Sa Pa - Where heaven meets earth

I had heard that far north Vietnam was beautiful, phrases like where heaven meets earth were being quoted left right and centre. It looked like a photographers dream so on our list it went.

The thought of arriving on an overnight train excited the kids. So all boxes were ticked, all family members catered for, which can be a challenge at times.

Let me give you a bit of background.

In a beautiful valley close to the Chinese border, Sapa is a former hill station built in 1922. History has not always been kind to Sapa, and the series of conflicts that swept over Vietnam nearly saw it wiped off the map. From WWII, successive wars against the French and the USA, not forgetting the more recent border skirmish with China in 1979, took their toll. The old hotels built by the French were allowed to fall into disrepair and Sapa was forgotten by all but a handful of residents. With the advent of tourism, Sapa has experienced a renaissance. Bad roads have been upgraded, many streets have been given names, countless new hotels have popped up, the electricity supply is reliable and the food has improved immeasurably. Inherent in all of this prosperity is cultural change for the Montagnards, many of whom are now well versed in the ways of the cash economy and are reaping the financial rewards of the tourism influx. The downside is a building boom that has seen one hotel after another raise the roof in a continual quest for better views. Height restrictions are rarely enforced and the Sapa skyline is changing for the worse. 

Morgan enjoying the scenery en route to the hotel

Traditional Dzao head dress

Another inconvenience that will not change is the weather. If you visit off-season, don’t forget your winter woollies. Not only is it cold (like 0°C), but winter brings fog and drizzle. Quite why the French alighted on this spot is difficult to comprehend: it must have been one of those rare clear days when the views are to die for. The chilly climate does have its advantages, however. The area boasts temperate-zone fruit trees bearing peaches and plums, and gardens for raising medicinal herbs. The dry season in Sapa lasts from around January to June. January and February are the coldest (and foggiest) months. From March to May the weather is often excellent, and the summer is warm despite the rains between June and August. The window from September to mid-December is a rewarding time to be in Sapa, though there is a bit of lingering rain at the start and the temperature dips by December.

Sapa would be of considerably less interest without the H’mong and Dzao people, the largest ethnic groups in the region. The billowing red headdresses of the Red Dzao are visible all over town, a surreal sight amid the accelerating development. The H’mong are more numerous and canny traders. Their villages may look medieval but most will have a mobile phone and an email address to stay in touch. Traditionally, they were the poorest of the poor, but have rapidly learnt the spirit of free enterprise. Most of the Montagnards have had little formal education and are illiterate, yet all the youngsters have a good command of English, French and a handful of other languages.

The view from our room, it does not get better than this !

We stayed at Sa Pa Eden Hotel, this 3 star property received great reviews not only for its location, but for its kind and friendly staff. The property definitely lived up to the reviews. The family room although simple in decore, was comfortable and our view was to die for. The hotel was at the beginning of the road to Cat Cat village, we enjoyed a half day walk down hill into the village, stopping to buy a traditional H'mong baby carrier along the way. Both Phoenix and I agree that it is super comfortable, no wonder the H'mong babies are happy to sleep all day while their mothers work either in the rice fields or guiding tourists along treks.

Morgan was most interested in the fresh produce at the markets, often wanting to look or touch for himself.

 The local market was a wonder to us, the kids especially. We would go buy fresh fruit each morning and the colorful and sometimes unusual produce was a great conversational point with the kids. The scenery was more than breath taking, the air was so clean and we found ourselves being far more active than we normally would be, trekking a few kilometers each day. There was always something to see and always a perfectly positioned cafe or restaurant to stop at to catch our breath and take in the view.

Absolutely magic.

Please feel free to leave us comments

Some people have stated that it is difficult to comment on our posts.

Let me give you some help.

Step 1:  Move your curser into the comment box, then type what you want to say.
Step 2:  Then go to the bottom of the comment section and select NAME / URL,
             in the COMMENT AS section.

Step 3:  Then you can either type your name or website details.

Step 4:  Press PUBLISH.

Hope that helps.

We love getting feedback on our posts. Keep them coming.

The way to Sa Pa

We had been looking forward to visiting the far north of Vietnam, Sa Pa in particular. Our previous trips to this amazing country had only taken us as far north as Halong Bay. Finally the time came to leave Hoi An and make the long journey to Sa Pa.

We traveled by car for an hour to Da Nang airport, there we took a one hour flight to Hanoi. Once we landed in Hanoi we needed to grab a taxi to the train station, for some reason I thought I had read this would take about 20 minutes. Forty five minutes later and we are still driving but the good thing was that both Phoenix and Morgan were now asleep.

We finally reached the train station. It was stinking hot, about 32 and it was now 6:30pm.

So with our four children, two of which were asleep and all our luggage we sit at the entrance of the train station not having a clue where we need to go. Joel opts to stay with the kids and bags while I head off to get some direction. Remembering that no one speaks English here, or at least not very well. We also do not find the people of vietnam to be very helpful to tourists in general. I know there are exceptions but with no signs in english  I was hopeful that I could find an exception here at the train station.

I went to an information counter and was waved off into another direction. I walked in that direction and a young male, about 20 years old came to me and said, "You need ticket". I said, "Yes I have a voucher for the Orient Express". He took my voucher from my hands and walked off, so I had little option by to follow. He brought me to the travel counter. I soon realised that he was trying to change my voucher to travel on another carriage provided by Lavitrans. I insisted that I wanted to travel with Orient Express and tried to get my voucher back.

The young boy then said, "Ok I'll help you - come with me" and off he walked again. All my instincts were screaming, get your voucher off this guy and get the hell out of here. But what was my alternative. He at least spoke English.

We walked fast, out of the train station entrance and onto the street but the male kept saying 'follow me'. I walked over to Joel and said that I'm not sure where to redeem the voucher but this guy said he would help. With a shrug of Joels' shoulders I knew that the decision lie with me. I really didn't know what to do but had to do something otherwise my family would be sleeping at the entrance to Hanoi Train Station for the night.

As I walked off to follow the male, Hamish shouted out that he wanted to come with me. Again not ideal but I had to get things done. So off we set. The male walked so fast, Hammy and I had a hard time keeping up with him. He stopped and lifted Hamish onto his back. Hamish smiled, he was use to asian people just picking him up without consent by now. We walked for ages and I really thought that this guy was leading us somewhere other than the Orient Express counter. I was doing my best to take in where we were walking in case I needing to return to Joel alone. We were walking on the road, motorcycles, cars and trucks within inches of us, the noise of horns and vehicles was deafening. There were people everywhere. Hanoi is crazy busy. Again all my instincts were screaming. This is wrong....

Anyway after about 10 minutes we reach what looks like another entrance to the train station, the male waves in a direction and said, "you get ticket over there, I wait here." Ok I walked in that direction and to my delight I see a small counter for Orient Express. It takes all of about 2 mins for the staff there to issue our train tickets. I return to the male who then takes the tickets from my hands, again I'm not happy with this. He walks to the entrance to the train station and hands over my tickets to the guard who punches them and we enter the train station.

At this point I start asking, 'My family..... I need to get my family" The male says 'yes, yes' but I'm not convinced he understands what I mean. We do not walk back in the direction we came. We are now walking on the train tracks inside the station. I start to worry that I'm not going to be able to find Joel and the kids from here. We walk for about 5 minutes in between train carriages and platforms. Then I see the area that we had started at, he had taken us via a short cut over the rail crossing. Phew....

I went out and got Joel and the kids, then this male helped carry of bags to platform 5 where the orient express carriage was boarding. Finally our beds awaited us. Seriously, if it was not for trusting this male against all my better judgement we would have NEVER found the Orient Express counter and NEVER made the train on time. Thank god I was able to find an exception to the rule, the best $10 I've spent all trip.

Georgia loving the top bunk of the overnight 'sleeper' train.

Space was at a premium. 4 beds with a narrow standing area in between. But we all slept like babies the whole 9 hour trip.

The kids settled into bed quickly and we all slept the whole nine hour trip to Sa Pa. We were woken by banging on our door to let us know that the train was approaching the Lai Ca stop. We were met by a transfer from SaPa Eden Hotel. This vehicle drove us the 45 minutes into the Sa Pa village. The most amazing landscape I have ever scene. Simply breath taking. We were greeted with smiles at this wonderful hotel. Although in was only 7am and our room was not yet ready they sent us up onto the rooftop cafe for breakfast. What a way to start the day ! And Sa Pa only got better from here. Will write a more detailed post about that shortly.

Airports Worlds Apart: KLIA - V- LCCT

It was my first time to Malaysia.

On landing at Kuala Lumpur International Airport (KLIA) I was overwhelmed. Not only by the responsibility of  traveling alone with the children for the first time but also as I had to navigate a foreign airport in search of a helpdesk to book an onward flight to Bangkok for our friend Nai. 

This challenge was met by little customer service, and a very overpriced Malaysian Airlines ticket.

After that we caught a bullet train to the baggage collection terminal. This train is contained within the shopping area of the airport and has trains leaving every 2.5 minutes.

The KLIA is a slick and shiny state of the art structure, full of designer shops and high end stores. After we collected our bags and said our goodbyes to Nai, it was time to make our way to our Hotel.

I thought it best to feed the children at the airport not knowing what was available at or nearby the hotel. We had a quick bite to eat then made our way to the exit doors of the airport, assuming taxis would be available outside. I was wrong. I needed to go back inside, a 500 meter walk to a taxi ticketing counter and purchase a taxi ticket. There I told them which hotel we needed transport too and they informed me of the price, which I paid to them and not the driver. I was then directed (and by that  I mean a wave of her arm) to the exit.

I walked back to the exit door. And stood in line, once I reached the front I was told I was in the wrong line, that I needed to go to exit 3 instead. Ok then, off we go, another 200 meters away I line up again. This time we reach a taxi who drives us to our hotel to await the arrival of Joel and Georgia.

I had done it. I had jumped thru all the hoops at KLIA and successfully traveled solo with 3 toddlers into a foreign country.

The following day we all traveled to the Low Cost Carrier Terminal (LCCT) for our onward flight to Vietnam. This terminal is for Air Asia flights and given that Kuala Lumpur is the hub for Air Asia this terminal is enormous. Basic and busy but utterly enormous. Think super large warehouse or shed like structure.

In strike contrast from KLIA. Apart from a few food outlets and a couple of basic shops there is nothing on offer at LCCT. The checking in area was much like a cattle yard, after checking in we walked to the lounge area and waited for our flight to board. The lounge was basic and very very crowded.

You really would think you were in two different countries when you compare these two airports which are only 20 minutes apart in reality.

World Vision Sponsor Child Visit

Joel and I have had the pleasure in sponsoring a wonderful boy from vietnam since 2003. We not only pledge the small amount of $50 per month to his village but we had the chance to visit with him and his family back in 2005. This was an absolutely amazing experience and we had been waiting for the children to get a little older so we could take them there to meet Hon.

Our children have grown with pictures of Hon in our home, writing to him and sending him small gifts at Christmas and birthdays. So not only were we keen to have our children finally meet Hon but we wanted to show them the conditions some children live in and impart on them how lucky they are to live in Australia and to appreciate all they have.

So from our hotel in Hoi An we were met by a world vision representative, in fact this man was the book keeper for world vision  project area in which Hon and his family lived. We traveled the one and a half hours from Da Nang to the remote province.

On our arrival Joel and I were shocked yet glad to see the development the province had made since our last visit. We met with some community leaders who greeted us before taking us to see Hon. WOW - this little boy had grown into a handsome young man.

We spoke with Hon and his father as best we could via an interpreter. Hon was encouraged to speak to us in English which he did a little but he was not confident and a little embarrassed to do so. He was such a sweet boy. He held Phoenix and Hamish and gave them cuddles. Morgan was a little reserved as usual and stayed with Mum and watched on.

Hamish was thrilled to be able to give to Hon and his teacher all the drawings and pictures that his prep class had drawn as gifts. Hon looked and spoke with Hamish about these pictures for a while. It was gorgeous to watch, Hamish had a huge smile on his face the entire time.

Georgia was super keen to play some soccer with Hon. We had bought with us some sports equipment for the local community to use. Several soccer balls, footballs and tennis racquets and balls. Soon we all went out to the front grassed area and the kids had an awesome time kicking the ball around with Hon. It was great that Georgia was able to get the chance to do this with Hon, as we had talked so often about what that would be like. She was in her element.

We spoke some more with Hon and was glad to hear that it is his wish to study at university to gain as much qualification he can to enable him to get a good job to support himself and his family. This young man was so thankful to us for our sponsorship and on going support to him. We agreed to stay in contact even after the World Vision work is complete in his province in 18 months time. We arranged for the intrepreter who works for World Vision to pass to Hon any direct emails we send him and he will return Hon's replies to us.

Our visit was far too short but very valuable indeed. I believe the children came away with all the things we had hoped they would. We not only have the memories of this visit but some awesome photographs as well.

After our visit with Hon we were able to see some of the other great projects that World Vision had implemented since we were there last. We visited a daycare that was built and is funded by World Vision. This centre allows parents to work in the field or farms without the need for taking their babies or small children along with them. They are able to be more productive and the children are safer. While here the children learn nursery rhythms and learn through play. Our children gave some gifts to the daycare and loved listening to the village children sing for us. Phoenix (our social butterfly) made himself at home and was the star attraction.

Our Hoi An Hospital Experience

Hamish had been complaining of an ear ache for a few days. A common complaint by children who swim in the not so clean waters of Bali.

We had hoped that if he refrained from swimming that it would pass quickly. Unfortunately this was not the case. As we arrived at Hoi An, Vietnam he was in alot of pain and we noticed some redness and swelling to the back of his ear. We had recently met a little boy who had a severe ear infection from bali waters so we were keen to get on top of this condition before it got too bad.

I asked the receptionist at our resort if there was a medical centre nearby. She asked what was wrong and I told here. She then made two phone calls. One to the local hospital and one to a taxi. She confirmed that Dr. Quang was on duty and that he was excellent with children. So flying blind and not knowing where we were going, we headed off in a taxi for the short ride to the Pacific Hospital.

On arrival, it was like stepping into a 1950's hospital or at least how I imagine they looked back then based on the movies of that time. The place was antiquated, yet clean and functional. The nurses worn blue uniforms with a white apron and white triangular hat. Maybe this is why it felt so 1950's. I had to hide my giggles when I approached the head nurse.

She was expecting us and asked if we were from the Vinh Hung Riverside Resort and I confirmed. She then gave me some paperwork to complete and walked off. A few minutes later, a neatly dressed, well spoken doctor appeared. He introduced himself and read through my paperwork. Soon he showed us to an examination room. I was surprised to see the equipment he was ready to use. Not only did he use the standard, ear light and magnification device that we are accustom to but he then used a microscopic camera to look inside the eardrum with the image appearing on a nearby computer screen.

Dr Quang took great care in explaining the condition and was very detailed in his treatment plan. He then asked the nurse to fetch the medication for us. He explained what I was to do for the next 5 days and then showed us to the cashier. $65 USD for consultation and medication.

We were in and out in about 10 mins.

Overall I was very impressed with the level of care we received. The treatment took affect within 2 days and Hamish was back to his happy healthy self.

If vietnam is a third world country, their medical system and level of care certainly is not.

A day out with a French photographer in Hoi An

When I was in Hoi An, Vietnam, I booked a photo tour with French Photographer Etienne Bossot. He is a local photographer living in Hoi An and has great knowledge of Hoi An. His connection with the local community made it a great morning. His tour catered for all levels of photographers and was delivered in a relaxed nature. Hopefully I will meet up with Etienne in Laos later in the year! If you are heading to Hoi An I strongly recommend taking this tour. www.hoianphototour.com

This is a photo of Etienne chatting with local. This man runs an ice making business which he allowed us to go and look at.

The Craftsman - he makes all the cane products for the village. His hands were like stone.

Fishing lady was happy to pose for a few minutes before getting back to work

These bamboo boats are all made by the man in the first image.

There was a lot of activity around the fishing wharfs. However there was a break in the kaos and I caught this lady riding towards me. 

The Craftsman - His face and ands well worn.

I got low in the water for this shot and was able to freeze the water being splashed. 

Sea snake

Woman shovelling freshly crushed ice into buckets of fish which are loaded directly onto a waiting truck

Village kids resting in their backyard. Fishing village life...