Sapa has a Fansipan Mountain but Hanoi is the Motorcycle City

It took a 12 hour overnight train to Hanoi, several hours enjoying the ambience, food and street view of the second floor of a nearby vegan restaurant (The Veg), and then a 6 hour capsule bus ride to get to Sapa, but it was worth the trip. Again proving how varied and delightful is the scenery of Vietnam, Sapa was cool, green, wet and high (about 1,500m). Surrounded by mountains, tribes and rice fields it could arguably be called the hiking capital of Vietnam.

Sapa Lake

We settled into the Paris Boutique Hotel with glorious views of the Sapa Lake, having been upgraded to the top floor due to a lack of visitors at this time of year. It was a luxurious room, we were well looked after and it was only about $35 AU per night if memory serves me correctly, one of our more expensive stays.

Town space for activities

We spent a large portion of time here (day and night) exploring the town by walking randomly. Taking in the community atmosphere with the well used public spaces made available, and the marvellous scenery from all of the different vantage spots. Not easy considering this is not a flat town. Several day trips took us into the more mountainous regions. 

Dancing in the park

Fansipan Mountain from the edge of town

Ham Rong Mountain

Day one was a hike through Ham Rong Mountain, walking distance from the town and boasting amazing gardens full of sculptures, lakes and flowers, culminating at an altitude of 1,800m on a platform with panoramic views around the town and surrounding countryside.

Day two was a cable car ride up Vietnam's highest point, the peak of Fansipan Mountain. This was not any normal cable car, why do things by half, but the longest non-stop 3 roped cable car in the world at 6,295m. Not content to stop there it also had the highest elevation change of a 3 roped cable car in the world, taking us up a further 1,410m. The ride was beyond scenic taking us over picturesque rice paddies that are the trademark of most photos on websites about Sapa. The adventure continues with a further train ride to the peak. The top was COLD so make sure you come prepared no matter what the weather down below is and you will be rewarded with amazing breathtaking views whenever those pesky clouds open up and reveal the hidden treasure beneath. We spent a few hours here as we struggled to tear ourselves away from the stunning views.

 Hanoi

Once we left Sapa we went back to Hanoi for a day before a tour out to Ha Long Bay, but I am going to break with tradition and discuss our time at Hanoi now so that third and second last locations can share the final chapter on Vietnam. You will understand why when you read it.

Playing Mahjong at a Pagoda

Hanoi, the capital city of Vietnam, can arguably be called the motorcycle city with its over 4 million plus motorbikes sloshing around the streets like a rushing river. Crossing the street is an adventure sport. It also has a fascinating mix of old and new with many old districts and centuries old architecture, lovely parks and lakes that made aimless wandering around the streets, especially at night, a pure joy.

We made numerous exploratory walks around the nearby Hoan Kiem Lake and the surrounding architecture which included the Hanoi Opera House. We also watched a show at the Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre, which I really enjoyed. Puppets on water controlled by puppeteers in the water themselves behind a screen with live cultural music. Finally we took a day trip from a tour operator across the road from our hotel, visiting the final resting place of Ho Chi Minh, the humble house he lived in on stilts (because he refused more opulent surroundings), the Tran Quoc Pagoda on the huge West Lake and St Joseph's Cathedral among other things.

Hanoi was a nice, relaxing, diverse and architecturally interesting place to finish our trip and we left with many fond memories and fun and interesting experiences of our time in Vietnam.

St Joseph's Cathedral

St Joseph's Cathedral at night

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre

Aerobics in the park

Ho Chi Minh's very modest house

Ho Chi Minh's house outside

The place he did not like to stay in

Tran Quoc Pagoda

Tran Quoc Pagoda

Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum

Crossing the street

Ho Chi Minh City and a pot of Weasel coffee

Elizabeth spent the rest of her time in Cambodia recovering from her toe misadventure, until the date arrived on our visa that allowed us to enter Vietnam. We bought our bus tickets and high tailed it out of there. It was a long trip taking all day, needing to go through Phnom Penh, before heading into Vietnam. Elizabeth was taking it very carefully with my hiking pole now doubing as a walking stick. The last section crossing into Vietnam went very slowly with many many trucks passing us coming the other way filled with people. We did not find out why but I suppose the assumption is that they go into Vietnam to work and come back at the end of the day. The number of trucks and people was endless.

Independence Palace and the Ben Thanh Market

So we arrived in Ho Chi Minh City. Vietnam was going to be rushed: we wanted to traverse it from South to North in under a month and see the best spots. We did not want to do it by plane, so it was going to be a challenge, but then challenge is my middle name (well, it should have been anyway). Our initial thought was city tours; t ahey were really cheap and included everything such as water, lunch and entry tickets. After settling in to our hotel we found a travel agency just around the corner and booked a tour for the next day.

The morning took us around some main sites of the city - palaces, pagodas and the like - and finished at a coffee shop where I got my first taste of weasel coffee. Apparently the weasel eats the coffee beans but is unable to digest them and its stomach juices do some magic that adds extra flavour to them. Nature takes its course and then some lucky fella gets to collect the beans, which are dried and used to make coffee for me to drink. Surprisingly yummy, if you do not think about it too much. Tasted a bit sweet with a hint of chocolate and very strong.

Then was lunch and we got our first taste of a full-on Vietnamese meal. Starting with a hearty vegetarian Pho (noodles) and fried spring rolls through to stir fry and rice. We were packed solid and all vegetarian and gluten free. Luckily for me they use rice paper for the spring rolls and, especially in the south, most soy sauces do not include wheat. Then back in the van for the several hours to the Cu Chi Tunnels.

Spikes under the grass

The 121km of criss crossing interconnected tunnels were a thorn in the side of the US during the Vietnam War. Complemented by many ingenious booby traps inside and around tunnel entrances they were basically impossible to shut down, despite several campaigns to do so. They formed a veritable underground city including hospitals, weapons storage and planning areas. Seeing the different types of booby traps was chilling and you could imagine the pain and suffering they would inflict.

Elizabeth in the tunnel

Since Elizabeth was injured I made the sacrifice and disappeared under a secret entrance only to re-emerge moments later wth a 'ta da'. We were then given the option to walk along several sections of tunnel. Elizabeth was weary of missing out and decided to persevere and impressed our guide by making it through two sections of 10m tunnels so small you had to crouch waddle through them. We decided against shooting guns for fun and ate some baked cassava (tapioca) bread instead. This was the staple meal during wartime, which as it was not nutritionally complete contributed to the small size and short lifespan of the Viet Cong.

Eating cassava bread

Back at Ho Chi Minh City we found a lovely Indian restaurant for dinner as we prepared to jump  on a bus again to continue our discovery of Vietnam. No time to kick back and relax just yet...