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.
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.
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…
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.
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.
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).
We made it back from the homestay safely. It was very fun but I can’t
tell you about it now because we are going on another trek to Tavan to a
mountain lodge. Bye
