OK let's get this over with now. We decided to rent a motorbike and why not? Everybody rides them here-grannies, young kids... To play it safe we rented an automatic what could go wrong?Doug did the mandatory thirty second training ride, put me on the back of the bike and away we went. We chose a mountain road instead of a flat one. All was well to the top of the mountain and we even had a hike. Then on our return with the motorcycle pointing downhill Doug overacelerated and almost simultaneously put on the brakes. This caused the motorbike to skid sideways and sadly left bike and occupants sprawled on the side of the road. To quote the young Vietnamese park attendant-"Be very careful very dangerous" We got back to the Hotel, cleaned up, iced the swollen parts and did not let the incident spoil our day. This was a book end to our5 day excursion to Cat Ba Island. It was an interesting 5 days on Cat Ba. This was an opportunity to explore the Unesco Heritage location of Halong Bay. We kayaked, swam and the boat took us to Monkey Island. Unfortunately the beauty of the island is marred by human activity. Your first sight off the boat is monkeys eating garbage left by tourists and drinking beer from partially empty cans.There are a few nice beaches that we enjoyed on a a couple of afternoons. There are good hikes between the beaches along the cliffs and a national park that we did not have time to visit. One of the downsides of the Island is the lack of decent restaurants. Cat Ba is OK but we feel that if we were to revise our itinerary we would book a book tour to Halong Bay with a reputable company and give Cat Ba Island a miss.
We returned to our favorite hotel- Charming Hotel in Hanoi - and we wre greeted with open arms.we completed our first month of travel at our favorite restaurant in Hanoi - the Garden.
One of the most important aspects of our trVelis the people we meet from Scotland, Germany, Sweden, Holland, England, USA, and Australia. Hopefully we will keep in touch with many of these folks.
Summary
Weather damn near perfect!
Hotels Legacy Suites - recommended ($80) - Bangkok, Charming Hotel - highly recommended ($25) - Hanoi, Ngoc An. - recommended ($35)- Ninh Binh, Sapa Luxury - recommended ($30) - Sapa, Duc Tuan Hotel - not recommended ($18) - Cat Ba Island (manger tried to scam us)
Cost of the trip for 30 days (2 people)was $115 per day. This trip includes all expenses and the proportional share of the return ticket to Vancouver.
We are summarizing this information for anyone who may be considering a similar trip. At the end of each month we will give an online account of our expenditures.
Sunday, 30 October 2011
Friday, 21 October 2011
Sapa the Crown Jewel of Vietnam
October 22,2011
Weather today on Cat Ba Island - Sunny and 30 degrees
Weather over the past week mostly cloudy, a few sunny breaks, occasional rain
Accommodation - Charming Hotel in Hanoi - $25/night Western or Vietnamese breakfast included and Sapa Luxury Hotel in Sapa - $30/night Western or Vietnamese breakfast included and Duc Tuan Hotel in Cat Ba Island - $18/night breakfast not included
Other Meals vary from $5-$30 for two. Last night's meal was a delicious seafood pasta with 4 glasses of good wine from Chile not Vietnam for $27 total.
We are currently in Cat Ba Island but we will save our comments about Cat Ba for the next blog. This one will focus on Sapa. It has long been recommended that we visit Sapa. The journey began on an overnight train followed by a bus through the mountains. I found the bus ride very challenging because I have always had motion sickness. Doug was fine but I was not.
Originally we were going to spend only 2 nights here but when we saw the view from our beautiful terrace we went to plan B and opted for 3 more nights. This is where flexibility is important in travel - go with the flow. One of the reasons that you come to Sapa is to visit the Hill Tribes-Black H'mong, Zhao and Zhay, etc. We had two all day treks where we not only
Experienced village life but met some great Aussies. The highlight was a visit to a Red Zhao Village;this is the village of our guide May Cham.It was memorable in so many ways:the visit to the village school - 18 eager, well behaved 6 year olds on benches; a walk through a cavern, lunch with May Cham's family that we helped prepare on an open fire inside the house - this gave us some perspective on the challenges faced by these families especially in the winter. They were so warm, generous and hospitable; indeed it was a humbling experience to be in their presence. After lunch we were taken to a separate building which housed a huge boiler containing herbal water. The water was put in tubs and Doug and I soaked in them for about 20 minutes.
The town of Sapa is interesting itself with shops and hill folks Serling their wares. We discovered Dragon Mountain in Sapa filled with lovely gardens and an overall view of the area. This helped Doug plan his runs for the next few days. He is training for a 10 km in Angkor Wat,Cambodia. The visit up Dragon Mountain allowed us to enjoy a half hour presentation of music and dance by local people. Overall our visit to Sapa was wonderful - we met some great people, enjoyed fine food and learned a lot about the Hill Tribes.
Our friend, Fergie from Cape Breton, referred to our trip as argosy of adventure and we are happy to report that it is just that. Our next blog will be from Hanoi on October 27,2011.
I met an Aussie who gave me some great ginger travel tablets that really helped. Originally we
Weather today on Cat Ba Island - Sunny and 30 degrees
Weather over the past week mostly cloudy, a few sunny breaks, occasional rain
Accommodation - Charming Hotel in Hanoi - $25/night Western or Vietnamese breakfast included and Sapa Luxury Hotel in Sapa - $30/night Western or Vietnamese breakfast included and Duc Tuan Hotel in Cat Ba Island - $18/night breakfast not included
Other Meals vary from $5-$30 for two. Last night's meal was a delicious seafood pasta with 4 glasses of good wine from Chile not Vietnam for $27 total.
We are currently in Cat Ba Island but we will save our comments about Cat Ba for the next blog. This one will focus on Sapa. It has long been recommended that we visit Sapa. The journey began on an overnight train followed by a bus through the mountains. I found the bus ride very challenging because I have always had motion sickness. Doug was fine but I was not.
Originally we were going to spend only 2 nights here but when we saw the view from our beautiful terrace we went to plan B and opted for 3 more nights. This is where flexibility is important in travel - go with the flow. One of the reasons that you come to Sapa is to visit the Hill Tribes-Black H'mong, Zhao and Zhay, etc. We had two all day treks where we not only
Experienced village life but met some great Aussies. The highlight was a visit to a Red Zhao Village;this is the village of our guide May Cham.It was memorable in so many ways:the visit to the village school - 18 eager, well behaved 6 year olds on benches; a walk through a cavern, lunch with May Cham's family that we helped prepare on an open fire inside the house - this gave us some perspective on the challenges faced by these families especially in the winter. They were so warm, generous and hospitable; indeed it was a humbling experience to be in their presence. After lunch we were taken to a separate building which housed a huge boiler containing herbal water. The water was put in tubs and Doug and I soaked in them for about 20 minutes.
The town of Sapa is interesting itself with shops and hill folks Serling their wares. We discovered Dragon Mountain in Sapa filled with lovely gardens and an overall view of the area. This helped Doug plan his runs for the next few days. He is training for a 10 km in Angkor Wat,Cambodia. The visit up Dragon Mountain allowed us to enjoy a half hour presentation of music and dance by local people. Overall our visit to Sapa was wonderful - we met some great people, enjoyed fine food and learned a lot about the Hill Tribes.
Our friend, Fergie from Cape Breton, referred to our trip as argosy of adventure and we are happy to report that it is just that. Our next blog will be from Hanoi on October 27,2011.
I met an Aussie who gave me some great ginger travel tablets that really helped. Originally we
Tuesday, 11 October 2011
Blog continued
Sorry I pressed the send button - oops!
10% of the population of Vientnam has problems with alcohol.
Discovered on the National Park Jungle Trek - a live walking stick and a live walking leaf-both are rare.
Today we return to Hanoi and our next blog will be after our return from Sapa.
10% of the population of Vientnam has problems with alcohol.
Discovered on the National Park Jungle Trek - a live walking stick and a live walking leaf-both are rare.
Today we return to Hanoi and our next blog will be after our return from Sapa.
October 13, 2011 Ninh Binh not to be missed!
Thank you to sisters Jane and Suzanne for your recommendation to visit Ninh Binh!
Ninh Binh is a rapidly city in a province called Ninh Binh. The last few days have been outside of anything that we have done before. Highlights include: trekking in the National Park, viewing a Primate Reserve, boat tour of limestone caves, visiting temples and pagodas that are all ancient. It is a busy life on the road when you are organizing as you go. We have had success with this process but it can be frustrating at times negotiating the Internet. The advantage is the cost. It is much cheaper than the organized tour.
Yesterday we met a woman from Australia who is going on a Harley motorcycle trip in central Vientnam. Guess who thinks that is a great idea? Doug is super keen and well I need to think about it! We did meet two woman from Montreal who also recommended this travel option. We shall see....
You may be interested to know some facts about Vientnam that we have picked up:
The minimum wage is $100/month and skilled workers by law must be paid 7% more.
Starting Teachers make $150/month and the school day begins at 7am and for primary and elementary students ends at 11 am. High school students take optional(elective)courses after that.
10%Of
Ninh Binh is a rapidly city in a province called Ninh Binh. The last few days have been outside of anything that we have done before. Highlights include: trekking in the National Park, viewing a Primate Reserve, boat tour of limestone caves, visiting temples and pagodas that are all ancient. It is a busy life on the road when you are organizing as you go. We have had success with this process but it can be frustrating at times negotiating the Internet. The advantage is the cost. It is much cheaper than the organized tour.
Yesterday we met a woman from Australia who is going on a Harley motorcycle trip in central Vientnam. Guess who thinks that is a great idea? Doug is super keen and well I need to think about it! We did meet two woman from Montreal who also recommended this travel option. We shall see....
You may be interested to know some facts about Vientnam that we have picked up:
The minimum wage is $100/month and skilled workers by law must be paid 7% more.
Starting Teachers make $150/month and the school day begins at 7am and for primary and elementary students ends at 11 am. High school students take optional(elective)courses after that.
10%Of
Monday, 10 October 2011
Happy Thanksgiving!
Thanks to Steve Jobs! and Thanks to our family for the gift of this IPAD! On Saturday we were able to connect with family and friends in Vancouver, Hawaii, Netherlands,New Brunswick and do some business in Laos. All of this was free on Skype!it has been a busy 5 days with most of the time spent in Hanoi and now we are in Ninh Binh about 3 hours SE of Hanoi. Before coming here and in spite of the rain we did alot of walking in the Old Quarter, we attended a cooking class,and we could not resist participating in another laughter Qi Gong session. A highlight of our stay in Hanoi was a tour organized by our hotel to the Perfume Pagoda. This is the site where Buddhism originated in Vietnam 2000 years ago. Getting there by bus and boat was incredible. The bus ride was wild and crazy in keeping with the general chaos that prevails on the streets and highways. But hey we arrived in one or maybe two pieces! We and 6 others were rowed up the river through a tropical jungle for one hour - think about it 6 large people - Australian, Israeli and Canadian- in the pouring rain!It didn't seem to matter; the dollar ponchos did the trick. There was lots of humor in the group to keep us going.
We are now in one of the most beautiful parts of Vietnam - Ninh Binh. Today our hotel organized a visit to a Primate Centre and a 5 km jungle walk. In preparation for the trip Doug put on what he thought was sunblock. When he put it in the airport approved bottle he did not label it so he discovered after putting it on that it was shaving cream! The park was spectacular and the guide's expertise made it a wonderful experience. Tomorrow the same guide
will takes on a river excursion to explore caves.
Trip at a glance
Weather - Mostly rain with temperatures in the early 30s, Sun today
Activities on the horizon - Boat Tour to Caves, Trip to Sapa and Return to Hanoi
Expenses for 2 weeks - average $97 per day (accommodation, food, transportation, tours)
We are still working on the photos and hopefully we willfigureout how to put them in soon.l
We are now in one of the most beautiful parts of Vietnam - Ninh Binh. Today our hotel organized a visit to a Primate Centre and a 5 km jungle walk. In preparation for the trip Doug put on what he thought was sunblock. When he put it in the airport approved bottle he did not label it so he discovered after putting it on that it was shaving cream! The park was spectacular and the guide's expertise made it a wonderful experience. Tomorrow the same guide
will takes on a river excursion to explore caves.
Trip at a glance
Weather - Mostly rain with temperatures in the early 30s, Sun today
Activities on the horizon - Boat Tour to Caves, Trip to Sapa and Return to Hanoi
Expenses for 2 weeks - average $97 per day (accommodation, food, transportation, tours)
We are still working on the photos and hopefully we willfigureout how to put them in soon.l
Wednesday, 5 October 2011
Blog. Number 2 -Oct. 6/11
We are now almost two weeks into our trip. One of things that you have to understand about travel in this part of the world is street intelligence. For example the Tuk Tuk driver that you meet who is so very friendly is often connected to museums, factory outlet and other companies. He led us to the Royal Factory in Bangkok where there were all original rubies,sapphires,etc. Now Carolyn has a lovely ruby ring! Later a taxi driver showed us his coupon card which gets credited based on the number of tourists he brings to each shop. His name was Max and he works long hours - 12 or 13 per day - He must do this or his family will starve. Bangkok like all Asian cities is bursting at the seams where rural folks come to the city in search of work.
The one thing you really notice in cities like Bangkok and Hanoi is lack of private space. It is noisy, crazy, and great fun to walk the streets and observe the daily spectacle of people on their way to or from work. People have their meals on the street; they exercise early starting at 5 am in the park and generally hang out. We had a delicious meal sitting on small stools. They had to pile 2 extra stools on top of one another so we could sit more comfortably -we are huge in comparison to most people here. The cost of the meal was $10 that included 3 beers and healthy portions of squid, vegetables,etc. Earlier in the day we had a fine dining experience at Seasons of Hanoi restaurant. A gourmet meal complete with wine and tip it came to $30. We had an interesting conversation at the restaurant with a gentleman from Georgia who is working on a project to remove cluster bombs from Vietnam war. It is hard to believe that people are still dying from that conflict.On a trip like this the most interesting part is the people you meet. Both Thai and Vietnamese people have been very gracious and kind to us especially when we are lost!
Trip at a glance
Weather - temperature range 25 to 35 Celsius 2 rainy days but mostly cloudy
Accommodation - Legacy Suites in Bangkok - $80/night and Charming Hotel in Hanoi - $25/night
We recommend both.
Transportation - Air Asia - Bangkok to Hanoi $90 each. Taxis, Tuk Tuks are very inexpensive.
Upcoming Events - Vietnamese cooking class, day tour Perfume Pagoda, history museum
The one thing you really notice in cities like Bangkok and Hanoi is lack of private space. It is noisy, crazy, and great fun to walk the streets and observe the daily spectacle of people on their way to or from work. People have their meals on the street; they exercise early starting at 5 am in the park and generally hang out. We had a delicious meal sitting on small stools. They had to pile 2 extra stools on top of one another so we could sit more comfortably -we are huge in comparison to most people here. The cost of the meal was $10 that included 3 beers and healthy portions of squid, vegetables,etc. Earlier in the day we had a fine dining experience at Seasons of Hanoi restaurant. A gourmet meal complete with wine and tip it came to $30. We had an interesting conversation at the restaurant with a gentleman from Georgia who is working on a project to remove cluster bombs from Vietnam war. It is hard to believe that people are still dying from that conflict.On a trip like this the most interesting part is the people you meet. Both Thai and Vietnamese people have been very gracious and kind to us especially when we are lost!
Trip at a glance
Weather - temperature range 25 to 35 Celsius 2 rainy days but mostly cloudy
Accommodation - Legacy Suites in Bangkok - $80/night and Charming Hotel in Hanoi - $25/night
We recommend both.
Transportation - Air Asia - Bangkok to Hanoi $90 each. Taxis, Tuk Tuks are very inexpensive.
Upcoming Events - Vietnamese cooking class, day tour Perfume Pagoda, history museum
Monday, 3 October 2011
New York to the rescue!
We just had breakfast with 2 young men from New York who have assisted us to get onto doing our first blog! All the instructions are in Vietnamese and because they understand technology they knew where to look and what buttons to push. Our arrival in Bangkok was last Wednesday after a flight cancellation and an overnight stay in San Francisco. Bangkok is amazing,confusing but great fun. We managed their sky train and subway again with the help of some great Thai, British and German people - you might say the world is with us! After 4 days in Bangkok where we enjoyed parks, temples, Khao San road and Chinatown, we discovered we needed to slow it down as we were exhausted. Our arrival in Hanoi 2 days ago has served to ground us and help us get into more of a pattern. Mornings - early - everyone goes to the park and lake for exercise so we have joined in. Yesterday at 6 am there was a laughter therapy group at the Li Thay To monument near the park and it was such fun.Although it was in Vietnamese we followed at the back of the group! We will be posting regularly now
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