holiday continued

December 27-29
Left Sapa on a cool rainy day.  Took a 'sleeper' bus back to Hanoi.

Sleeper buses have 3 rows of single seats which recline completely. You are given a blanket, you need to take off your shoes as you enter the bus.  The aisle is so narrow that the width of my shoulders barely lets me navigate to me seat.  There is another row above you as well.  Quite an operation but once you squeeze yourself into this seat, it is pretty comfortable.  It was a 6 hour ride back to Hanoi with numerous quick stops along the way to pick up/drop off local passengers. We are staying in a very luxurious hotel to finish off the holiday .  Good thing since we are both struggling with a cold.  We are in the French district and our little walks are enjoyable and comfortable in 15 - 18 degree weather.

Opera Building. 

The women here really enjoy having their photos taken every chance they get.  They really know how to strike a pose.  This group was leaving the Hilton hotel -  probably a girl's night out.  We found a Tapas restaurant behind the opera house.

We ordered - Pinot Noir wine, crab cakes in a red pepper coulis, falafel with yogurt sauce and the best item - a duck confit deep fried spring role with a mango chutney.  For dessert - a rhubarb meringue tart.  

Fansipan

December 25th
Another clear, cold day and we decided to go up Fansipan mountain - the highest peak in Vietnam (3,000+ metres).  The cable car only opened last year.  They offer treks up the mountain as well with an overnight stop along the way.

The rice terraces below.

We were lucky that it was clear since this mountain and area is often fogged in.

We read that another typhoon is hitting the south of Vietnam and Saigon is getting very heavy rains and strong winds.  Glad we headed north.

Ended our day with dinner at a small restaurant - Little Gecko.  I sat next to a pot belly wood stove.  Every table had a tall white taper.  After we attended a Christmas Mass and listened to some Vietnamese and English Christmas carols. A beautiful end to a lovely day.

Christmas in Sapa

December 24-25th

This little town is is a bustling place right up until the wee hours.  Everyone comes out - young and older and eats, shops and visits.

Waiting for my capacino and soaking up the 12 degree sunshine.  (Arm in a sling due to a shoulder injury :(

A plastic stool, BBQ food and lots of company.

The Square by the church was packed with folks playing various games.  There were people dancing as well.  Some very fancy steps to a variety of classic dances.

The hotel offered gifts to all guests.  We opened ours in the morning - a pair of wool gloves, a little bird ornament and a box of ginger tea- perfect.

Sunrise Christmas morning.

Christmas Eve

December 24th
We left Hanoi by 3:45 (a bit later than scheduled).  The driver of our luxury van could not find the location of the other passengers and so we circled the city for about another hour.  We finally got on the newly built and beautiful high way to Sapa.  We arrived around 11pm and once again the driver could not find the various hotels for the passengers. Finally Frank jumped in the front next to the driver to help him with the use of our mapping but he kept waving Frank off and more or less told him to leave him alone.  We made it around midnight.  and it is cold here.

Our lunch in Hanoi before leaving

Our evening stroll in Hanoi

picking up some Christmas oranges

The hotel in Sapa is an older building with some charm.  We woke up to some fog and temps around 5 degrees.

Morning view from our room.

The local women still wear traditional clothing each day - even the young folks.  

caves and more

December 17-19

By late afternoon we arrived at the Serene Palace Hotel in Hue.  It is a rainy and cool evening.  We took a short walk and enjoyed a meal at the hotel.  Their Pho is very good.  The next morning we planned to visit the Citadel - the Imperial City, a World Heritage site.  We left in the rain which became very heavy.  After 30 minutes are shoes were squishing water and we gave up going and returned to our apartment.

The alley where the hotel is located.

We did stop for lunch at a French Bistro to warm up and watch everyone coping with the weather.  Hot chocolate and a croissant was my lunch which helped me forget my soaking wet feet.  The next day was to be wet again and so we decided to visit some famous caves since it does not rain in a cave.    

As it turned out, it was not as wet as predicted.  The drive there was very long - for me anyway.  4 hours there and another 5 back.  These were some of the largest caves in Asia.  The height inside at times reached 72 meters and about 150 meters wide.  Very impressive.  Paradise Cave stretches for 31 km and you can book a tour and camp overnight for a few days.  We did the 1 km walk.

Our first cave required a boat trip for about 30 minutes and then it took you through a large part of the cave before docking and letting you walk out for a bit.

It was another hour to get to the next cave - Paradise Cave.  We had to do a hike up the mountain to get to the opening.  We were lucky with the weather and I was enjoying the cooler air.

View from our walk up the mountain.  The next day it was warm and sunny and so we headed off to the Citadel.  It is not really old - 19th century and it suffered a lot of damage during the war.  

Since it was our last day, we had dinner in town.  We found a little family run restaurant - The Mandarin.  The owner is an accomplished photographer.  Frank could not resist asking him about his cameras.

Frank and Mr Cu discussing lenses.  We purchased a calendar with some of his work.  The food was simple but very delicious.   Tomorrow, we fly to Hanoi.

On the 'Hue'

Dec. 16, 2017

First day of the holidays.  We caught a 9:30 am flight to Da Nang - a one hour flight.  It is a cloudy/rainy day.  In DaNang, we were met by our driver who drove us to Hue (pronounced way). Now you get my joke in the title.
Hue is about 800km north of Saigon and already there is a noticeable difference in temperature -cooler.  The drive is a stunning road crisscrossing over a mountain range.  The Hai Van Pass.

The driver stopped a few times to let us enjoy the views.  We were lucky that the rain stopped whenever we were out.

You can see the winding road ahead.

Man on a mission.

We stopped for lunch at a lagoon - rice and spring rolls with a fresh lemon drink.

We arrived at the Serene Palace Hotel and were greeted with a plate of fresh fruit and juice.  We have a lovely room with a balcony overlooking the narrow alley way and local dwellings.  We are a 5 minute walk to the river and the markets.  Price of the room is $55US/night which includes breakfast. 

backpacker beach town

December 2-3, 2017

We decided to visit a beach town we enjoy - Mui Ne.  We arrived Friday night via a personal driver.  We usually stay with a couple who have become friends and they own Grace Boutique hotel.  They have decided on building an addition and to our disappointment were not yet ready to open for business.  We found a different location - elegant and not busy but it is no Grace.

The best part of our spacious room was the shower room.  It was the size of regular room, including a garden and it was au plien air.

Saturday afternoon we went into the town and Frank decided we should drop in on our friends at Grace.  It is not my style.  As we entered the gate, we saw them sitting on their patio.  I sheepishly stood behind Frank and when they saw us they were thrilled and genuinely delighted to see us.  We got a tour of the renovations and invited to sit and visit.  They then insisted on sharing their Christmas bottle of wine - and we watched the sun set.  

The next morning before heading home, we again went into town since the hotel where we were staying served horrible coffee.  Found a great coffee spot and watched the surfer dudes cruising the strip.