Crossing the road is not for the faint hearted...the trick is to walk slowly in to the oncoming traffic and let the traffic weave around you...I was a bit dubious at first but it seems to work (although I could have given Gordon Ramsey a run for his money on the swearing front on my first attempt!) After finding a place to stay in the Old Quarter (the Duc Thai on Hang Da) we had a look around the markets, booked up a couple of trips to Halong Bay and Sapa, aswell as an open bus ticket to Ho Chi Minh City (via Dalat, Nah Trang etc) and had some dinner and a beer next to the Hoam Kiem Lake. Up early the next day to get the bus to Halong Bay, (picking up our group at various stops along the way)...a World Heritage site with 3000 vegetation-covered lime stone islands in the waters of the Gulf of Tonkin. The bus dropped us at Halong City where we picked up our boat and spent the day cruising around, checking out the caves, swimming and kayaking. After visiting a floating fish market and watching the sun set from the boat deck we moored up in the middle of the bay, had dinner and then beers back on the top deck. Our group were good fun and much banter was had by all...as they were mostly 'flamin Aussies' Natalie and I were nicknamed the 'pastey poms'! One of the aussies, John, runs a backpacker hostel in Darwin...a good contact for later on in the trip! Spent the night on the boat (pretty random being woken up as a Vietnamese lady rows past your bedroom window selling beer and Oreo cookies!) and the following morning after a bit more swimming and sunbathing we headed back to Halong City. Back to the manic pace in Hanoi for another afternoon before catching the night sleeper train to Sapa - went for the cheap transport option...massive mistake...unless your idea of a good nights sleep is 9 hours in a tiny carriage cabin of 6 bunk beds made of laminated wood covered in a grass mat with no a/c and a grate for a window...nice! Even the locals couldn't believe we were travelling on it! Arrived in Lao Cai the following morning (8th Sept) and then got the bus up to Sapa, surrounded by the Hoang Lien Mountains, and once we arrived the journey from hell suddenly seemed worth it. Had breakfast overlooking the mountains and rice terraces and then checked in to our accomodation...which was a lovely hotel with awesome views from our room!!! That afternoon we went trekking for a few hours with a guide, along with 2 med students from Switzerland (Olivier and Natasha) through the Hilltribe villages and back via the market which sold everything from lovely fresh exotic fruit to the Vietnamese version of a Hog Roast...the Dog Roast...arrrggghhhh! After a great nights sleep in our luxurious crib we headed out for a 6 hour treck through the Hilltribe villages. The scenery was absolutely beautiful, steep rows of rice terraces and lush mountains. Many of the villagers were in traditional dress and selling handmade bangles made from old french coins and embroidered pillow cases etc. It was quite sad to learn however that in some villages only 20% of the children would attend school as the rest were needed to look after their siblings while their mothers and brothers worked on the rice terraces...it was not uncommon to see a 6 year old girl carrying aroung her baby sibling on her back! After another journey on the sleeper we arrived back to Hanoi for a day of culture! Taking in the Temple of Literature, Ho Chi Minh Museum and Mausoleum (although we messed up our timing so ended up racing around everything!). We had lunch at a restaurant near the Temple of Literature called Koto (Know one Teach One) which is a not for profit organisation that trains street kids to work in hospitality (at the moment it is estimated that 19,000 children live on the streets of Hanoi). After our final day in Hanoi we got the overnight sleeper to Hué in central Vietnam (fortunately we were booked on the Reunification Express for this journey so had matresses!) and arrived here this morning (11th Sept). We are staying at Thai Binh on the South Side of the Song Huong River (Perfume River) and after a day exploring the tombs of the Nguyen Emperors (Tomb of Tuc Doc and Tomb of Minh Mang) by moto and then a quick boat ride back up the Perfume River we headed to a delicious café Xuan Trang Cafeteria for dinner and a Tiger Beer! Off to bed now as up very early to visit the Demilitarised Zone (HoChi Minh Trail, Khe Sanh Combat Base, Vinh Moc Tunnels). Staying in Hué tomorrow night then next stop is Hoi An. Bye for now and will post some pics soon! xxxxxxx
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