Our time in Vietnam was limited due to having to return to Bangkok for Rico’s follow up tests and then the ‘World Schoolers’  summit in Chiang Mai. With this in mind our trip had to be planned with expert precision and Becky did exactly that. From Hanoi we did a couple of 2 days trips to surrounding areas. The staff at our hostel in Hanoi were super helpful and we opted to trust and book through them rather than shop around the many other outlets selling tours.

HALONG BAY

First up was  a 2 day 1 night trip to the UNESCO  heritage site of Halong bay. We boarded a coach  with a few other couples of varying ages, but unfortunately no other families. Our guide was fantastic from the get go. A 19 year old Vietnamese women who was a part time guide to further her English speaking and also to make some money to fund her studies. Not only was her English very good, her level of banter was fantastic and she had properly embraced the ‘wind up, mickey taking’ sense of humour  side of the language which seems to be lost on a lot of people. We warmed to her instantly and had a lot of fun over the ensuing couple of days.

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The ‘junk boat’ we boarded was very civilised and plush. The kids thought they were on a modern day Titanic, albeit much much smaller! The time on the boat was spent cruising around the magnificent bay, kayaking , a spot of embarrassing karaoke, a lot of eating and just chilling. Well worth a look and the kids especially loved it.

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SAPA

After the bus trip back to Hanoi, we had a few hours back at our hotel to unpack and repack and then  one last venture into the crazy city to have a quick bite and a beer before boarding the sleeper bus to Sapa, a journey we were all looking forward to.

Sleeper buses are quite common in Vietnam. They aren’t the most luxurious or cleanest but we were hardened to roughing it, but some might not have endured a journey on one.  Upon boarding we were given plastic bags to put our shoes in and then had to find a seat. Berths were on two tiers, and arranged in singles on the outside, doubles in the middle of the bus and then a triple at the back. Becky and the kids took a triple and I took a double close to them. As the bus filled up my eyes scoured for the young blonde Swedish backpacker that would be occupying the vacant seat next to me, but a young local man took her place!

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We drove through the night with one bathroom stop, and arrived in the cool night air of Sapa at about 4 a.m. The  vociferous  driver ordered us to sleep on the bus until dawn and we weren’t going to argue! A hotel rep collected us from the coach and after breakfast a local guide picked up a group from our hotel and we set off on our trek. The weather was completely alien to us – cool and heavy rain. Our hotel had loaned us some gum boots and we were extremely thankful when we trudged though some thick mud and watched some young girls form another group slide about an wreck their not so sparkly white Stan Smiths….not ideal trekking footwear!

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The trek took us through some amazing mountain terrain, traversing immaculate tiered rice paddies, and bamboo forests with great vistas on display throughout. Our guide was a 20 year old Vietnamese lady from the area and her insights into local  life were fascinating. The most bizarre story was the courting ritual, if you can call it that, of ‘kidnapping’ which was slightly akin to the gypsy’s ‘grabbing’.

‘Traditionally, when a boy wants to marry a girl, he will make his intentions clear, and will “rob” her during day light or night at any opportunity that is appropriate. This is traditionally only a symbolic kidnapping.

Before kidnapping her, the boy must first give a gift to the girl whom he wants to marry. After a couple of days, the boy can then kidnap the girl. If the boy has never given a gift to the girl, she is allowed to refuse and go back home with any family member who comes to save her.’

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We stayed overnight in a homestay and were treated to a home cooked meal by our hosts who also brought out some local firewater which livened up the evening. The following day’s trek brought us back to where we had started. A freshen up in the hotel and then a meander into town. Rico and I managed to join in with a kick about with some boys in the local square, and then we were treated to a full on parade, in honour of Harvest festival comprising of numerous multicoloured floats and singing and dancing in the street – a fitting end to our little sojourn in Sapa, before another sleeper bus back to Hanoi.

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