Sapa to Hue

Thursday, March 14 2013, 7:50 am, Hanoi airport

Yesterday, we checked out of our hotel in Sapa at 11am and left our backpacks there for the day. We walked through the market, which is quite extensive for a small town. There were lots of nice looking fruits and vegetables along with live chickens in cages, live fish and live crabs in big steel bowls available in the food section along with other booths selling clothing and handicrafts. Presumably, the vendor would kill and clean the chicken or fish for the buyer to take home.

Some of the ethnic minority ladies set up their crafts on the pavement at the town square. There are lots of people wearing traditional clothing all over Sapa and on the trails out to the villages. They seem to wear this all the time, not just for tourists.
There are also lots of outdoor stores in Sapa. We saw at least a dozen little shops selling North Face clothing and hiking gear. Many people come to Sapa to go trekking (whatever that means) through the mountains and do homestays in mountain villages. Apparently some of them show up without the proper clothing or footwear. Although we had fantastic weather, it can get cold, damp and muddy here.

There are also lots of small hotels and restaurants in Sapa, including some serving dog.We passed this restaurant later and the only thing left on the spit was the head with the teeth. The whole town is set up for the tourist trade. It didn’t seem that busy to us. The weather in January and February is a little cool so maybe the tourist season hasn’t really started yet.

 There's a little lake right in town with a nice park around it.

 We took a walk along a trail that leads to Ma Cha village.

We didn’t want to go all the way there, just to a good lookout over the terraced fields and the hills that we had seen on Monday. On the way there we met a guy from Czech Republic and his girlfriend from Slovakia who just wanted to hike on a quiet trail too. We chatted with them for about 15 minutes about different travel destinations around the world. They had liked the national parks in South Africa when they visited there but they told us that the crime is very bad - lots of murders and robberies. Everywhere they went in cities there, they traveled with lots of other people and kept car doors locked at all times. Not a very relaxing way to travel. It’s not like that here at all. We feel safe all the time.

 These trails and some narrow roads are the highways that the ethnic minorities use to get around, like the lady in the picture carrying a couple of lengths of bamboo. It's not unusual to be walking along a trail and see one of the local people down in the bush hacking away at dead brush for firewood or working in a terraced field.

Our hotel was on this street. People in traditional clothing are always walking into or out of the market carrying big backpack baskets full of produce or embroidered goods.
After we had relaxed in the park at the lake and drank a lot of water (22C and sunny), we went back down to the Nature View restaurant for an early dinner.

 The roast chicken dinner at the Nature View restaurant. Mmm.

The view from our table at the restaurant. Again, we had great food for about $11 total for the two of us, while we looked out over the mountains.
We had arranged to take the minibus from our hotel back to the train station in Lao Cai. At the hotel, they offered us showers and tea while we waited, although we didn't take them up on the shower. The hour trip to Lao Cai cost $5 total for the two of us. The bus left at 5 pm, zigzagged down the mountain through beautiful scenery and got to the train station around 6 pm.

 We had to wait outside the Orient Express office for it to open at 6:45 to exchange our vouchers for actual tickets.

Then we had to wait until 7:30 pm for the train to start loading. Anita saw the big city lights of Lao Cai beckoning. We passed some time talking to a German couple who, by coincidence, are sitting in the airport right across from us right now, waiting for their flight to Danang. Eventually we boarded the train. Luckily, this time our berths were not right over the wheels.
We shared a 4 berth compartment with Laura, a young woman from France who had been working in San Francisco for 4 years and had just quit her job to travel, and Duc, a Vietnamese tour guide who had some tourists from France with him in other compartments. Duc spoke Vietnamese and French but not English, we spoke English and a little French but luckily Laura spoke both French and English. She translated for us as we all talked for about an hour. There’s always a way to communicate with anybody.
Laura had gone trekking for 2 days, including an overnight home stay in one of the minority villages. She was disappointed that, along with her group of 10 tourists and a guide, they were followed by ethnic minority women and children for hours trying to sell them souvenirs. When they got to their homestay, the home was in a village with electricity so there was TV and internet connection. It wasn’t a great cultural experience for her although experiences vary a lot. For a long time yesterday, Laura was followed by a girl who was very persistent at selling. When Laura would not buy after hours of this, the girl said, “You won’t buy from me: you’re no good”. Nice visit to the countryside.
We feel very lucky that we were able to get away from this type of thing and that we had such a great day with our guide on Monday. Some people seem a little disappointed with the homestay thing. Either they get no sleep on an uncomfortable mat or they’re hounded by souvenir vendors the whole time. It can be a very good experience or it can end up being disappointing. It's wise to research what you want and expect.
The train left at 8:15 and we turned out the lights at 9:30. Since we weren’t right over the wheels, it wasn’t as noisy so we actually slept fairly well. The Orient Express sounds fancy but it’s really just wood paneled compartments with complimentary bottles of water, toothbrushes and handy-wipes. The one bathroom on the carriage had no toilet paper right from the start. The mattress covers are not changed in the berths, only the pillow cases (maybe). However, airplane seat covers aren't changed either and we sleep on them in our clothes too. It really isn’t that classy but it's $38 each one way, saves a hotel room and gets us where we need to go. Unlike Europe, the tracks are rough so the train lurches and shakes all the time. Nevertheless, we got to meet some nice people with interesting travel experiences and then we slept.
We arrived at the Hanoi train station about 4:45 am. The conductor walks along the corridor of the train at 4:30, banging on doors and yelling at everyone to get up. When the train stopped, we gathered our packs and staggered out onto the platform. The taxi touts were on us right away. Our plan was to take a taxi back to the Rising Dragon Palace hotel where we had stayed previously, just to get away from the taxi mafia at the train station before going to the airport. That turned out to be a good idea.
The taxi touts are very friendly and helpful and finally one convinced me to take the metered taxi he was offering. We got in and the guy started the meter, no problem. However, within a few blocks, I could see that the meter was turning over much faster than it should. Then we realized the taxi was taking us past Hoan Kiem Lake, which was a very roundabout route to get to our hotel. I yelled at the guy to stop. Finally he did and we got out and got our bags. He pleaded with us to get back in, saying he had to go that way because of one way streets, which was total bullshit. By this time the meter was at 80,000 VND when we knew from the station to our hotel should be about 60,000 even in traffic. I paid the guy the 80,000 ($4), told him that we knew he was a thief, and we gathered our packs on the sidewalk and got out the map to find our way on foot to the hotel.
At 5:15 am, there are hundreds of people walking or exercising in groups in the parks around Hoan Kiem Lake. The Vietnamese people like to get out early to exercise. We figured out a route to the hotel, put on our packs and started walking. At times like these, you appreciate traveling light and being able to find your way around on your own, even when it’s still dark.
As we walked along, another taxi, Mai Linh company this time, stopped to ask us if we wanted a ride. Mai Linh is a government company with metered taxis. Before we got in, we told the driver where we were going and he said, “100,000 dong”, which was outrageous. We said no and walked away. He followed along, yelling out the window, “Meter, meter”, but it was too late by then. We didn’t want anything to do with him.
It only took about 20 minutes to walk to our hotel. When we got there, we explained that we weren’t staying again but had just arrived from Sapa and had to go to the airport. The early morning reception man arranged an airport taxi for us for $17, which was very reasonable. Then he asked if we would like a shower. Then he offered us coffee, got us towels for a shower in the lobby bathroom and brought us each a boxed breakfast of yogurt, croissants, bananas and water, all for free. The shower felt good and we were ready for our taxi which arrived at 6 am.
It was a 45 minute drive out to the airport. We re-organized our stuff a bit and checked in quite quickly. The security check went quickly too. So now, here we sit in the domestic departure lounge, which isn’t that big. We saw a big construction project underway just before we got here. I suspect they’re building a new terminal and that this one will be either used less or demolished. We still have over 2 hours until we board our plane but at least there’s no more taxis to deal with.
It’s such a strange contradiction to meet so many gracious and helpful Vietnamese people, such as in our hotel, and then have to hassle with the taxi mafia all the time. Some of them are outright thieves. They’re not threatening or violent at all but they’ll politely say or do anything to scam you. It really turns a lot of tourists off of traveling here.
However, it’s unlikely to change. Scamming is a way of life here. Duc, our Vietnamese train friend last night, had very little use for the police or the government. He said, as we already knew, that Vietnam is a one party state where your vote won’t make a substantial difference. He told us that in most public works projects, so many people are getting so many small payoffs that in the end, there’s very little money left to actually do the work. Police take traffic fines in cash with no paperwork, the same as in Cambodia. Duc said there’s a Vietnamese saying that if a person gets power, then the money will come. It’s hard for a country to progress with so many people getting a little cut here and there. Although we have misappropriation of public funds in the west, at least we have freedom of information laws and investigative journalists who will hound the legal system until corrupt government officials are penalized. Here it’s much more difficult. Most people seem resigned to the current system.

Hue (that's Hway), 5pm

 Our corner hotel room.

 The view from one window down to the 2nd floor pool.

The view from the other window toward the Hue citadel.
Our flight left on time and we took an airport bus to our hotel for $5 total. We were dropped off right at the door. We knew we would be tired and dirty after our long trip from Sapa so we had booked a better hotel to treat ourselves a bit. It's costing $67 a night, including all tax, but it's a huge room on the 7th floor overlooking the Perfume River and there will likely be an excellent buffet breakfast (included). We just have to go across the nearby bridge to get to the Hue Citadel and old palace, which is the main attraction here.
We've already showered and been out for a nice early dinner at a restaurant recommended in Lonely Planet. The food was very good although a little more expensive ($16 total for dinner). We also bought some beer, rum and mix. Tonight, we're staying in to rest.