The Faces of Sapa, Vietnam

The real deal is, I have to single handedly put everything back together with on my own, it will definitely take some time and is testing my patience and others, it's typically frustrating at this moment.

But there is a sweet encounter, a detour of personal interest, I do hope it turns out good for both of us. Breath, Andrew, breath! You will eventually reach the final line, slowly but surely.

Give me a hug if you see me, we all need a lot of loves, good time and bad time.

Sapa, Vietnam

The weather at night was still moderately warm before I embarked on Sapa Excursion, located at the the remote Northwest mountains of Vietnam, it is famous for its rugged scenery and also its rich cultural diversity - Wiki Travel.

Sapa and its surrounding is a host to hill tribes and rice terraces, it ranks among Halong Bay and Hoi An in terms of tourist attraction solely on the merit of its natural beauty and surrounding attractions.

It's particularly rich in opportunities for treks, homestays, and beautiful panoramic views, you can book such tour packages for as cheap as less than RM120 or $30.

The magnificent of rice terrace panoramic scene of Sapa

The Black H'mong lady with her baby, who stopped me from going into China border when I got lost in Cat Cat Village

 

The kids would be mingling around, normally the parents were the one doing the selling, kids at this age were too young to be selling

I will have detail writeup about Sapa in other posts.

Bia Hoi (Hanoi Beer)

There was at least couple of hours interval before catching up with the eight hours overnight air-conditioned train at 10pm after I got back from Halong Bay Excursion the same day.

I was carrying my backpack roaming around in Hanoi Old Quarter, realizing how heavy it was, I quickly settled down at the busy junction for some good street food, usually noodle soup or meat rice and cheap Hanoi beer.

A glass of bia hoi for RM1, no kidding

Busy inter junction famous for bia hoi

A glass of Hanoi beer (Bia Hoi) was as cheap as $0.30 or less than RM1.00.

I stayed there for at least two hours, I took a mouthful sip of the soothing beer and pulled out the "Nothing box" in me and started watching the people, cars and bikes went by.

A "Nothing box" according to Mark Gungor, is one of the many boxes in men's head that literally contains nothing inside. Hence, that explains why we can be stoned for minutes or hours (it looked like a man who was in deep concentration yet felt like his soul had wandered far away from the body, doing absolutely nothing but starting out at something blankly without soul).

Yet when you ask a man what is he thinking, he will say, nothing my dear.. Really, nothing..



It was interesting to be sitting at the what looked like a kid's chair, encountering some random drinking travel mates whom we shared our random experience about some of the highlight of our traveling experiences.

Sapa was one of the topic too, it's quite usual I'd speak about the next destination I was heading to with the travelers, they might be coming from these places, just to be sure I wouldn't miss out on things that worth doing.

Taking The Night Train to Lao Cai, Sapa

It was about 8pm I took off to find a guest house for shower, paid $1 buck for a quick shower before I started walking down to Hanoi Railway station at the east of the town, it was half an hour walk.

Probably wasn't the best idea to walk (half an hour >.<), but I was happy to be able to familiarize myself with the confusing streets since I'd be coming back, it was OK with little help from the easily shy-away locals who spoke very limited English.

Hanoi railway station

To Lao Cai, Sapa

The walk way mixed of departures and arrivals

I spoke about my fantastic experience with my local friend, Tien, who was my trusted driver in two separate post in Exploring Hanoi Old Quarter Streets and My First Couchsurfing Experience in Hanoi.

Tien was considerate enough to book a soft bed overnight train ticket for VND250k, but it wasn't easy to sleep on the train even with the soft bed. 

I was literally awakened by the noisy rail every other hour, the coach was moving swiftly which made it almost impossible for someone to go into deep sleep.

I shared the six bed coach with five other local passengers, it was more comfortable taking the lowest bed by paying additional couple of dollars because there was very little space between the top deck and the ceiling of the coach.

The 6 soft bed coach

There's very little space between the top deck and the ceiling of the coach, I took the most comfy lowest deck

I'd recommend anyone to take the lowest or middle deck for a lot of reasons particularly if you are traveling with your backpack where it would just sit beside you if you are taking the lowest deck.

And I knew an Israel mother who was traveling with her eighteen year-old daughter and booked all the four bed coach for $100 so they wouldn't need to share with other traveling passengers.

The Faces of Kids from Sapa

It was 6am when I looked at the clock, the train finally came to static mode and I knew we arrived from the faces of other passengers. They were all awoke by now, either playing with their phones or combing their hair.

The bus or minivan, for VND120k, took me from Lao Cai station to the town. The bumpy and curvy road wasn't the most exciting one, but the quiet morning with the beautiful green surrounding and fresh air were quite refreshing.

It was such a relief after a long eight hours ride, the surrounding nature consumed me.

I was feeling recharged with so much energy and excitement slowly building up as we neared Sapa town.

That day, I spent $39 dollars for guest house and a travel package for home stay and trek on the next day.

These were just some of the kid's pictures mainly taken from Cat Cat Village, 15 minutes on foot from Sapa town near the Church.

They were kids from Cat Cat Village, Sapa

He was sneezing and got some leftover between the nose and mouth

Had you ever hold a knife at his age?

She looked seemingly like the big sister in the group

The big sister taking care of the younger one

This boy looked like an old man

Beautiful girl

Walking up and down this little kid

She has beautiful oriental eyes

Playing with toys

Kids gathered to watch TVs, we weren't any different too when we were small

I remembered I had balloons too when I was small

These were such lovely kids, with pure soul, simple characters and genuine, I remembered every faces of them, though interaction was scarce and the sweets I brought for them ran out pretty fast.

When I looked them in their eyes, seriously, nothing else mattered. Their pure soul and smiles would melt every single traveler's heart, your life would never be the same again after you see them.

Exploring Hanoi Old Quarter Streets & Halong Bay Excursion

As soon as you step into Hanoi Old Quarter, you would notice that everything is centered around the old town.

One of the most beautiful colonial cities, very lively, comprising nearly 40 streets packed with shops selling all kinds of goods, often becomes the start or the end of the traveling point in Vietnam.

It's considerably quieter than Ho Chin Minh, yet retaining its vibrant atmosphere in an antique quarter. I felt exceptionally excited because this was my first solo backpack trip and first couch surfing experience.

The buildings were greatly preserved & vibrant, some were face lifted 

Modern & antique

The people were generally nice and approachable, those who weren't English literate might shy away if you ask for help, I was sure it's easy to get help.

The total Hanoi population was around 6 million according to the tour guide on the bus to Halong Bay, and Wikipedia said so too.

It was also believed that the total number of motor bikes hit nearly 4 million units in Hanoi alone, air pollution was at its highest rate, red alert!

Local seller

One of the commonly seen activities was the local sellers roaming around the town on foot or bike carrying goods with them to sell to the locals & travelers, there were fruits, shirts, pants, sandals & etc.

I would recommend anyone to take your time to walk the town, explore the beauty of the busy streets yourself at your own pace. Plus, a little research of the historical background of the streets and houses would absolutely help lifting your overall experience to the fullest in the Old Quarter.

Chinese chess lovers on the street

Although many of the streets no longer sell the products after which they were name, some still do. There's a list of the street names & its descriptions.

Today, the Old Quarter has become the unique classical feature of Hanoi, and one of the desired tourist destinations in Hanoi. I was in love with this little antique yet vibrant city very much, it's full of life!

Local selling carrying goods walking down the street

If you are a lazy, and with little time to spare, the cyclo/trishaw is an alternative to explore the town at ease, $1 per ride for 15-30min.

Typical passageway that links to houses at the back

Quiet alley

Tien on Call

Tien was my personal motorbike driver, recommended by Dr. Tuyet, he was a reliable person that anyone could count on. He helped me to negotiate prices on goods, taught me some useful Vietnamese language, very handy at times.

He’s so cute, we had real good time hanging out together at restaurants and bars, trying to guess what the other said because he spoke limited English, so we occasionally ought to draw on paper just to to be sure we were communicating correctly.

Tien, my next best Vietnamese friend

I promised him more businesses for him, if you are going to Hanoi & need a ride, please call him at +84 0978221346, he should be able to help you ordering food (cheaper than you order yourself), teach you some useful local words, most importantly roam around the town with his motorbike for a relatively cheap rate, only $8-12, 5-8 hours. Please tip him!

We hanged out at Puku earlier on my first day, a Cafe Pub with WiFi, here I finally felt I was connecting back to the world with my friends & family. Posted a few tweets and photos on Facebook then chilled with Tien, it's beer time! Heinneken 30,000 VND or RM7!

Puku, cafe & bar with wifi

Cozy little cafe

This shaky image was taken with the help from Tien while we were chilling at the cafe in the evening

You should tell him when to come back to pick you up from where he left you if you wish to stay on longer to spend time at a place. He's a very handy assistant, he helped me to buy my train tickets to Sapa while I spent my own time walking down the street at Hoan Kiem Lake, the legendary turtle lake.

Halong Bay Excursion

"Halong Bay" is literally translated as "bay of the descending dragons". Most people come to Halong Bay on a tour.

For about USD50 you can get a standard two nights stay of backpacker accommodation, and the prices varied depending on the type of quality you are getting, the junk, the food, the bed.

I woke up in the morning on my second day and Tien was there to take me to the travel agency to catch the bus with other travelers for the famous Halong Bay excursion.

Halong Bay is situated 170km east to Hanoi, traveling by minibus not more than 4 hours, and they stopped once at the souvenir center so we could use a break.

The idea is a few days of cruising around Halong Bay, one of the most magnificent natural splendours of Asia. The best way to appreciate Halong Bay is by boat or junk whatever you name it.

Few could fail to be impressed with Halong Bay, with over 2,000 limestone islands jutting out of the green waters.

IndoChina junk at Halong Bay

Halong Bay, the splendors of Asia

It was easy to book Halong Bay package, the agencies were everywhere. The fee for me was $40/pax for one night, $60 for two nights, shared room with or without air conditioning, inclusive of two lunches, dinner, breakfast and transportation. The package also included a stop for visiting Hang Song Sut cave.

Indulging Asian food

Soon after boarding the junk, lunch was served, they could even cater for vegetarian and non-seafood lover. The tour guide would request you to inform them earlier on the journey to Halong Bay so they could make the special arrangement for you.

Crap shell

Crispy spring roll

Steam lala

Crispy fried chicken

Steam fish

Friend tofu

The drinks on boat were ordered and paid separately, wasn’t sure how much was a can of Coke or Pepsi, but a can of Tiger beer was fairly cheap at 30,000 VND, less than RM7. Beers were simply irresistible!

The view from the upper deck on the junk was sensational, weather was fantastic, we had the Sun sticking out and was around 23 degrees.

The blue sky

The clusters lime stones at Halong Bay

Dock at Hang Sung Sot cave

The day was usually getting darker around 5pm, and it should be completely dark by 6.30pm.

The soft soothing wind, the sound of the waters flapping over the boat. The junk’s engine should have stopped by now, having my own sweetest moment at the top of the deck all by myself before dinner, the mind was exceptionally calm & relaxed…

The light in the dark would guide us through the storm

The night with laughters and beers

The night was exceptionally quiet, I was able to listen to the music being played from the junk rested about 100 meters away. They played some oldies..

Then dinner was served.

Steamed sweet shrimp

French fries

Cucumber

Fried tofu

Crunchy fried potatoes

Fried chicken slice

I met some of the most fascinating individuals from all around the world with plenty of backpacking experience, they were unbelievable!

The newly wed lovely Israeli, traveling for couple of weeks for honey moon

Every Israeli man or women has to take part in servicing the military. The men would serve up to minimum 3 years after high school, and the women 2 years.

French mid wives, entering 4th week of their 6 weeks Asian trip, they would work and travel at any part of the world

The night usually ended with laughters and beers, every individual I came across they must have some exciting stories to tell, some talked about their trip, or homeland, or people they had met along the way, or their dogs and cats.

The clear night sky was the greatest thing we had on that night, relaxing under the shining stars.

The next day I exchanged contacts with some of my new friends, left group after breakfast and went on to another junk with a Switzerland uncle as the rest would spend another night at Cat Ba Island which I didn’t sign up for.

We spent an hour kayaking around the limestone islands, watch out for the big boats around you, make sure you don’t get in their ways and run down by them.

Returning to the jetty at noon was also enjoyable, I took pleasure of relaxing on the deck, the Sun and the gentle breeze were my friends. We then headed for a fine lunch before the bus took us on 3 hours drive back to Hanoi.

Viet house restaurant

Lunch before leaving Halong

Crispy spring roll

Sweet orange soup

Golden fried shrimp

My incredible experience in Halong Bay excursion ended here.

Halong Bay outfit!