~Hannah~

                                                                      Ba Be
Well, I have had a lot of adventures at Babe lake and in Phu Tho. We had to drive about… EIGHT HOURS! that was a long trip  just to get to Babe Lake. That was a very long trip for me. I luckily slept a lot on the way there. AND we had a driver that did not know how to drive the car. It was his first day on the job! ALSO they gave him a very bad car that barely went up those mountain roads! When we got into a pretty good sized town,our driver asked someone something in Vietnamese.  My mom asked if we were lost, but our guide just said that we were not lost, he was just
asking for directions. After a LONG time we finally arrived at our home stay. But unlike our Home stay in Ta Phin, you were separated from the family, you did not get to befriend the family members. So we went with our guide to other home stays, (which were more like guest houses) but they were all full.We finally found one that had only four other people ( instead of maybe…11-14 people, counting us.) Also the people were nice at our new home stay. Mom,Sumner, Our guide ( Mr. Phong,) and I went on a pleasant bike ride around the area. We went to a place where some people were working in the rice field. Sumner and I got to cut some rice. It is pretty hard work, but yet fun,( at least for the few seconds I did it.) Then we headed back to the house ( not my house though,) for a delicious dinner. It included rice ( duh) pork, chicken,and some greens. Then we went to bed.
   I think the roosters are a little confused ( and crazy),because they started crowing at 1:00 in the morning instead of at the crack of dawn. and kept on crowing for a long time.
   The next morning we had those pancakes again. ( I told you before, they taste and feel like you are eating rubber!) So the Lady of the House asked if we wanted some fried rice. Sumner and I answered yes very enthusiastically. After breakfast we went on a boat ride on the lake with our guide. It was very pretty, so I think Sumner will put the pictures on the blog. ( At least i hope so.) First we went to a cave that had a million bats, and they dropped waste on us. I had to dig out my hat so that I would not get hit by it. After that we went to a very dangerous waterfall. Because they blocked of the dangerous part with a big wall of cement, bur tourists go past the cement another way, so they slip on the moss and fall in the water. People can not find their bodies because there is too much foam.Then we ate lunch at a local restaurant, and then headed back to the house. Before the meal Sumner and I played with the feather thing. Our driver joined in as well. He is  very good at the game, better than us at least! Finally after we got tired of playing, we went back to the house and got ready for dinner. We had a special dinner that night because we were going to eat with the family. Again we had a very good meal again, so I ate my fill and went to beddddd Sorry I am tired right now, so I probably should go to bed.
     
                                                           GOOD NIGHT!!!

Today we woke up and got ready to go back to Hanoi. Once packed we met Phong outside and got into the Jeep. It wasn’t nearly as long as the drive to Ba Be but it still was pretty long. Just outside of Hanoi we stopped on the side of the highway where some stalls were set up selling corn and shuggar cane trees. We got out of the car and Phong bought some corn. Hannah had been wanting some shugar cane to chew on. So we went over to one of the ladys and asked for just a little piece. There were some miscomunications and we ended up with the entire tree. It was an interesting experience, being on the side of the road buying shuggar cane. One that I will never forget. We tried to chew it, mom liked it and Hannah liked it but I wasn’t a fan of it. We got back into the car and drove on. Finally we made it to the hotel checked in and went to our room and sighed a shgh of releif. It was nice to be back in a western hotel with clean rooms and soft beds (This is where Hannah’s song comes in). We relaxed in our room for a while and then went out to walk around Hanoi. Then we went back to the hotel and tried to catch up on our blog. We went out for dinner and then went back to the hotel. Ok now for the bed.

Well today we woke up with another driver in our midst. The one who owned our car. He had come in the night on a bus from Hanoi to try to fix it. He arrived at about twelve o’clock and then towed the car to a spot where there was more light. He worked on it but when we got up in the morning it was still not fixed. And that’s were my day began, with waking up. For breakfast again we had those pancakes but today Hannah and I had fried rice. After yesterday’s breakfast Phong had asked if we wanted to have fried rice instead of the pancakes. We accepted so mom ate some pancakes and we ate the fried rice. After breakfast, which was delicious, we got ready to go to Phu Tho (pronounced: fu taw, the taw sound ends abruptly). The car had to be towed to be started but it did start and we were on our way. This new driver was like a race car driver on a one lane road, that to the Vietnamese is a two lane highway. He was passing people on blind curves and on the straight parts if there was a gap of two yards he went through it. Mom was scared to death and even Phong who was leaning slightly out the window was going, ohhhh, made it oh oh oh, phew! that gave me a scare. In fact I don’t think that we ever stopped until we got to a gas station. Where we stopped to stretch our legs he had to leave the car on because it he turned it off it would not be able to start back up again. After we got gas we went on to a town were we said goodbye to the first driver who was catching a bus to Hanoi. We felt sorry for the guy, it wasn’t a good car and he was nervous because it was his first time to driving it. We stopped in a town for lunch. We ate at a street-food place but the food was good. But the weird thing is that once we were served our food they pulled up chairs and watched us eat. And afterwards they touched mom and pinched her and talked about her. Phong said that they were feeling if she was real. I truly think that we were the first westerners they had ever seen! Then we got back in the car went on to Phu Tho. We wandered around the town and went to a square where we walked around. You could tell you were off the beaten tourist path in Phu Tho because wherever you went people stared at you. Just like to people at lunch, well maybe not as bad as them but we were the center of attention. Phu Tho, though small, is actually a university town. We saw that on our little walk.

Sixteenth Day - Homesay at Ba Be Lake 11/17/10

Today we woke up and had breakfast. Breakfast was those “rubbery pancakes” but this time it was more crepe-ish. It was allot better but we went to the kitchen and they asked if we wanted to have some of their fried rice. We accepted the offer and ate the rice. It was much better than the pancakes. After breakfast we got ready for a boat trip on Ba Be Lake. But the car would not start! So we had to walk to the dock. We go on to a boat that was about  two yards wide and about ten yards wide. The seats were wooden planks across the boat. The engine which was in the back was really loud but the trip was nice. First we cruised around in the lake. It was very interesting but the weird thing was that the water was surprisingly warm. After we had cruised around for a while we came to a river which we went upstream to a cave that the river went right through. We got off and walked on a path through the cave. On the way we went under a big crevasse that the bats lived in, The path was covered with their droppings and some fell on mom’s and Hannah’s heads! I was lucky enough to have kept my hat on so it didn’t get me. We got out from under that crevasse quickly and to another part of the cave. It wasn’t really very big but it was a good sized cave. When we go to the end of the path we went back through the cave and to where the boat was docked. Then we headed in the other direction on the river which led to a little village when we stopped and walked on a path to a gorgeous water fall. On the way we had to walk down a lot of stairs. Going down was fine but mom had a little trouble on the way up. The water fall spanned two kilometers (why did they make up the metric system?) which is about one mile. We looked at it from a look out and then went back up the hill and to the town where we stopped for lunch. Lunch was much to big for us and our guide didn’t eat with us. I would have liked to have more food but my mouth is hurting because some teeth are coming in in the wrong places. After lunch we went back to the lake and sailed back to the dock. When we got back to the homestay there were two drivers under the hood. They tried to tow the car up the incline that it was parked on, with the other driver’s car. They had tied a rope to the the front of the Forerunner (that was our car). Then they tied another rope to the other car’s front end where it had a hook. Then they put the other car in reverse and backed that car up and tried to pull the Forerunner up the incline in reverse. That was definitely not a good thing for the other car. Then Hannah went to go get the feathered thing and we played with that for a little while. After that we decided to go on a walk. We turned left and went down a small hill. Then the road evened out and we waked on to a bridge. We crossed over and a policeman was there at the other side. He came out and said something in Vietnamese to us that we didn’t understand. We think that he was asking where we were going so we decided that maybe we shouldn’t go that way. We turned around and went across the bridge. When we got across our car was rolling down the hill and stopped at right at the bridge. Then we made our way up the hill .We saw them again beside the other car discussing what to do. When we got back we played more of that feather thingy and the driver of our car played too. We went down to the “park” which was just an open field full of weeds and stuff with one torn up volleyball net in one corner with a little bit of sand. We played for a while and then went back for dinner which we had with the family, the driver who tried to help us, Phong, and our driver. It was about the same as last night with rice some vegetables and some meats. It was very interesting because mom was asked how old she was. The reason for this is that in Vietnamese what you call someone is relational the age of the person. For example, if I was older that you I would call you “em” but you would call me “anh” and if I was a girl I would call my self something else. So back to my point, when they asked her age it was more a thing of respect than disrespect. Once we finished dinner we were offered tea.We declined because of the caffeine. Then we went to bed.

So, today we checked out of our hotel early and had breakfast. Then our guide came and we got into the car that would take us to Ba Be Lake. The car was about one hundred years old and didn’t have any shocks left. There were no seat belts in the back seat and hand crank windows. OK maybe it wasn’t one hundred years old but it was very old. I wasn’t joking about the shocks though. The car was so bad that when we hadn’t even gotten out of Hanoi mom had to pull out the Dramamine!
Well we made it out of Hanoi and then kept on going until we go to the mountains. We were able to do most of the hills but the ten percent grades were difficult. Once we went up part of the way and then the car couldn’t go any further. So, we had to roll down the hill and then use the emergency brake and then hit the clutch to change the gear. We revved the motor and then let the emergency brake go. The car inched up the hill and then finally made it to the top. There were a few hills where we had to do this but we made it safely to Ba Be Lake. We stopped at one homestay but we decided to go to another homestay. We found a different one that was more satisfactory.

Hannah

So, after all of the trekking and the home stays and all, we get ONE day to hang out. Today we DID get to just relax, unlike last week. Our family went on an overnight train from Lao Cai to Hanoi. I slept very well unlike Sumner and mom. But when we got to the hotel, we found out that they had an available room for us to stay in until 10:00 AM.  The minute my mom’s and brother’s heads hit the pillows, they were sound asleep. Guess they are not meant for train rides. When they FINALLY woke up, I had read about two whole books! (also I am a really fast reader, so that makes a difference.) That afternoon we went to a silk shop and got my self a fitted ao dai, (according to the north pronounce it ow zie). I got one for next year, and another one for the next 2-3 years. The first ao dai is turquoise-ish, and when you move, the little trees and flowers that are the prints, they turn different colors. The one that is for a few years to come, is a pretty white color, and has a light blue coloring to it. Now for dinner we are having some sort of snackey dinner. Don’t know what it is, but I hope that it will be yummy. Gute Nacht! (goodnight in German).

Today was our last day in Sapa. Today we got up and had breakfast and then went back to the room to hang out and try to figure out what we wanted to do today. We decided to go to the radio tower. Everyone said there was a wonderful view so we went. When we got down we paid and checked out. Then we started out. We walked up lots of steps and then had to get tickets to go the rest of the way. Then we walked up more steps until we got to a Mt. Fan Xi Pan Lookout (Pronounced like: fancy pants without the “ts” at the end. Fancy Pants isn’t really very original because we met some other people that named it that also) Then we walked a little way more and arrived at a fork. We went left and got to a little covered area where we stopped and had a drink because Hannah had a headache. Then we arrived at a Europe Garden. We saw a look out on the top of a hill but mom didn’t want to go all the way to the top. I wanted to go further but mom was to tired and Hannah had a headache. So, I decided to go up a path that I presumed went to the radio tower. I went up some steps and then more steps and then into finally got to the top. It probably wasn’t as spectacular as if we went up to the other lookout but it was a nice view. In the foreground was Sapa all laid out and then behind that in every direction were mountains. After I took some photos I went back down and surprised mom and Hannah by my speed. Then we headed back down the hill. Once down we went back to the hotel and hung out in the lobby until time to get on the bus to Lao Cai.
The drive to Lao Cai was a little traumatic because our driver was a little crazy. We were thankful that we got off the bus alive. We were dropped off at a Kangaroo Cafe sponsored restaurant and settled down at a table. The man who seemed to be in charge of the place asked us for our voucher and then went to get our tickets. He told us that we would leave for the train station at seven. It was six something so we decided to have dinner. While we were waiting for our food another van full OK let me re-state that. Another van BURSTING with people. There were nineteen people in a bus that fit, oh, fourteen people? Also there was everyone’s luggage along with the people!
We ate our food and then the man came to take us to the station. We got to the station and he took us to the train. He wasn’t as helpful as Mr. Viet but he took us to our cabin and then went away. The cabin was nicer than the last time but it was basically the same. The beds were a little bit longer (mom could fully stretch out on it). The water bottles were in a basket (instead of just loose on the table). This was an advantage because when the train bounced the water bottles didn’t bounce out on the bed (not that they would, but just the small things make it nicer). Also we had a trashcan which was nice. The…

Sumner

Today started with breakfast (good thing to start with). And then after breakfast we met some people who were also staying at Sapa Rooms and they asked if there would be any opportunity to buy. We laughed because as soon as you walk out the door you are bombarded by H’mong and Dau (pronounced: z-ow) women saying “you buy from me why you no by from me, you bye this, you no want? Ok you buy this..” and after they give up on one person if there are others in the group they bug them.  We told them to go to the market in the square and pick up one of the things that they like and then they will have a multitude trying to sell you the exact same thing.

TODAY WAS HANNAH’S BIRTHDAY!

OK we started the day with a little trauma because when I woke up I realized that Hannah was not in her bed but I found her in mom’s bed. Obviously Hannah had been scared because of the mice and the bugs. But after we got up it was basically OK but we didn’t want to stay another night so we called Mr. Khanh the manager of Sapa Rooms and asked if we could come back. He understood our predicament and let us come back. But before we did we stayed and had a wonderful time enjoying the beautiful scenery because we were going to do the cooking class at the retreat. We had a nice time just relaxing.

Sumner

Today I woke up and was surprised to see that I was in a house with wood boards above me. I was the last one to wake up because the family was awake at five and mom didn’t get much sleep so she was up and Hannah just was awake. I got out of bed and went to the fire. They had already started making breakfast, so we just sat around waiting. Then our hostess got out a frying pan and got the batter she had been making and made these pancake-ish things. While it was cooking Sume (if you read the last post you heard about her) arrived, for she would be taking us back to Sapa (and we didn’t know this at the time but to take us to Ta Van). Once all the pancakes were cooked, we sat down to eat. I am going to tell you this now so I don’t have to later (pretty good reason, right?) The hotel supplied the food for us at the homestay so that is why we had all that food at dinner and why we were having pancakes for breakfast. The pancakes were not what we think as pancakes. They were, as Hannah described it, rubbery. I thought that they were defiantly not prime and mom didn’t think much of them either. We had banana, honey, and sugar to go with it. We started to eat one, but after about half of it Hannah started to make faces and looking longingly at the rice that Sume and the hostess were eating. I guess that they must have seen her doing that so they asked if we would like to have rice with them. It was just the left-overs from the night before but it still was very good. After breakfast we packed up our bags and hung out for a minute until Sume said it was time to leave. We went into the town that we had lunch in and got in a van to go back to Sapa. As we were leaving we saw big tour bus filled with people and we were very grateful that mom had planned all the transportation beforehand and that she had planned the trip so we did the trip by ourselves instead of with an enormous group. When we got back to Sapa I made that quick post, shot an email to Oma (that’s what we call our grandma) and Skyped dad. Then we set out on another trek. We were fortunate to be with Sume again for the trek. We started out down the road going to Ta Van. We had been walking on the road for about an hour when we met up with Sume’s cousin’s group (Sume’s cousin is also a tour guide for Sapa Rooms) and met a young couple and one set of parents. We went on and were a little ahead of them when Sume’s cousin called out to our guide and said that she wanted to go together so our groups merged and we made friends. After a little while we saw a truck that had overturned on the highway that in the US would be a one lane road but here in Vietnamese is a 8 lane highway! Ok I exaggerated but it actually was a highway with two lanes and could be 3 lanes if two cars were going and a motorcycle wanted to go in-between them! A little after we saw the wreck we stopped for a rest. Hannah and I ran up and down from where we were sitting to a power pole. There were step-like things that looked like they were supposed to be rice paddies but didn’t get finished. They were good obstacles but since I have longer legs it was easier for me so I won almost every time. After that we went on down and when I say down I mean *down. *We walked a little ways and arrived at a little bamboo bridge made of two bamboo poles. It was easy for our guides, the sales ladies (I didn’t tell you but we had accumulated good deal of girls trying to sell us things), and Hannah and I to cross. But the older people had some trouble making it across. Luckily for us it was at most one yard long. We walked along some terraced rice patties and then across one of the retaining walls and then down some more. We walked across one more bamboo bridge and went a little way and then arrived at a quarry. If dad had been there he would have been able to tell you what kind of rock it was but all that I can tell you is that the rocks were white. We walked through the quarry (nothing was going on) and went down a hill. About have way down we saw a big digger thingy and a car that was smashed on the treads! We were thinking that these guys definitively didn’t get the safety award for the year! We got to the bottom of the hill and went across the bridge. To the right of the bridge was the old bridge which was closed but not very well, for, you could still go on the bridge. After we crossed the bridge we went to a restaurant to eat and then headed on. The rest of the way was just small villages and beautiful views of the valley with terraced rice paddies. There was one incident that I will tell you about though. We stopped at a large shop and Sume asked if we wanted to buy anything. Mom said that we would look and see what the prices were like. Well we went in and realized that there were no prices because in Vietnam they look at you and if you look like you have a lot of money then the price goes up about two to three times! Whereas if you look poor then you get a lower price! Once they tell you a price you must bargain for it no matter what it is, chopstick, you bargain for it, little donuts that are being sold to you on the streets of Hanoi, you bargain for the little donuts. You bargain for literally everything except food at a restaurant. Once we looked we walked on to Ta Van. In Ta Van all of the group, us and the Australian/English group (I forgot to tell you where they were from) hopped into the van and went up to the mountain retreat. The other group got out to look around and then headed back to Sapa. We stayed and were directed to our room. After we set our luggage down, we explored the retreat. There were, I think, five little bungalows (maybe six) and one but H’mong house. There was also a big house that was on stilts where we would have our meals. The big H’mong house one was the one that we were going to stay in. It had three rooms and a balcony. When you went in you were in the living room it was basically a brick floor and two wood benches and a table in the middle of the floor. On one of the rafters there was some corn for decoration. On the right of that room was a bedroom with two beds and a lamp and to he other side was one big bed. After our explorations we had some rest and then after a while went to go eat. We went to the house on stilts to go eat and were directed upstairs (they used the bottom level as a relaxation place). We sat at a table that was made of logs so that it was hard to put water and food on the table. Dinner was delicious but it was way to big for the four of us (we ate with Mrs. Elsa Marie, the Danish lady).