Day 1 Thursday April 2
Kehren kindly drove us to the airport and we took off for Paris in an Etiad Dreamliner at 3.55pm, stopping over in Abu Dhabi and arriving in Paris 24 hours later.
Day 2 Friday April 27
It was an easy walk all within the Charles de Gaulle airport to get to the embedded train station. Stephen had a few anxious conversations with the railway staff to ensure that the widespread train strikes had not interfered with our trip. After a delicious baguette, we caught the 11.19 train to St Pierre des Cors, changed trains successfully and travelled down to Nevers.
At Nevers Station, we needed our friends translation to extract our prepaid tickets from the automated ticket machines, and then understand the SIM card deal offered by the helpful, but French speaking Orange telecom assistant. At last we were in the car speeding(!) towards Champlemy. The spring has definitely sprung here in the France country side as we delighted in the beautiful fields of yellow rape, green wheat and brown fallow edged with lush forests with luxuriant undergrowth.
Inside our friend's charming and ancient farmhouse on the edge of Champlemy, we continued our French immersion with a glass of wine on the back terrace. Soon our friend came home from work and champagne was needed to celebrate the reunion of old friend from across world and across the decades of separation. Luckily, our friends have a very large cellar that he generously shares ! A beautiful meal of local duck with an apple and quince puree and a simple lettuce salad. We skipped the cheeses as we were tired and went straight to dessert - a yummy cold fruit crumble. More red wine and at about 11pm we were in bed exhausted and very contented.
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Showing posts with label travel. Show all posts
Travel Journal 2017 Vietnam: SaPa - HaLong Bay - Hanoi - HoiAn
Google Map of Locations Visited:
Hanoi
SaPa
Ha Long Bay
Hoi An
Day 1 Thursday 16th Nov 2017
On Tuesday, Stephen was reviewing plans and realised that he had made the mistake of thinking of "1am Thursday" as "very LATE on Thursday night", rather than very EARLY on Thursday morning !
Lots of last minute re-arrangements: cancelled dinners with friends; delivered a dresser we had sold on eBay so the buyer can pick it up; farewelled and escalated pace of packing !
We departed on Singapore Airlines. The 8 hour flight into Changi airport was very comfortable and we purchased the usual duty free gin during our 2 hour stopover and then had a 3 hour 40 minute flight to Hanoi.
Caught a taxi to our hotel, Hanoi Guest House Royal, about a 40 minute ride from the airport.
The sense of entering into a foreign land was similar to landing in Kolkata, but there were many differences: less poverty, less pollution, people busy compared to Indian passivity, few beggars and homeless and fewer but healthier dogs. The Vietnamese that we meet superficially as tourists are helpful, honest and guileless compared to our Indian experiences. Perhaps this is an outcome of the relative affluence and optimism here. They look healthy and trim. Not many smokers. Even the tourists seem different. We saw very few obese travellers - a different clientele than Germany for instance !
Motor bikes dominate the streets, lined by stalls and thin, tall architecturally interesting colonial buildings. Many mature trees as well as street side rows of recent plantings all supported by triangular pyramids for protection against the typhoon winds.
Our hotel reminded of us of our experience in Athens - a small thin 7 floor building with lift only to the 6th floor - of course we were on the top floor ! Where else ! A tiny balcony in this modern 2 year old building overlooked the hustle and bustle of the "old quarter" of the city and the freeways in the near distance. We settle down into the gaudy luxury of the Louis XIV decor! The marble tiles throughout perfectly amplified Stephen’s “el-cheapo” but comfortable squeaky walking shoes.
Setting off for our first walk, we had been forewarned of the terror of crossing the chaotic motorbike saturated roads. Initially, it took us minutes to decide when to make the determined and steady crossing. Uncertainty or change in pace or direction is the recipe for disaster. Gradually, learning the skills for street survival, we visited at the "Hanoi Traditional House", a 19th century home showcasing Vietnamese architecture and building techniques. On to the Hoàn Kiếm Lake and across the red Húc Bridge to the Jade Island and into the Temple of the Jade Mountain (Ngoc Son Temple).
After crossing the huge roundabout in Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square, we walked up the stairs to the Cong Bar for a drink and a view over the lake. All the decor in this bar relates to the Viet Cong and it was filled with fashionable young Vietnamese. Lib had her first beer in about 20 years as this was the only fare !
Walking round the lake, we enjoyed the breeze that alleviated the heat and humidity. The activities around the lake - families relaxing, shuttlecock and ball games, exercise groups, etc. make an impression not unlike Sunday around Albert Park Lake, Melbourne. In the middle of the lake is a tiny intriguing island dominated by a ruin - Turtle Tower.
We are frequently encountering places where there is little substantiated historical detail available in english. The Vietnamese will tell fanciful stories but seem not to distinguish them from historical fact. The lake and the tower are associated with legends about a magic turtle and sword that helped a real person, Lê Lợi expel the Chinese from Vietnam in the 1400's.
Dinner at the Lantern Dorm and then home to bath/shower and bed. A big day, Melbourne to Hanoi !
Day 2 Friday 17th November 2017
As we are returning guests, the hotel were happy to open breakfast early, so that we could enjoy scrambled eggs and fresh fruit, before being picked up by a minibus at 6.45am that connected us to the air conditioned and comfortable Sapa Express coach. We left Hanoi as the stalls began to setup and thousands of motorbikes began to surge into town. Cars are in the minority here and push bikes are rare and tend to have elderly riders.
A couple of hours later, the bus delivered us to Trạm dừng nghỉ, a isolated toilet/ breakfast stop in the hope of milking us of some impulse buying money. We drove past paddy fields surrounded by banana palms, sugar cane and many other tropical plants. After 3 hours we began the hill climb and the road narrowed (although it was a much safer road system than in Darjeeling and far less scary !). We saw evidence of landslides and road damage due to the recent cyclone. The temperature dropped as we reached Sapa, 3000m high in the mountains, uncomfortably close (20km) to the north west border with China.
We caught a taxi to The Victoria Sapa Resort and Spa, our new home for 3 nights. Realising Stephen had left his beloved faux manila safari hat in the bus, we quickly freshened up and caught a taxi to the Bus office and asked them to contact the bus driver.
We were in a good weather window - the mountains were clearly visible and the sun occasionally shone - so we grabbed a cab to take us to Fansipan Cable Car, a 6282m-long trip crossing the Muong Hoa Valley and flew to the summit of Fansipan in 15 minutes. It was VERY scary and exciting. The ride was relatively smooth as it crossed the wide valley at the bottom of it's arc, but as the cable became steeper and steeper climbing the mountain, the wind at altitude became stronger, the car began to sway 20 or 30 degrees side to side, which even Stephen found terrifying - despite reading that the whole system had been designed by Germans !
After disembarking into the huge new modern mountaintop reception/ restaurant complex, there was an additional funicular that we decided to use avoiding the 600 step ascent to the top.
At the top, there was a very chilly wind but the spectacle was amazing ! Wonderful views of the valleys in every direction were revealed, then hidden as the clouds from the south were blown over the peak. To the south, we were literally gazing down on the cloud layer as it passed. At 3100m, we were on top of Vietnam’s highest mountain (Victoria's Kosciusko is 2,200m). The mountain top complex is stunningly ambitious, huge and beautifully designed. Despite the communist party, it even incorporates a number of Buddhist temples.
After a relaxing coffee in a luxurious and spacious restaurant overlooking the valley, we collected our nerve and took the cable home (Stephen’s quote “An opportunity to worry that must not be missed !).
Back in SaPa we retrieved Stephen's hat from the bus company and returned to our hotel in time for "Happy Hour" negroni's.
In newly enhanced mood, we walked down into town and chose a Lonely Planet restaurant, Little Sapa Restaurant for dinner. As we walked back, we noticed a road being closed to traffic to allow local stall holders could set up their goods. We stayed and enjoyed browsing the stalls and shops and observing the locals and their children. Sapa town square contains an amphitheatre that was abuzz with teenagers playing with shuttlecocks and very young children dancing in traditional costumes for money.
Back at the hotel, Libby ended a fabulous day with a swim and a sauna at the resort spa and pool rather inconveniently located 200 meters up the hill.
Day 3 Saturday 18th of November 2017
The day began with a vindication for rushing to Fansipan peak as SaPa was in a dense mist which everyone calls "cloud". No mountain views today ! Nevertheless, the temperature was warm and humid.
We got up at 5.30am and walked into town and around the lake to the Sapa market, a purpose-built modern building near the bus station. The outdoor area was already a hive of activity with beautiful displays of fresh produce alongside slaughtered animal carcasses. Not for the squeamish! Lib bought 500 gms of roasted chestnuts. Delicious.
Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast banquet including the usual a la carte omelettes and unlimited bacon ! To wear off some of the excess consumption, we walked 3km down the mountain along a winding road into the nearest village, Cat Cat. The entrance fee allowed us to walk along a long circuit of picturesque tourist traps in the growing heat and humidity. To return back up to SaPa we decided to ring the same driver as had taken us to Fansipan.
Returning to SaPa market building, we expecting it to filled by now with commercial activity but found the modern indoor section of this new building ignored by the locals and the outside section beginning to shut down.
We walked home around the lake, picking up some items for lunch and munch before returning home for a rest. We had done 10000m by 11 am !
At 3pm, our reliable taxi driver collected us and drove 15 km north of Sapa towards Lai Châu to the Tram Ton Pass on the northern side of Fansipan. The mountain drive was slow and busy with many large trucks feeding the rampant construction everywhere. Quarries, cement works, excavating machinery, smoke, dust and haze.
At 1900m, Tram Ton Pass is Vietnam’s highest mountain pass, and acts as a dividing line between two weather fronts. Today, we could barely see the mountains. We misguidedly bought a pass to walk down to the Love Waterfall and, after hundreds of descending steps, decided that the whole experience was less than spectacular so we walked back up to the taxi. Our driver awoke and pointed to another set of ascending steep steps ! Stephen's exasperation and going down to the falls, turned into commitment as he can never resist an upward path. We enjoyed the limited and rather cloudy views form the Tram Ton Pass bell tower in the middle of the bush.
Driving back, we photographed the Silver Waterfall.
Home to rest before dinner at our hotel with the local Hmong people entertaining us with dances and musical pieces.
By bedtime we’d done 22000 steps. No wonder Lib was tired !
Day 4 Sunday 19th of November 2017
Enjoyed another great breakfast and then dropped our washing off at a local laundry that charges $1 per kilogram ! We enjoyed a quiet, restful day, partly due to rain and a heavy mist that shrouded the whole town. Rested, messaged the kids, wrote and read all afternoon. Very relaxing. It felt like a snow village but without the chill factor !
Visited the local church and SaPa Museum.
Libby ventured out again to purchase a better backpack for Stephen and tried her first pho for lunch, very tasty, clean and fresh.
The heavy mist adds a degree of difficulty to road crossing which we had not encountered in Hanoi. Scary.
After our afternoon "G and T"'s, we walked into town though the fog to the Catholic Church where a large number of young people were participating in a service that felt more like choir practice. We sang along to the Vietnamese cue screens for about 30 minutes and then crossed the road to dinner at The Gecko. Delicious sizzling beef and a lemongrass chicken stir fry.
Found an ATM and then booked a guided walking tour to a remote village tomorrow through the SaPa Sisters.
Day 5 Monday 20th of November 2017
Woke up again to another white out - cool, drizzling and low fog ! After breakfast we packed up and stored our suitcases and at 9 am our driver and guide from the Sapa Sisters collected us for our walking tour. The Sapa Sisters is a trekking company recommended by Lonely Planet for its employment and support of local women. Giang (Zang) our guide is 25 year old and an ethnic Red Zao/Dao. She is also a cheerful and committed single mother with a 6 year old daughter.
There are six ethnic groups living together in the Sapa district with total population of 52,899 (2009). The Hmong are 51,65%, the Dao 23.04%, the Kinh 17.95%, the Tay 4.745%, the Giay 1.36% and the Phu La 1.06%. The Hmong are divided into three main groups : Lenh Hmong, black Hmong and Do Hmong who live mainly in the villages of Sapa; Hau Thao, San Xa Ho, Lao Chai, Ta Giang Phinh. Sapa ethnic communities work at maintaining their identity through customs and traditions. Giang seemed to feel that the lowland Vietnamese were almost as different to her as the Chinese.
We drove south from Sapa for about 20 minutes down the Flower Valley and the mist dispersed more and more as we descended. We past above the townships of Lao Chai (Mong) and Ta Van (Zao) on the way to Bản Dền.
Trekking through villages is integrated into the tourist infrastructure with concrete roads and walking paths through villages which charge every tourist for entry. In this northern area of Vietnam, farmers can only grow one rice crop per year compared to the possibility of 3 crops down in the lowlands. Corn is grown on the steepest slopes along with many other vegetables.
Reaching Hầu Thào, we across bridges; past the Cau May Waterfall; through rice fields, up and down hills and arrived at Giang’s mother’s house. She lived in a big, spacious and relatively new shed in traditional design but with modern building materials. The owners of the power station in the valley had built her a new home as compensation for taking over some of her farming land and, soon after our visit, flooding the valley. When we arrived, she was collecting veggies. She was about the same age as we are, but had endured so much more than we could imagine (just read some Vietnamese history). Some of this wear and tear was apparent in her face and body. Her husband died years ago. We bought a small piece of her work and had some soup as we talked with Giang translating.
Walking up the hill to TL142, we re-joined our driver who took us to Ho Village, Bản Dền where, up a winding track, was the homestay Vàng Kim Sìn, where a woman prepared us a delicious chicken and rice noodle soup - so fresh and gingery with chilli and lemon grass. The conical leaf hats worn by men and women farmers are called non-la.
We set off again on foot along the valley scattered with primitive dwellings. Across the Cầu Treo Bản Hồ suspension bridge, up to the Spring of Life waterfall and dodging mud pools and weaving among rice banks as the chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, buffalo, and children gazed at us with nonchalant amusement we crossed a second suspension bridge. The last leg was up a punishing steep hill to the remote heritage village of Nậm Toóng School where an official told to get of the property! The town looked impressively primitive.
We then followed the contours of the paddy embankments with wonderful views across a valley of paddy fields and looped back to the north east to meet our driver on the DT152 road. Sooo many steps ! We drove home in a very heavy fog. The driver, like his passengers, was focussed on protecting his smart car against collisions with wild drivers passing us all the way !
The trek was one of those “great to be alive” days - everything we had hoped for - a walking tour through rural Vietnam, exploring the rice paddies, remote villages and their tribespeople. We felt so lucky that our young guide had good english and was so open and welcoming.
Home by 4.45 pm exhausted and dirty, we showered up in the Spa centre. Libby went out for her last shop in the darkness of the snow village and fell over a row of metal poles ! Her excursion must have had bad karma as the selected shop wouldn’t take her visa card anyway. Met Stephen at Viet Emotion 2 restaurant where we dined last night. Despite the repetition, we had a few wines and two delicious meals.
20 minutes before we left SaPa, Libby finally stopped procrastinating and bought a lovely Gore-tex jacket. The Victoria shuttle bus arrived and 1 1/4 hours later, at Ga Lào Cai station, we boarded the Victoria Luxury train carriage. The “deluxe” cabin had two single beds with clean bedding and a fold down table. Changed into our pj’s, had a drink and hit the sack. Ear plugs supplied and boy did we need them ! Big day. 22000 steps !
Day 6 Tuesday 21st of November 2017
Oh what a night train ride it was ! Lib took hours to get to sleep on a very narrow hard bed. The train rocked up and down rather than side to side, aircon blasting with no controls. It was actually inferior to our Indian experience which costed 100 times less ! One thing that would not happen in India was the cup of tea and croissant that was delivered to our cabin at 5am.
At daybreak, we exited into Hanoi and found our way to the Mango Hotel where we waited just over an hour for the shuttle service to Halong Bay. The breakfast was very suss. Stephen would not touch any food and Lib doubled the Travelan gastro preventative tablets !
At last the shuttle bus arrived and we left Hanoi to the sight of all the locals eating pho on low plastic stools. The 3 hour drive was again reminiscent of India as we left a bustling city and drove on varying road surfaces, continual construction, across flat land with paddy fields and through small villages, market gardens along river banks. Occassionally, there would be unmistakable signs of colonial legacy such as a beautiful church like Từ Phong parish church
Another toilet stop at a touristy trap in Thanh Dong Jewelry. Expensive merchandise but a clean toilet ! One of our fellow passengers was an Australian semi-celebrity - Rory Sloane, a footballer for the Adelaide Crows who was recovering from losing the AFL Grand Final only weeks ago !
At last, we reached the outskirts of sprawling Halong City with its dowdy high-rise buildings. We turned south before reaching the city over a bridge onto Tuan Chau Island (Đảo = Island) full of finished and unfinished new office and residential buildings.
Soon the staff of Aphrodite Cruises pronounced the ship was ready for passengers.
Halong bay is a World Heritage site of about 2000 islands, comprised of thousands of limestone karsts that poke out of the sea in a myriad of shapes and sizes. Erosion and water have eroded them into spectacular grottoes, pillars some topped by forest. Halong translates as 'where the dragon descends into the sea' and legend tells that this mystical seascape was created when a great mountain dragon charged towards the coast, its flailing tail gouging out valleys and crevasses. As the creature plunged into the sea, the area filled with water leaving only the pinnacles visible. The geological explanation of karst erosion may be more prosaic, but doesn't make this seascape any less poetic.
We had selected the Aphrodite on the recommendation from Lyndy Telfer, for our 3 day 2 night cruise of Halong Bay. Our cabin, 210, on the 2nd floor was beautiful with windows to the side and front as well as a private balcony. After a jokey safety talk from the compare/ head steward, we enjoyed a delicious 4 course lunch in the dining room accompanied by a bottle of wine !
Then we boarded a wooden boat and visited Luon Cave which was more like a tunnel leading to a small lake surrounded by steep high rock faces.
We celebrated our happy holiday with the complimentary bubbly in our room before Libby went to the spring roll cooking demonstration.
Dinner was at 7pm and very yummy. An early night partly because there is no wifi !
Day 7 Wednesday 22nd of November 2017
After a lovely breakfast, we boarded a tender and spent the day with the 6 other "2-night cruise" passengers. The tender discharged us onto a wooden boat in which we visited the Cua Van Floating Village. We were rowed slowly around the very modest homes in this sheltered location surrounded by very high rocky outcrops. The villagers farm fish which are caught offshore and fattened up in netted enclosures. The Cua Van Cultural Centre Museum and school rooms illustrated the strange lifestyle of these villages.
There was no let up on the food quantity or quality. We enjoyed a 5 course lunch, making our own grilled fish spring rolls, tasty pork wrapped in green leaves, prawns, cheesy cooked muscles and spicy cooked oysters, followed by pork in a tomato sauce with rice and bok choy and finally fresh fruit !!!
After lunch Scottie, Mitch, (Brisbane boys) Alan, Rosamind (Vancourvians) and I took off in kayaks with our guide Ming to Trinh Nu Cave which had been used as a location for a film "Kong, Scull Island". Stephen stayed on the boat as he was concerned about security and didn’t want to leave his phone or our documents unattended. He enjoyed listening to classical music while we clambered through the wonderful limestone cave with glimmering rock faces and stalactites, giggling and laughing all the way. This was followed by 40 minutes of free kayaking time. The Canadians said they wanted to paddle around the island and Ming said that would be fine … WRONG ! She thought they meant just paddle around a closest small island but they turned left. The only way back from that route was a 20km row !!! Off they went and I followed for about 15 minutes but the coves were deceiving so I got a bit anxious and turned back choosing to follow Mitch and Scottie. Everyone except the Canadians made it back to the boat in time. Ming, our guide, was worried about the Canadians as well as her employment prospects ! Eventually the Canadians returned. They had rowed flat out for over 40 minutes, realised the island was huge, pulled up beside a big tour boat and asked them to contact Aphrodite who sent a tender to pick them up !
We all arrived home safely, an hour late and not together but all was well. Had G and T's in our room prior to Libby attending another spring roll making class with coconut wine followed by dinner, 5 courses ! We now expect no less ! Sat on a table of 6 swapping stories with our fellow kayaking survivors !
Day 8 Thursday 23rd of November 2017
An early light breakfast and then on to the tender for a short ride to the Sung Sot (Surprise) Cave that was discovered in 1901. This feature is being rapidly developed for mass tourist visitation. We walked up the stairs cut into the cliff and walked through three huge chambers inside the karsk. The guide book: “The popular Hang Sung Sot has three vast chambers; in the second there’s a pink-lit rock phallus unsurprisingly regarded as a fertility symbol." Even less surprisingly, some guides refer to it as the ‘Cock Rock’ “.
Home to Aphrodite for the main breakfast/light lunch (Ahhh, Stephen thought he'd missed something) and then farewells as we cruised back to Halong Bay and its tawdry quay.
Waited for our mini bus and then endured an excruciatingly long drive back to Hanoi with one toilet break and constant road works - at one point we were stationary for about 25 minutes.
Arrived at our Hanoi Guest House Royal at about 5.45, rested and then walked to a restaurant that the Canadian’s daughter had recommended called Bun Bo Nam Bo. Walked in and by the time we’d sat down, 2 bowls of delicious beef and noodles had arrived ! Did we order that ? It was delicious. With a beer it added up to about $9. Coffee on the way home, bath and crash !
Day 9 Friday 24th of November 2017
At 9 am, Trang, the voluntary guide that Stephen had booked online from Australia arrived at our hotel. Stephen explained to this well spoken 20 year old university student what we hoped to see, and she was well informed and charming.
She took us walking past the oldest gate in Hanoi, Quan Chuong City Gate, then the Hang Dau water tank, Hang Dau Park where we saw the impressive concrete sculpture to the Vietnamese war veterans; along a lovely old tree lined street; past the Presidential Palace to Ho Chi Minh mausoleum with perfect timing for the changing of the guard. Then through the palace gardens to see the house Ho lived in for 3 years and the very beautifully designed stilt house the French build him for his final years. The one pillar pagoda was less than spectacular. We arrived at Hoa Lo Prison museum (called the "Hanoi Hilton" by US prisoners).
We thanked and farewelled Trang and Lib noted that she had walked 12000 steps already !
Lunch at the Hanoi Social Club (another Lonely Planet recommendation) was delicious with a yummy curry laksa for Libby. French fries for Stephen ! Stephen walked home to rest for 2 hours while Lib browsed around the shops and we met up again in the afternoon for the Water Puppet show at Thang Long.
Dinner at the New Day restaurant and then a walk thru the night market area where they close off the streets to traffic and it turns into a colourfully illuminated trendy open air restaurant area with live music and traditional performances at intersections.
Day 10 Saturday 25th of November 2017
After a sleep in and a leisurely breakfast we set off for a day of museums. Stephen has mastered the Hanoi public transport app called "Timbus" and now we catch buses. The first one took us to the Viet Nam Military History Museum. And then another to the Opera House where we saw high school and accountancy students having their year group graduation photos taken on the steps. Lunch was lattes, soya beans and french fries at Soba Cafe part of the National Museum of Vietnamese History which we visited directly after.
We walked along the fascinating Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural which borders the highway for almost 6.5km along the Song Hong dyke. The project took 3 years and was completed in 2010 for Hanoi's 1000th-birthday celebrations. Made from ceramics produced at nearby Bat Trang, the colourful mural depicts different periods in Vietnam's history and is the combined work of many local and international artists. It retains its Guinness World Record for being the largest ceramic mosaic on the planet.
Another bus to the Pan Pacific Hotel for a margarita waiting for the Summit Lounge to open for another drink whilst enjoying an amazing view of the city.
Walk, bus and walk back to the Hanoi Social Club for another curry laksa but tonight’s was not as good.
Home to collect our washing, cleaned hiking boots and a bath.
Day 11 Sunday 26th of November 2017
On our last morning in Hanoi, Stephen rested after breakfast while Lib took a short walk around our hotel area. Our taxi to the airport arrived late which was a tad worrying but not a problem as our flight was delayed by 3 hours. The airline provided a simple but free lunch and then the wait continued ! At last we were in flight for the short trip to Da Nang and a 45 minute taxi ride to our hotel.
The Vinh Hung Heritage Hotel is over 200 years old which earns it the privilege of being the only hotel allowed on the main street of Hoi An. It is old, modest but very gracious. Our upstairs room connects to a balcony overlooking the street.
We walked around the town which is pedestrian only and decorated with colourful lanterns and being a tourist mecca, it is wall to wall shops and restaurants.
Dinner at The Morning Glory restaurant consisted of a margarita followed by spring rolls, chicken rice, prawn curry and bbq chicken with lime. Delicious
Over the river bridge to the river island, An Hội, we watched boats rowing up and down with tourists and coloured lanterns floating in the water. Home for coffee and tea on our upstairs verandah before bed.
Day 12 Monday 27th of November 2017
Our 35th wedding anniversary ! Woke to the sound of motor bikes and lots of beeping horns. Vehicles are allowed to use the streets until 9am and again from 11-3pm so that the commerce can be restocked.
Breakfast followed by a neck and shoulder massage from the in-house masseuse then off for a walk to the Japanese Covered Bridge. Lib spotted a free live performance of traditional dancing and music. Stephen had been intrigued in Hanoi by the sound of the Dan Bao, a single stringed instrument that was treated as the star of many traditional music groups. The Dan Bao player in this performance was excellent. Lib was intent on locating a recommended shoe shop and tailor but found the whole shopping experience too overwhelming - too many choices and not sure what she really wanted.
Cooking on the other hand is where Lib excels. We walked to the Gioan Cooking School and Lib attended a class with 4 very lovely young women from Hong Kong. They walked to the local market with the teacher Hanh and purchased all the fresh produce, then returned for a very active 2 hours of preparing, cooking and eating of fresh spring rolls, country pancake, chilli lemongrass chicken and beef pho. Yum!
Miraculously, Lib found her way back to the hotel for a cuppa tea on the balcony, followed by margaritas at a local bar and then dinner on the balcony at Cargo Club overlooking the river. Stephen had BBQed chicken with a tangy salad and rice, an improved version of what he ordered last night ! Lib a delicious green mango and chicken salad.
Home for tea and coffee on our verandah overlooking the street.
Day 13 Tuesday 28th of November 2017
After breakfast Libby retraced steps and purchased 2 scarves from the Lifestart Foundation and 2 cute little pairs of pj’s for Harry. We both then walked to a sister hotel of ours, Vinh Hung Emerald Resort, on An Hội, island to claim a complimentary boat trip for about an hour around the 2 islands in the river. The water damage from the recent typhoon and following floods were apparent here whereas the town, which had been underwater on a couple of weeks before our arrival, looked untouched.
Hiring push bikes, beside the Hoàng Diệu bridge, we explored the Cẩm Nam island east to its downstream point seeing how the locals live.
Returning to our hotel, it was time to wheel out the suitcase and hop in a taxi area to our last Vietnam stop - the luxury Victoria Beach Resort. The gourmet part of our trip ! Our cabin was right on the waters edge, facing the sea. Very deluxe except the beach did not exist !! The typhoon had washed the sand away (and the hotel had forgotten to tell us !). The difference to the advertising images was accentuated by the overcast sky and the gale force winds. Nevertheless, it was very exciting to see the wild weather just metres away from our wall of glass and luxury accommodation. Lib enjoyed the jacuzzi in the main resort area and then came back for a shower in our room. Quite an experience having a hot shower in our private courtyard in the pouring cool tropical rain ! Gin and tonics enhanced the mood and before a buffet dinner followed by a group of children and adult acrobats performed a “Lion” performance at the resort. Stephen was concerned for the children as they leapt and slipped on the tiled floor.
Going to sleep with the crashing waves so close to our room was strangely relaxing.
Day 14 Wednesday 29th of November 2017
After a leisurely gourmet buffet breakfast (with omelettes cooked individually by chefs), we decided on another bike ride. We dropped off our washing at the Cao Cao restaurant up the road that also offered laundry services and then rode north along the main road towards a well known beach. Bãi biển Cửa Đại just to reassure ourselves that they still existed somewhere. Evidence of the recent typhoon was again very obvious: piles of recycled timbers; rubbish and rubble everywhere; and the replanting of crops and roadside trees. We took the advice of some fellow riders and took a path back along the river, Ho. The river bank had been reinforced by a huge concrete wall and behind it was a strip of new smart and ornate homes, all two or even three storeys high on very narrow blocks. In the river there were fishing boats and huge nets with winches ready for action among a few floating homes.
It had started hot, humid and overcast, but the sun intermittently managed to appear between light warm showers.
Back to our latest home Lib rested poolside while Stephen preferred the air-conditioned room with a bed facing the elements listening to podcasts and music.
Gin and tonics on our balcony completed the daylight activity before we walked down the road for a delicious early dinner at Cao Cao restaurant and to collect our washing (300 dong !). The laundry/ restaurant was better that the resort and so much cheaper !
Day 15 Thursday 30th of November 2017
A day of total relaxation ! Breakfast was longer and finished with the signature Vietnamese iced coffees. We watched local fisherman in their coracles (circular bamboo fishing boats) set nets off shore from our bungalow as the day became sunny and humid. One small panic when Stephen thought he'd left his credit card at the restaurant last night … so back on our bikes, back to the restaurant with no result and... there it was, in a concealed compartment of his beloved bum bag ! He celebrated with a beer !
We rode south for a while but the environment seemed a carbon copy of yesterday and it was getting hot !!! Lib relaxed poolside and had a swim while Stephen was back in the room fascinated by Sam Harris’ podcast about consciousness with German philosopher, Thomas Metzinger.
Light lunch poolside and more relaxing, until dinner at Cao Cao again.
Day 16 Friday 1st of December 2017
Breakfast finishing with iced coffee again. Paid the hotel bill and told the Victoria Beach Resort staff that they really should change their advertising (or the resort name !) now that they had lost the beach. Taxi to the Da Nang airport and 3 1/2 hour flight to Singapore.
An efficient airport shuttle bus dropped us at the Bencoolen Hotel. Our room was very basic but comfortable on level 5 with a view straight into the next high rise building ! Singapore is even more hot and humid than Vietnam. The vegetation verdant and everything very organised and clean.
Tour leader Digby led the late afternoon walking circuit into a Sri Mariamman Temple, through down Pagoda street through Chinatown with its market shops on street level lined by 4 storey beautiful old buildings with coloured shutters. Then we walked along the river stopping for a "happy hour" negroni at Shabestan.
We had a booking at Jumbo’s Seafood Restaurant at which Stephen has enjoyed a superb Black Pepper Crab as a teacher on a school trip 20 years before. The famous Singapore efficiency was a little lacking as the staff got confused about which of their chain of restaurants had accepted our online booking and sent us to walk between them. By the time our first location accepted it's responsibility, we were a bit hot and bothered ! Luckily the huge pepper crabs were delicious. We walked home tired but happy.
Day 17 Saturday 2nd of December
Breakfast at the Belcoolen Hotel was a very modest buffet in tiny alcove. We checked out but left our luggage and caught a cab to the Gardens by the Bay.
We spent a wonderful 2 hours walking through the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest Dome marvelling at the engineering and the exquisite display of plants sculptures and atmospheric conditions in the delightful air-conditioning.
Late in the afternoon, we met relatives living in Singapore and had just returned from a 2 week trip to Melbourne. In the hot sun, we walked around the outside gardens an up into the skyway - a suspended walkway high above the gardens snaking around the huge artificial "Super Trees". Libby was too traumatised by the height to enjoy the amazing views!
We walked to the giant Marina Bay Sands Hotel, and with local knowledge, got up to the 57th floor Sky Deck where we enjoyed the views across Singapore while drinking aperol spritz.
A quick cab ride to get to the Telok Ayer covered food market where we had a bite to eat and said goodbye.
An attempt to experience a Singapore shopping mall lead to a cab drive through very busy traffic. Stephen duly waited in a cafe kept company by his phone while Lib discovered that the selected mall was far too "up market" for her - and full of extremely wealthy people doing their Christmas shopping.
Deciding that the air conditioned airport was more enticing than more adventures in sweltering Singapore, we got a cab to pick up our luggage from the hotel and drive straight to the airport. It was 5 hours before our flight but we could relax, rest and be out of the heat.
The overnight flight provided sleep for Lib and more movie experience for Stephen and got us to Melbourne in the morning.
Day 18 Sunday 3rd of December 2017… Home on the skyBus and so ended our Vietnam experience.
Hanoi
SaPa
Ha Long Bay
Hoi An
Day 1 Thursday 16th Nov 2017
On Tuesday, Stephen was reviewing plans and realised that he had made the mistake of thinking of "1am Thursday" as "very LATE on Thursday night", rather than very EARLY on Thursday morning !
Lots of last minute re-arrangements: cancelled dinners with friends; delivered a dresser we had sold on eBay so the buyer can pick it up; farewelled and escalated pace of packing !
We departed on Singapore Airlines. The 8 hour flight into Changi airport was very comfortable and we purchased the usual duty free gin during our 2 hour stopover and then had a 3 hour 40 minute flight to Hanoi.
Caught a taxi to our hotel, Hanoi Guest House Royal, about a 40 minute ride from the airport.
The sense of entering into a foreign land was similar to landing in Kolkata, but there were many differences: less poverty, less pollution, people busy compared to Indian passivity, few beggars and homeless and fewer but healthier dogs. The Vietnamese that we meet superficially as tourists are helpful, honest and guileless compared to our Indian experiences. Perhaps this is an outcome of the relative affluence and optimism here. They look healthy and trim. Not many smokers. Even the tourists seem different. We saw very few obese travellers - a different clientele than Germany for instance !
Motor bikes dominate the streets, lined by stalls and thin, tall architecturally interesting colonial buildings. Many mature trees as well as street side rows of recent plantings all supported by triangular pyramids for protection against the typhoon winds.
Our hotel reminded of us of our experience in Athens - a small thin 7 floor building with lift only to the 6th floor - of course we were on the top floor ! Where else ! A tiny balcony in this modern 2 year old building overlooked the hustle and bustle of the "old quarter" of the city and the freeways in the near distance. We settle down into the gaudy luxury of the Louis XIV decor! The marble tiles throughout perfectly amplified Stephen’s “el-cheapo” but comfortable squeaky walking shoes.
Setting off for our first walk, we had been forewarned of the terror of crossing the chaotic motorbike saturated roads. Initially, it took us minutes to decide when to make the determined and steady crossing. Uncertainty or change in pace or direction is the recipe for disaster. Gradually, learning the skills for street survival, we visited at the "Hanoi Traditional House", a 19th century home showcasing Vietnamese architecture and building techniques. On to the Hoàn Kiếm Lake and across the red Húc Bridge to the Jade Island and into the Temple of the Jade Mountain (Ngoc Son Temple).
After crossing the huge roundabout in Dong Kinh Nghia Thuc Square, we walked up the stairs to the Cong Bar for a drink and a view over the lake. All the decor in this bar relates to the Viet Cong and it was filled with fashionable young Vietnamese. Lib had her first beer in about 20 years as this was the only fare !
Walking round the lake, we enjoyed the breeze that alleviated the heat and humidity. The activities around the lake - families relaxing, shuttlecock and ball games, exercise groups, etc. make an impression not unlike Sunday around Albert Park Lake, Melbourne. In the middle of the lake is a tiny intriguing island dominated by a ruin - Turtle Tower.
We are frequently encountering places where there is little substantiated historical detail available in english. The Vietnamese will tell fanciful stories but seem not to distinguish them from historical fact. The lake and the tower are associated with legends about a magic turtle and sword that helped a real person, Lê Lợi expel the Chinese from Vietnam in the 1400's.
Dinner at the Lantern Dorm and then home to bath/shower and bed. A big day, Melbourne to Hanoi !
Day 2 Friday 17th November 2017
As we are returning guests, the hotel were happy to open breakfast early, so that we could enjoy scrambled eggs and fresh fruit, before being picked up by a minibus at 6.45am that connected us to the air conditioned and comfortable Sapa Express coach. We left Hanoi as the stalls began to setup and thousands of motorbikes began to surge into town. Cars are in the minority here and push bikes are rare and tend to have elderly riders.
A couple of hours later, the bus delivered us to Trạm dừng nghỉ, a isolated toilet/ breakfast stop in the hope of milking us of some impulse buying money. We drove past paddy fields surrounded by banana palms, sugar cane and many other tropical plants. After 3 hours we began the hill climb and the road narrowed (although it was a much safer road system than in Darjeeling and far less scary !). We saw evidence of landslides and road damage due to the recent cyclone. The temperature dropped as we reached Sapa, 3000m high in the mountains, uncomfortably close (20km) to the north west border with China.
We caught a taxi to The Victoria Sapa Resort and Spa, our new home for 3 nights. Realising Stephen had left his beloved faux manila safari hat in the bus, we quickly freshened up and caught a taxi to the Bus office and asked them to contact the bus driver.
We were in a good weather window - the mountains were clearly visible and the sun occasionally shone - so we grabbed a cab to take us to Fansipan Cable Car, a 6282m-long trip crossing the Muong Hoa Valley and flew to the summit of Fansipan in 15 minutes. It was VERY scary and exciting. The ride was relatively smooth as it crossed the wide valley at the bottom of it's arc, but as the cable became steeper and steeper climbing the mountain, the wind at altitude became stronger, the car began to sway 20 or 30 degrees side to side, which even Stephen found terrifying - despite reading that the whole system had been designed by Germans !
After disembarking into the huge new modern mountaintop reception/ restaurant complex, there was an additional funicular that we decided to use avoiding the 600 step ascent to the top.
At the top, there was a very chilly wind but the spectacle was amazing ! Wonderful views of the valleys in every direction were revealed, then hidden as the clouds from the south were blown over the peak. To the south, we were literally gazing down on the cloud layer as it passed. At 3100m, we were on top of Vietnam’s highest mountain (Victoria's Kosciusko is 2,200m). The mountain top complex is stunningly ambitious, huge and beautifully designed. Despite the communist party, it even incorporates a number of Buddhist temples.
After a relaxing coffee in a luxurious and spacious restaurant overlooking the valley, we collected our nerve and took the cable home (Stephen’s quote “An opportunity to worry that must not be missed !).
Back in SaPa we retrieved Stephen's hat from the bus company and returned to our hotel in time for "Happy Hour" negroni's.
In newly enhanced mood, we walked down into town and chose a Lonely Planet restaurant, Little Sapa Restaurant for dinner. As we walked back, we noticed a road being closed to traffic to allow local stall holders could set up their goods. We stayed and enjoyed browsing the stalls and shops and observing the locals and their children. Sapa town square contains an amphitheatre that was abuzz with teenagers playing with shuttlecocks and very young children dancing in traditional costumes for money.
Back at the hotel, Libby ended a fabulous day with a swim and a sauna at the resort spa and pool rather inconveniently located 200 meters up the hill.
Day 3 Saturday 18th of November 2017
The day began with a vindication for rushing to Fansipan peak as SaPa was in a dense mist which everyone calls "cloud". No mountain views today ! Nevertheless, the temperature was warm and humid.
We got up at 5.30am and walked into town and around the lake to the Sapa market, a purpose-built modern building near the bus station. The outdoor area was already a hive of activity with beautiful displays of fresh produce alongside slaughtered animal carcasses. Not for the squeamish! Lib bought 500 gms of roasted chestnuts. Delicious.
Back at the hotel, we enjoyed a delicious breakfast banquet including the usual a la carte omelettes and unlimited bacon ! To wear off some of the excess consumption, we walked 3km down the mountain along a winding road into the nearest village, Cat Cat. The entrance fee allowed us to walk along a long circuit of picturesque tourist traps in the growing heat and humidity. To return back up to SaPa we decided to ring the same driver as had taken us to Fansipan.
Returning to SaPa market building, we expecting it to filled by now with commercial activity but found the modern indoor section of this new building ignored by the locals and the outside section beginning to shut down.
We walked home around the lake, picking up some items for lunch and munch before returning home for a rest. We had done 10000m by 11 am !
At 3pm, our reliable taxi driver collected us and drove 15 km north of Sapa towards Lai Châu to the Tram Ton Pass on the northern side of Fansipan. The mountain drive was slow and busy with many large trucks feeding the rampant construction everywhere. Quarries, cement works, excavating machinery, smoke, dust and haze.
At 1900m, Tram Ton Pass is Vietnam’s highest mountain pass, and acts as a dividing line between two weather fronts. Today, we could barely see the mountains. We misguidedly bought a pass to walk down to the Love Waterfall and, after hundreds of descending steps, decided that the whole experience was less than spectacular so we walked back up to the taxi. Our driver awoke and pointed to another set of ascending steep steps ! Stephen's exasperation and going down to the falls, turned into commitment as he can never resist an upward path. We enjoyed the limited and rather cloudy views form the Tram Ton Pass bell tower in the middle of the bush.
Driving back, we photographed the Silver Waterfall.
Home to rest before dinner at our hotel with the local Hmong people entertaining us with dances and musical pieces.
By bedtime we’d done 22000 steps. No wonder Lib was tired !
Day 4 Sunday 19th of November 2017
Enjoyed another great breakfast and then dropped our washing off at a local laundry that charges $1 per kilogram ! We enjoyed a quiet, restful day, partly due to rain and a heavy mist that shrouded the whole town. Rested, messaged the kids, wrote and read all afternoon. Very relaxing. It felt like a snow village but without the chill factor !
Visited the local church and SaPa Museum.
Libby ventured out again to purchase a better backpack for Stephen and tried her first pho for lunch, very tasty, clean and fresh.
The heavy mist adds a degree of difficulty to road crossing which we had not encountered in Hanoi. Scary.
After our afternoon "G and T"'s, we walked into town though the fog to the Catholic Church where a large number of young people were participating in a service that felt more like choir practice. We sang along to the Vietnamese cue screens for about 30 minutes and then crossed the road to dinner at The Gecko. Delicious sizzling beef and a lemongrass chicken stir fry.
Found an ATM and then booked a guided walking tour to a remote village tomorrow through the SaPa Sisters.
Day 5 Monday 20th of November 2017
Woke up again to another white out - cool, drizzling and low fog ! After breakfast we packed up and stored our suitcases and at 9 am our driver and guide from the Sapa Sisters collected us for our walking tour. The Sapa Sisters is a trekking company recommended by Lonely Planet for its employment and support of local women. Giang (Zang) our guide is 25 year old and an ethnic Red Zao/Dao. She is also a cheerful and committed single mother with a 6 year old daughter.
There are six ethnic groups living together in the Sapa district with total population of 52,899 (2009). The Hmong are 51,65%, the Dao 23.04%, the Kinh 17.95%, the Tay 4.745%, the Giay 1.36% and the Phu La 1.06%. The Hmong are divided into three main groups : Lenh Hmong, black Hmong and Do Hmong who live mainly in the villages of Sapa; Hau Thao, San Xa Ho, Lao Chai, Ta Giang Phinh. Sapa ethnic communities work at maintaining their identity through customs and traditions. Giang seemed to feel that the lowland Vietnamese were almost as different to her as the Chinese.
We drove south from Sapa for about 20 minutes down the Flower Valley and the mist dispersed more and more as we descended. We past above the townships of Lao Chai (Mong) and Ta Van (Zao) on the way to Bản Dền.
Trekking through villages is integrated into the tourist infrastructure with concrete roads and walking paths through villages which charge every tourist for entry. In this northern area of Vietnam, farmers can only grow one rice crop per year compared to the possibility of 3 crops down in the lowlands. Corn is grown on the steepest slopes along with many other vegetables.
Reaching Hầu Thào, we across bridges; past the Cau May Waterfall; through rice fields, up and down hills and arrived at Giang’s mother’s house. She lived in a big, spacious and relatively new shed in traditional design but with modern building materials. The owners of the power station in the valley had built her a new home as compensation for taking over some of her farming land and, soon after our visit, flooding the valley. When we arrived, she was collecting veggies. She was about the same age as we are, but had endured so much more than we could imagine (just read some Vietnamese history). Some of this wear and tear was apparent in her face and body. Her husband died years ago. We bought a small piece of her work and had some soup as we talked with Giang translating.
Walking up the hill to TL142, we re-joined our driver who took us to Ho Village, Bản Dền where, up a winding track, was the homestay Vàng Kim Sìn, where a woman prepared us a delicious chicken and rice noodle soup - so fresh and gingery with chilli and lemon grass. The conical leaf hats worn by men and women farmers are called non-la.
We set off again on foot along the valley scattered with primitive dwellings. Across the Cầu Treo Bản Hồ suspension bridge, up to the Spring of Life waterfall and dodging mud pools and weaving among rice banks as the chickens, ducks, geese, pigs, buffalo, and children gazed at us with nonchalant amusement we crossed a second suspension bridge. The last leg was up a punishing steep hill to the remote heritage village of Nậm Toóng School where an official told to get of the property! The town looked impressively primitive.
We then followed the contours of the paddy embankments with wonderful views across a valley of paddy fields and looped back to the north east to meet our driver on the DT152 road. Sooo many steps ! We drove home in a very heavy fog. The driver, like his passengers, was focussed on protecting his smart car against collisions with wild drivers passing us all the way !
The trek was one of those “great to be alive” days - everything we had hoped for - a walking tour through rural Vietnam, exploring the rice paddies, remote villages and their tribespeople. We felt so lucky that our young guide had good english and was so open and welcoming.
Home by 4.45 pm exhausted and dirty, we showered up in the Spa centre. Libby went out for her last shop in the darkness of the snow village and fell over a row of metal poles ! Her excursion must have had bad karma as the selected shop wouldn’t take her visa card anyway. Met Stephen at Viet Emotion 2 restaurant where we dined last night. Despite the repetition, we had a few wines and two delicious meals.
20 minutes before we left SaPa, Libby finally stopped procrastinating and bought a lovely Gore-tex jacket. The Victoria shuttle bus arrived and 1 1/4 hours later, at Ga Lào Cai station, we boarded the Victoria Luxury train carriage. The “deluxe” cabin had two single beds with clean bedding and a fold down table. Changed into our pj’s, had a drink and hit the sack. Ear plugs supplied and boy did we need them ! Big day. 22000 steps !
Day 6 Tuesday 21st of November 2017
Oh what a night train ride it was ! Lib took hours to get to sleep on a very narrow hard bed. The train rocked up and down rather than side to side, aircon blasting with no controls. It was actually inferior to our Indian experience which costed 100 times less ! One thing that would not happen in India was the cup of tea and croissant that was delivered to our cabin at 5am.
At daybreak, we exited into Hanoi and found our way to the Mango Hotel where we waited just over an hour for the shuttle service to Halong Bay. The breakfast was very suss. Stephen would not touch any food and Lib doubled the Travelan gastro preventative tablets !
At last the shuttle bus arrived and we left Hanoi to the sight of all the locals eating pho on low plastic stools. The 3 hour drive was again reminiscent of India as we left a bustling city and drove on varying road surfaces, continual construction, across flat land with paddy fields and through small villages, market gardens along river banks. Occassionally, there would be unmistakable signs of colonial legacy such as a beautiful church like Từ Phong parish church
Another toilet stop at a touristy trap in Thanh Dong Jewelry. Expensive merchandise but a clean toilet ! One of our fellow passengers was an Australian semi-celebrity - Rory Sloane, a footballer for the Adelaide Crows who was recovering from losing the AFL Grand Final only weeks ago !
At last, we reached the outskirts of sprawling Halong City with its dowdy high-rise buildings. We turned south before reaching the city over a bridge onto Tuan Chau Island (Đảo = Island) full of finished and unfinished new office and residential buildings.
Soon the staff of Aphrodite Cruises pronounced the ship was ready for passengers.
Halong bay is a World Heritage site of about 2000 islands, comprised of thousands of limestone karsts that poke out of the sea in a myriad of shapes and sizes. Erosion and water have eroded them into spectacular grottoes, pillars some topped by forest. Halong translates as 'where the dragon descends into the sea' and legend tells that this mystical seascape was created when a great mountain dragon charged towards the coast, its flailing tail gouging out valleys and crevasses. As the creature plunged into the sea, the area filled with water leaving only the pinnacles visible. The geological explanation of karst erosion may be more prosaic, but doesn't make this seascape any less poetic.
We had selected the Aphrodite on the recommendation from Lyndy Telfer, for our 3 day 2 night cruise of Halong Bay. Our cabin, 210, on the 2nd floor was beautiful with windows to the side and front as well as a private balcony. After a jokey safety talk from the compare/ head steward, we enjoyed a delicious 4 course lunch in the dining room accompanied by a bottle of wine !
Then we boarded a wooden boat and visited Luon Cave which was more like a tunnel leading to a small lake surrounded by steep high rock faces.
We celebrated our happy holiday with the complimentary bubbly in our room before Libby went to the spring roll cooking demonstration.
Dinner was at 7pm and very yummy. An early night partly because there is no wifi !
Day 7 Wednesday 22nd of November 2017
After a lovely breakfast, we boarded a tender and spent the day with the 6 other "2-night cruise" passengers. The tender discharged us onto a wooden boat in which we visited the Cua Van Floating Village. We were rowed slowly around the very modest homes in this sheltered location surrounded by very high rocky outcrops. The villagers farm fish which are caught offshore and fattened up in netted enclosures. The Cua Van Cultural Centre Museum and school rooms illustrated the strange lifestyle of these villages.
There was no let up on the food quantity or quality. We enjoyed a 5 course lunch, making our own grilled fish spring rolls, tasty pork wrapped in green leaves, prawns, cheesy cooked muscles and spicy cooked oysters, followed by pork in a tomato sauce with rice and bok choy and finally fresh fruit !!!
After lunch Scottie, Mitch, (Brisbane boys) Alan, Rosamind (Vancourvians) and I took off in kayaks with our guide Ming to Trinh Nu Cave which had been used as a location for a film "Kong, Scull Island". Stephen stayed on the boat as he was concerned about security and didn’t want to leave his phone or our documents unattended. He enjoyed listening to classical music while we clambered through the wonderful limestone cave with glimmering rock faces and stalactites, giggling and laughing all the way. This was followed by 40 minutes of free kayaking time. The Canadians said they wanted to paddle around the island and Ming said that would be fine … WRONG ! She thought they meant just paddle around a closest small island but they turned left. The only way back from that route was a 20km row !!! Off they went and I followed for about 15 minutes but the coves were deceiving so I got a bit anxious and turned back choosing to follow Mitch and Scottie. Everyone except the Canadians made it back to the boat in time. Ming, our guide, was worried about the Canadians as well as her employment prospects ! Eventually the Canadians returned. They had rowed flat out for over 40 minutes, realised the island was huge, pulled up beside a big tour boat and asked them to contact Aphrodite who sent a tender to pick them up !
We all arrived home safely, an hour late and not together but all was well. Had G and T's in our room prior to Libby attending another spring roll making class with coconut wine followed by dinner, 5 courses ! We now expect no less ! Sat on a table of 6 swapping stories with our fellow kayaking survivors !
Day 8 Thursday 23rd of November 2017
An early light breakfast and then on to the tender for a short ride to the Sung Sot (Surprise) Cave that was discovered in 1901. This feature is being rapidly developed for mass tourist visitation. We walked up the stairs cut into the cliff and walked through three huge chambers inside the karsk. The guide book: “The popular Hang Sung Sot has three vast chambers; in the second there’s a pink-lit rock phallus unsurprisingly regarded as a fertility symbol." Even less surprisingly, some guides refer to it as the ‘Cock Rock’ “.
Home to Aphrodite for the main breakfast/light lunch (Ahhh, Stephen thought he'd missed something) and then farewells as we cruised back to Halong Bay and its tawdry quay.
Waited for our mini bus and then endured an excruciatingly long drive back to Hanoi with one toilet break and constant road works - at one point we were stationary for about 25 minutes.
Arrived at our Hanoi Guest House Royal at about 5.45, rested and then walked to a restaurant that the Canadian’s daughter had recommended called Bun Bo Nam Bo. Walked in and by the time we’d sat down, 2 bowls of delicious beef and noodles had arrived ! Did we order that ? It was delicious. With a beer it added up to about $9. Coffee on the way home, bath and crash !
Day 9 Friday 24th of November 2017
At 9 am, Trang, the voluntary guide that Stephen had booked online from Australia arrived at our hotel. Stephen explained to this well spoken 20 year old university student what we hoped to see, and she was well informed and charming.
She took us walking past the oldest gate in Hanoi, Quan Chuong City Gate, then the Hang Dau water tank, Hang Dau Park where we saw the impressive concrete sculpture to the Vietnamese war veterans; along a lovely old tree lined street; past the Presidential Palace to Ho Chi Minh mausoleum with perfect timing for the changing of the guard. Then through the palace gardens to see the house Ho lived in for 3 years and the very beautifully designed stilt house the French build him for his final years. The one pillar pagoda was less than spectacular. We arrived at Hoa Lo Prison museum (called the "Hanoi Hilton" by US prisoners).
We thanked and farewelled Trang and Lib noted that she had walked 12000 steps already !
Lunch at the Hanoi Social Club (another Lonely Planet recommendation) was delicious with a yummy curry laksa for Libby. French fries for Stephen ! Stephen walked home to rest for 2 hours while Lib browsed around the shops and we met up again in the afternoon for the Water Puppet show at Thang Long.
Dinner at the New Day restaurant and then a walk thru the night market area where they close off the streets to traffic and it turns into a colourfully illuminated trendy open air restaurant area with live music and traditional performances at intersections.
Day 10 Saturday 25th of November 2017
After a sleep in and a leisurely breakfast we set off for a day of museums. Stephen has mastered the Hanoi public transport app called "Timbus" and now we catch buses. The first one took us to the Viet Nam Military History Museum. And then another to the Opera House where we saw high school and accountancy students having their year group graduation photos taken on the steps. Lunch was lattes, soya beans and french fries at Soba Cafe part of the National Museum of Vietnamese History which we visited directly after.
We walked along the fascinating Hanoi Ceramic Mosaic Mural which borders the highway for almost 6.5km along the Song Hong dyke. The project took 3 years and was completed in 2010 for Hanoi's 1000th-birthday celebrations. Made from ceramics produced at nearby Bat Trang, the colourful mural depicts different periods in Vietnam's history and is the combined work of many local and international artists. It retains its Guinness World Record for being the largest ceramic mosaic on the planet.
Another bus to the Pan Pacific Hotel for a margarita waiting for the Summit Lounge to open for another drink whilst enjoying an amazing view of the city.
Walk, bus and walk back to the Hanoi Social Club for another curry laksa but tonight’s was not as good.
Home to collect our washing, cleaned hiking boots and a bath.
Day 11 Sunday 26th of November 2017
On our last morning in Hanoi, Stephen rested after breakfast while Lib took a short walk around our hotel area. Our taxi to the airport arrived late which was a tad worrying but not a problem as our flight was delayed by 3 hours. The airline provided a simple but free lunch and then the wait continued ! At last we were in flight for the short trip to Da Nang and a 45 minute taxi ride to our hotel.
The Vinh Hung Heritage Hotel is over 200 years old which earns it the privilege of being the only hotel allowed on the main street of Hoi An. It is old, modest but very gracious. Our upstairs room connects to a balcony overlooking the street.
We walked around the town which is pedestrian only and decorated with colourful lanterns and being a tourist mecca, it is wall to wall shops and restaurants.
Dinner at The Morning Glory restaurant consisted of a margarita followed by spring rolls, chicken rice, prawn curry and bbq chicken with lime. Delicious
Over the river bridge to the river island, An Hội, we watched boats rowing up and down with tourists and coloured lanterns floating in the water. Home for coffee and tea on our upstairs verandah before bed.
Day 12 Monday 27th of November 2017
Our 35th wedding anniversary ! Woke to the sound of motor bikes and lots of beeping horns. Vehicles are allowed to use the streets until 9am and again from 11-3pm so that the commerce can be restocked.
Breakfast followed by a neck and shoulder massage from the in-house masseuse then off for a walk to the Japanese Covered Bridge. Lib spotted a free live performance of traditional dancing and music. Stephen had been intrigued in Hanoi by the sound of the Dan Bao, a single stringed instrument that was treated as the star of many traditional music groups. The Dan Bao player in this performance was excellent. Lib was intent on locating a recommended shoe shop and tailor but found the whole shopping experience too overwhelming - too many choices and not sure what she really wanted.
Cooking on the other hand is where Lib excels. We walked to the Gioan Cooking School and Lib attended a class with 4 very lovely young women from Hong Kong. They walked to the local market with the teacher Hanh and purchased all the fresh produce, then returned for a very active 2 hours of preparing, cooking and eating of fresh spring rolls, country pancake, chilli lemongrass chicken and beef pho. Yum!
Miraculously, Lib found her way back to the hotel for a cuppa tea on the balcony, followed by margaritas at a local bar and then dinner on the balcony at Cargo Club overlooking the river. Stephen had BBQed chicken with a tangy salad and rice, an improved version of what he ordered last night ! Lib a delicious green mango and chicken salad.
Home for tea and coffee on our verandah overlooking the street.
Day 13 Tuesday 28th of November 2017
After breakfast Libby retraced steps and purchased 2 scarves from the Lifestart Foundation and 2 cute little pairs of pj’s for Harry. We both then walked to a sister hotel of ours, Vinh Hung Emerald Resort, on An Hội, island to claim a complimentary boat trip for about an hour around the 2 islands in the river. The water damage from the recent typhoon and following floods were apparent here whereas the town, which had been underwater on a couple of weeks before our arrival, looked untouched.
Hiring push bikes, beside the Hoàng Diệu bridge, we explored the Cẩm Nam island east to its downstream point seeing how the locals live.
Returning to our hotel, it was time to wheel out the suitcase and hop in a taxi area to our last Vietnam stop - the luxury Victoria Beach Resort. The gourmet part of our trip ! Our cabin was right on the waters edge, facing the sea. Very deluxe except the beach did not exist !! The typhoon had washed the sand away (and the hotel had forgotten to tell us !). The difference to the advertising images was accentuated by the overcast sky and the gale force winds. Nevertheless, it was very exciting to see the wild weather just metres away from our wall of glass and luxury accommodation. Lib enjoyed the jacuzzi in the main resort area and then came back for a shower in our room. Quite an experience having a hot shower in our private courtyard in the pouring cool tropical rain ! Gin and tonics enhanced the mood and before a buffet dinner followed by a group of children and adult acrobats performed a “Lion” performance at the resort. Stephen was concerned for the children as they leapt and slipped on the tiled floor.
Going to sleep with the crashing waves so close to our room was strangely relaxing.
Day 14 Wednesday 29th of November 2017
After a leisurely gourmet buffet breakfast (with omelettes cooked individually by chefs), we decided on another bike ride. We dropped off our washing at the Cao Cao restaurant up the road that also offered laundry services and then rode north along the main road towards a well known beach. Bãi biển Cửa Đại just to reassure ourselves that they still existed somewhere. Evidence of the recent typhoon was again very obvious: piles of recycled timbers; rubbish and rubble everywhere; and the replanting of crops and roadside trees. We took the advice of some fellow riders and took a path back along the river, Ho. The river bank had been reinforced by a huge concrete wall and behind it was a strip of new smart and ornate homes, all two or even three storeys high on very narrow blocks. In the river there were fishing boats and huge nets with winches ready for action among a few floating homes.
It had started hot, humid and overcast, but the sun intermittently managed to appear between light warm showers.
Back to our latest home Lib rested poolside while Stephen preferred the air-conditioned room with a bed facing the elements listening to podcasts and music.
Gin and tonics on our balcony completed the daylight activity before we walked down the road for a delicious early dinner at Cao Cao restaurant and to collect our washing (300 dong !). The laundry/ restaurant was better that the resort and so much cheaper !
Day 15 Thursday 30th of November 2017
A day of total relaxation ! Breakfast was longer and finished with the signature Vietnamese iced coffees. We watched local fisherman in their coracles (circular bamboo fishing boats) set nets off shore from our bungalow as the day became sunny and humid. One small panic when Stephen thought he'd left his credit card at the restaurant last night … so back on our bikes, back to the restaurant with no result and... there it was, in a concealed compartment of his beloved bum bag ! He celebrated with a beer !
We rode south for a while but the environment seemed a carbon copy of yesterday and it was getting hot !!! Lib relaxed poolside and had a swim while Stephen was back in the room fascinated by Sam Harris’ podcast about consciousness with German philosopher, Thomas Metzinger.
Light lunch poolside and more relaxing, until dinner at Cao Cao again.
Day 16 Friday 1st of December 2017
Breakfast finishing with iced coffee again. Paid the hotel bill and told the Victoria Beach Resort staff that they really should change their advertising (or the resort name !) now that they had lost the beach. Taxi to the Da Nang airport and 3 1/2 hour flight to Singapore.
An efficient airport shuttle bus dropped us at the Bencoolen Hotel. Our room was very basic but comfortable on level 5 with a view straight into the next high rise building ! Singapore is even more hot and humid than Vietnam. The vegetation verdant and everything very organised and clean.
Tour leader Digby led the late afternoon walking circuit into a Sri Mariamman Temple, through down Pagoda street through Chinatown with its market shops on street level lined by 4 storey beautiful old buildings with coloured shutters. Then we walked along the river stopping for a "happy hour" negroni at Shabestan.
We had a booking at Jumbo’s Seafood Restaurant at which Stephen has enjoyed a superb Black Pepper Crab as a teacher on a school trip 20 years before. The famous Singapore efficiency was a little lacking as the staff got confused about which of their chain of restaurants had accepted our online booking and sent us to walk between them. By the time our first location accepted it's responsibility, we were a bit hot and bothered ! Luckily the huge pepper crabs were delicious. We walked home tired but happy.
Day 17 Saturday 2nd of December
Breakfast at the Belcoolen Hotel was a very modest buffet in tiny alcove. We checked out but left our luggage and caught a cab to the Gardens by the Bay.
We spent a wonderful 2 hours walking through the Flower Dome and the Cloud Forest Dome marvelling at the engineering and the exquisite display of plants sculptures and atmospheric conditions in the delightful air-conditioning.
Late in the afternoon, we met relatives living in Singapore and had just returned from a 2 week trip to Melbourne. In the hot sun, we walked around the outside gardens an up into the skyway - a suspended walkway high above the gardens snaking around the huge artificial "Super Trees". Libby was too traumatised by the height to enjoy the amazing views!
We walked to the giant Marina Bay Sands Hotel, and with local knowledge, got up to the 57th floor Sky Deck where we enjoyed the views across Singapore while drinking aperol spritz.
A quick cab ride to get to the Telok Ayer covered food market where we had a bite to eat and said goodbye.
An attempt to experience a Singapore shopping mall lead to a cab drive through very busy traffic. Stephen duly waited in a cafe kept company by his phone while Lib discovered that the selected mall was far too "up market" for her - and full of extremely wealthy people doing their Christmas shopping.
Deciding that the air conditioned airport was more enticing than more adventures in sweltering Singapore, we got a cab to pick up our luggage from the hotel and drive straight to the airport. It was 5 hours before our flight but we could relax, rest and be out of the heat.
The overnight flight provided sleep for Lib and more movie experience for Stephen and got us to Melbourne in the morning.
Day 18 Sunday 3rd of December 2017… Home on the skyBus and so ended our Vietnam experience.
Travel Journal Japan 2015: A couple of weeks in Japan
St Kilda - Tokyo (May 8, 2015)
Over a couple of weeks in 2015, we fell in love with the strangeness, the efficiency, the cleanliness, the politeness and the physical beauty of Japan.
One impression that we kept returning to (particularly after our last trip to Rajasthan) was the sense that fresh clean water was constantly washing everything and everyone in Japan. The sound of flowing water seemed ubiquitous whether we were in the countryside or in an urban street.
Left St Kilda virtually at our front door on the airport shuttle bus and flew to Sydney. Transferring to the international terminal was nothing compared to the 2 hour delay on the tarmac after boarding with engine problems. Delay was annoying, but lack of air-conditioning and waiting for the inflight entertainment to be turned on was worse ! Then followed the usual drinks and dinner. Libby only managed Atonement before entering restless sleep. For Stephen, it was more drinks and movie, movie, movie, movie until a descent into a bad breakfast choice (scrambled eggs) followed by the final landing in Tokyo....
View annotated Google Map of our trip in seperate window
Tokyo (May 9, 2015)
Narita Airport shone like most airports, but unlike our last international arrival in Kolkata, the shine did not end at the door. The limousine shuttle bus was pristine and the bus staff stood at attention and bowed as the bus arrived and departed. Our first introduction to the exceptional politeness that we found so commonplace throughout Japan.Impressions along the 60km drive into Tokyo: Overcast; 18 degrees was readable among the strange characters on the bus TV; lush spring vegetation of bamboos, small rice paddies; nondescript buildings and then out of nowhere ... enormous modern office buildings in the expected shiny characterless design; a glimpse of Tokyo Disneyland's spectacular resort hotel; a maze of overpasses..
Stephen had not yet activated his data SIM, so we were without Google !!! A short walk was extended by various attempts at communication with locals as we showed our map and hotel booking details and they tried to interpret it. At last, we found the "Sotetsu Fresa Inn Nihombashi-Ningyocho", where we stashed our cases and waited.
Purchasing daily metro pass seemed complex until completed, and soon became an easy daily routine. Off we went to the Kanda Shrine because Chizuru knew the Matsuri Festival occurred yearly on this very weekend. We walked straight into throngs of people streaming past food and religious trinket sales. Very like the Indians, the Japanese complete a multitude of superstitious rituals - buying "fortune" messages, tying then onto trees and rails to form bright displays, performing hand and mouth rinse ceremonies outside the temple and far more. Hundreds formed orderly queues to pay, rinse, bow, pray and enter the shrine. Chizuru explained seriously that a common Japanese attitude was "Born Shinto, Die Buddhist" and in between complete as many rituals in either system as much as you feel the need to !
Ducking back underground, we emerged inside the famous Mitsukoshi Store and walked out onto Chuo Dori right on time to see the 400th year Kanda Street Parade along with thousands of Tokyo citizens.
Great timing Chizuru ! Floats, costumes, theatrical performances and the concessional response of massed bows and clapping. After and hour or so, over 30 hours without sleep took its toll and we asked Chizuru to take us to a bar for a final goodbye drink. Despite instructions, we gave her some Australian gifts and used our knew metro awareness to get back to our hotel.
On walk from the metro, we walked past Siddique, an Indian Restaurant and the lure of a familiar cuisine was irresistible after so much that was foreign. And so to bed !
Tokyo (May 10, 2015)
Up and out on a warm sunny 23 degree day, into streets completely free of rubbish or graffiti and see well groomed people who are scrupulously polite and friendly. No slobs, tattoos, or body piercing here, but many people look alien to us through the use of mouth masks. Chizuru had explained that this could be to reduce the chance of spreading disease as often as to prevent infection. They are also used to prevent allergic reactions to pollen which are high at this time of year.
Into Tokyo Train Station to activate our JR Pass for train journeys and reserve as many journeys as possible. The staff are a model of efficiency. Stephen's impression is that systems in Japan are a analog of origami - delicate and designed with a love of complexity. They are also supported by triple the staff that would be found in an equivalent Australian business. This abundance of help combined with Japanese politeness results in superb service everywhere. He felt naked without data access, and the Docomo staff helped for over 30 minutes while he used their phone to get instructions from the NTT Communications company that sold him the SIM. All was solved by a new interpretation of the English instructions.
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| Sky Tree |
Lonely Planet led us into a delightful guided walk around the Yanaka-Nippori Old Town district, dispersed with temples such as Enjuji and cemeteries. The old gates and buildings seemed to be very desirable as most cars in the driveways were expensive BMW's and the like.
After a few kilometres of wandering among the maze of we ended up at a charming small bar 乱歩.
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| Yanaka-Nippori Old Town district |
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| Shinjuku |
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| 535m to the platform !!! |
Tokyo (May 11, 2015)
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| Waiting for access to Tsukiji Fish Market Fish Auction |
As the tour took us towards the tuna auction, little gas powered tray back trolleys attempted to run us down as they took fish back and forward from stalls to trucks.
When the auction started we had to be very quiet as it was very serious business. In less than 30 minutes the shouting was over and the tuna was sold !
Everyone on the train looked exhausted this Monday morning (in contrast to Sunday when everyone was happy, chatty and colourfully dressed and lots of young families with 1 child). People, mostly in black or subdued colours, were sleeping or reading from mobile phones (talking is frowned upon).
We arrived at Harajuku shopping centre too early to see many of the goth-loli girls (think zombie Little Bo Peep) that make the neighbourhood famous. The shops were all very upmarket - Chanel, Dior, Ralph Lauren etc.
Off then by Metro again to Shibuya - a bustling commercial district of steel and glass so typical of modern Tokyo. Outside the station is the statue of the faithful dog, Hachiko is loved by so many of the hyper-sentimental Japanese.
We wandered around amongst the 'Love Hotels' where you can book rooms by the hour. A necessity for a country where so many young people live with their parents till their late 20's. The paper thin walls in the family home just aren't very sound proof !
We then caught the train to the Imperial Palace gardens and rested in the park before having lunch in a French boulangerie - ahh the familiar BLT and pastries.
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| Mitsukoshi Department store Food Display |
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| Waterfront Transit Yurikamome Train |
Tokyo - Kyoto (May 12, 2015)
The railways staff efficiently and politely checked tickets after each railway stop. Women in uniform with pink and mauve aprons bowed and entered the carriage several times during the journey selling drinks, food and magazines.
Kyoto Railway Station was huge and ultra modern (although Kyoto is about 1/20th the population of Tokyo !). When we found our way outside it was raining quite heavily for our walk to the Kyoto Plaza Hotel Hotel, our new home ! The 8th floor room had a view to the mountains and a local temple in the foreground. After orientation and stowing of suitcases, we headed to the nearby Muji Aeon Mall to stock our room with fruit, snacks and wine. Our first Japanese bus ride was easy due to the polite assistance of passengers and drivers in working out the fare collection machine in the bus.
The Kyoto National Museum has a classically European old wing only used for special exhibitions, and a modern minimalist Heisei Chishinkan wing containing a wonderful collection of ancient Japanese art and artefacts over 3 levels.
And over the road to the Sanjusangen-do temple founded in the 12th century (but suffering a few rebuilds and renovations since then). It is famous for its 1001 statues of Kannon, the goddess of mercy. Pretty impressive collection...
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| Sanjusangen-do temple with 1001 statues |
Observations: Young people do not carry personal water. People do not eat in commuter trains or in the street. No smoking is permitted on most streets - only in designated areas (sometimes inside a sealed glass room on the street. Very few overweight people.....
Kyoto (May 13, 2015)
Buffet breakfast in the hotel. Very Japanese ! Libby tried a lot of things. Stephen agreed as far as the good coffee, boiled eggs, white toast and squeeze packets of jam and margarine combined !
A warm, sunny 25 degrees greeted us for our train trip to the old suburb of Gion where we had booked online from Australia into a performance in the oldest Kabuki theatre in Japan. The crowd were dressed in very smart formal wear in deference to the seriousness of the art form. The first half was bizarre and amusing as it was a lecture/ demonstration (all in Japanese). The second half was a traditional kabuki story in which the protagonists would occasionally freeze in a tableau and receive applause for replicating a scene from a famous painting. The most bizarre aspect was the accompaniment which consisted of three men emitting screeches, whimpers, yells as well as playing primitive wind and string instruments.
After the performance, we walked around the old town guided by Lonely Planet. Libby spotted several geisha discreetly coming and going from their amazingly expensive private performances in Hanami-koji street.
We walked to the Kenninji Temple, the oldest Zen Temple in Kyoto. The Zen sect is one of the main branches of Japanese Buddhism. Japanese architecture has a modest peaceful wooden charm so different to European grandeur. In the Hatto (Dharma Hall) near the temple, we viewed a magnificent new painting on the ceiling of the Twin Dragons, the Wind and Thunder Gods.
In need of a rest we wandered down an alley and discovered a sign leading to...... The Gael Irish Pub where we enjoyed a drink and talk to the owner and bar tender about the place of Guinness in Japanese history.....
Train home to the Kyoto station where we found dinner in a very nice restaurant then bath and bed !
Observations: Very few women wear lipstick, they have very expensive bags and a moist face washer on hand for modestly refreshing themselves.
Organisation: Libby thinks she has finally got her bag under control: purse and camera in the front pocket; glasses in the middle; pen and paper and all the other crap in the back. Stephen, in charge of map reading, tickets and navigation, remains sceptical ! Libby is in charge of food, all beverages, washing, rubbish recycling and small change. We share the digital camera, and Stephen takes some photos on the iPhone as well. (Later, we will have problems merging the photos due to the different time stamps in these two devices)
Kyoto (May 14, 2015)
Another warm sunny day, so we set out for Inari train station and walked up the hill to the Fushimi Inari Taisha - the temple of 10,000 steps. Undaunted, we climbed everyone of them by 10.15 am ! The bright orange torii (gates) many of which have dedication text engraved into them on behalf of the individual donors. The paths led us up a mountain track with many shrines, and small temples dotted along the way. The stone pathway was solid and well built making the walking safe. There were numerous tiny eating /drinking shelters with low tables and lovely fabric cushions looking as if they had not changed in a century.
Back through Kyoto to the far western Hozukyo train station. We missed our stop, and had to get off, cross the tracks and back track to Arashiyama Station. This mistake only took minutes to redress .... We love the frequency of the Japanese trains !
We caught the Scenic Railway Train to Oiwakecho that tunnelled though the valleys beside the Katsura river. The boats travelling down the rapids looked interesting so we jumped in the queue. It was great fun and not as scary as it looked from the train - about 15 on the boat and 3 crew. Towards the end of the journey another boat came along side us selling drinks and cooking food. Lib tried the freshly bbqued octopus ... delish !
From the boat we walked up the hill to the bamboo forest. The area was relatively small with a hedged path through the middle. We were a little disappointed not to be walking close among the bamboo, but it was still a charming experience.
Realising the time, and Libby's new found determination to fit in Ryoanji Temple into the schedule that afternoon, we got off a train to early and had to walk even further at speed. Luckily, we made it in good time and were immediately calmed by the studied but gentle asymmetry of rock garden and the lakeside - very Zen.
Organisation: Using trains in Japan is complicated by the number of train companies that have limited and complex interconnections. We purchased JR 14 day passes which got us most places in comfort, but occasionally the teller would smile and refuse the JR pass and insist that we buy a ticket from his company.
Kyoto - Takayama (May 15, 2015)
28C was forecast so Stephen (who prefers to be immobile at temperatures above 30) was glad to be heading north in air-conditioned comfort.Caught the high speed Shinkansen Hikari Express from Kyoto to Nagoya then changed lines and headed on to Takayama. Rail staff always immaculately dressed. They enter the carriage and bow before politely checking tickets. They repeat the bow before leaving.
On leaving Kyoto small paddy fields parallel the track and are dotted amongst the houses. We notice no houses on the hillsides as they are too steep. After skirting Nagoya, the train winds up the Hida River valley towards Takayama, through numerous tunnels where the train had to slow down as we climbed into the mountains and frequent dams and hydro-electric installations. The mountain sides are a rich tapestry of varied greens - great stands of cypress, cedars, spruce and a variety of deciduous plantations.
On the train the digital message reads: Please switch your mobile off when you are near the priority seats ( old, disabled, pregnant ) and switch to silent and refrain from talking while on the train. And for the most part people obey ! It's great. You don't hear phones ringing or people's inane conversations as you travel.
Visited the Takayama Jinya, which was a branch office of the government from 1692-1868. It was a fantastic building with offices, waiting, court, resting and conference rooms. The rice store house was very interesting.
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| Takayama Jinya |
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| Shōwa-kan Museum (map) |
Then onto the Takayama Festival Float Exhibition Hall, a museum that houses fabulously ornate vehicles used in the local parades. Adjacent is the Sakurayama Hachiman-gū Shrine - a temple beautifully perched over looking the town so we had a look around and enjoyed the view.
A delicious meal in a great Japanese restaurant 千年の宴 高山駅前店 where we sat at the bar and ate a lovely stir fry and tempura, accompanied by lots of sake then "home"!
Takayama (May 16, 2015)
Gourmet breakfast at our hotel restaurant and then a short walk to the bus stop to join our only organised tour for this trip: a day in Ainokura and Shirakawago. We had a sweet Japanese guide with good English and display diagrams !The Tōkai-Hokuriku Expressway has many tunnels - the longest, the Hida Tunnel is 11 km !!! The Expressway followed the Shogawa river, and was very picturesque with the mist on the mountain slopes speckled with such a variety of green trees in the gentle drizzle of rain.
The area is also famous for its Sarubobo dolls. Women make them during the winter months, different colors representing fertility, fortune, good health, wisdom, wealth etc.
We walked around the village, visited the Folklore Museum and then a panic run - before the bus left - up the hill to get a view of the village.
The bus then wound through the valleys and then delivered us in front of Syokudo and Teishoku Restaurant. where we hasd a delicious lunch. The table looked superb and as we entered they lit our individual burners to cook our fish and a selection of beautiful and tasty treats.
At the end of the day, we got back "home" to our Takayama Hotel and raced to the 13th floor for the private roof top onsens. Stephen did NOT enjoy the experience ! He lasted about 2 minutes in the very hot water, unable to enjoy the view of the city through the window ! Both the mens and the womens onsens have communal bathing and an outdoor pool as well. Libby loved it ! G&T's then back to last nights restaurant. When you're on a good thing - stick to it. As returning customers, we were rewarded with our own cubicle and a privacy blind.
Takayama - Shirakawago (May 17, 2015)
On our last day in Takayama, we walked through town to the daily market along a canal where about 100 stalls sold fresh and packaged foods and simple crafts.On our way home Libby's search for trinkets that would fit in the suitcase was rewarded with some sweet little dishes and ceramic spoons !
After checkout, we took the normal commuter bus back to Shirakawago. Repeating the journey was not a waste as the day was warm, sunny and clear so the greens of the forest glistened down the valley views.
Walking around the village and the forest behind the village up the slopes felt completely different and so much more peaceful and unhurried as "residents" rather than day tourists.
An after dinner sunset walk to the river before learning how to sleep on thin futon style mattresses, two doonas and a very weird pillow filled with pieces of short plastic tubing.(which we assumed was the health department replacement for ancient rice husks )
Shirakawago - Takayama - Toyama (May 18, 2005)
Up at 5.30 for a peaceful, cool walk around the village as it awoke. Hardly a soul in sight as the contemplative sound of the Bonshō bell drifted down the valley. Back to bed for a pre-breakfast nap needed after a night of futon learning activities.Breakfast was a different but also delightful feast of many things that we would have never thought of eating: a different miso, cold poached egg, cold pickled vegetables, tofu, a burner cooking a mix of soya bean paste, bean shoots and little tofus, sweet yogurt, a little pattypan of sweet bean and seaweed, tiny fresh croissants, green tea ..... such a smorgasbord ! Another difference was the TV rather incongruously chirping away in the corner.
Checked out and walked up the hill to the restaurant with the view that already felt like such a distant experience ! On our way back, we passed a funeral in progress and paused for a time soaking in the strangeness.
Bus to Takayama. Swapped our booked seats for new ticket on an earlier train (JR passes can often make train travel so easy !).
The train journey down the mountains along the rivers gave us a rich variety of views: lush vegetation; fruit trees propped up by umbrella like structures, rich textures of the varied tree species; vibrant spring annuals and perennials on the sides of roads and rail - daisies, aquilegias, hollyhocks, forget-me-nots, snap dragons, poppies, many self seeded in veggie patches and along the road side. Many people were busy planting summer vegetables: tomatoes, aubergines, onions, beans in the rich soil. As we went down towards the northern plains, the rice in paddies and the vegetables in gardens were more developed than in the colder alpine weather.
Toyama - Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route - Matsumoto (May 19, 2015)
Up and at the Dentetsu-Toyama Station by 5.40am, ready for our mountain crossing on the Tateyama Kurobe Alpine Route ! Unfortunately, the weather was raining lightly and very foggy. We sent our cases on ahead via rail and caught the train to Tateyama where we started our journey across the mountains using many types of transport. The first leg was a steep 10min cable car ride to Bijodaira.The roads, tunnels and cables we used that day were mainly created for the construction of the hydro-electricity scheme based on the Kurobe Dam. 171 people died during the construction of the tunnel.
The sun was shining now and the mountains looked really beautiful. We walked across the dam wall and Stephen walked up to a really high observatory point that Libby was unable to cope with ! Too scared Debbie !
In Matsumoto, we were rewarded for following Lonely Planet advice with dinner at Robata Shōya (Izakaya) Restaurant: a lively robatayaki, that grills a wide range of seafood, chicken, meats and mountain delights right in front of you. We selected chicken, fresh fish, leeks and potatoes for the young chef to cook for us and sunk some sake and wine while we watched. A delightful and entertaining meal.
Matsumoto (May 21, 2015)
Woke up to a beautiful morning gazing out to the seven great peaks to the west from our room. Complimentary breakfast in the cafe next door and home to wait for our washing to finish before we start work.Despite the 28 degrees, on to the Former Kaitchi School, built by Seijyu Tateishi who was the president of the carpenters association in Matsumoto. It was used as an elementary school, a junior high, a women's school and a technical college for teachers. The original building was located on the Metoba River but relocated in 1963/4 to its current location in town and is now a museum and a great example of Meiji period architecture.
It was so hot we decided on a taxi ride to the Museum of Art, a very modern building with an interesting collection of Japanese artists, many from Matsumoto depicting scenes of the surrounding countryside. Highlights included the striking avant-garde works of Yayoi Kusama, especially the Infinity Mirrored Room. Her work is amazing !
Home for a rest. We were unable to find the restaurant Libby had chosen for dinner so decided upon one close by that turned out to be Korean ... worst meal ever ! We left ASAP and walked home via a convenience store and purchased some cakes and chocolate to have with coffee in our room !
Matsumoto - Hotaka - Matsumoto (May 22, 2015)
Off to Hotaka to visit a Wasabi farm. First came the train, leaving the suburbia of Matsumoto and travelling north into flat rice paddies. The valley narrowed as we went north so the mountains get closed and more beautiful on each side. We could see the mountains that we had crossed a couple of days before ! Mid twenties and sunshine completed the idyllic picture.We rode our bikes back along a different route and eventually returned to town reluctantly parting with our bikes...
The train returned us to Matsumoto where we enjoyed a lunch of lovely quiches and pastries at Vie de France, a chain here in Japan. The quality of food within railway stations continues to delight us. Yum !
Last Meal in Matsumoto returning to Robata Shōya (Izakaya) Restaurant varying the choice to squid, leeks and aubergines. Stephen stuck to more familiar chicken skewers and potatoes. A charming Japanese local bought us a grilled asparagus dish as he couldn't bare to think of us leaving without tasting it. libby thought it was delicious.
Matsumoto -Tokyo (May 23, 2015)
Breakfast of eggs and toast, juices and coffees in the cafe next up the hotel followed by the 3 hour train trip back to Tokyo. At last we had a glimpse of a distant Mt Fuji through the windows. More lush vegetation, paddy fields and lots of grapes fruit trees with their branches proped up like umbrellas. Wide flat fertile valleys enjoying a warm sunny day.Booked into the Grand Arc Hanzomon enjoying a lovely view of the river, the Tokyo Tower and the Emperors Palace's gardens from the 10th floor. Confident in the Tokyo transport system and in the iPhone Google Maps, we went to the rather obscure The Omiya Bonsai Village Museum in the very outer suburb of Saitama, using about 5 different trains. Stephen's navigational skills are amazing. The bonsais were fascinating and some of them truly beautiful. Indoor photography was restricted for some silly reason!
Back to our hostel for a drink and rest.
We then returned to Harajuku but there were again no great collection of weirdo adolescents that we had hoped for. A Chinese restaurant close to our hotel caught our eye. The food was delicious but we were a little shocked by the raucous and loud behaviour of the Chinese businessmen compared to the very reserved Japanese we had most frequently been dining with.
Tokyo (May 24, 2015)
A comfortable 25 degrees encouraged us to make the most of our last hours, and we subwayed north to the Museum of Nature and Science.
Next on the list was the Imperial Palace East Garden which is free to the public. The gardens are HUGE and while Stephen rested Libby raced around trying to to soak in as much of the beauty as possible ! It was a real treat.
Back to the hotel, collect luggage and our final train trip to the Narita airport.
Purchased our duty free grog and then had a celebratory drink to a wonderful trip.
Farewell to:
- modest, well groomed, polite, helpful people often wearing face masks
- weird but interesting food that is beautifully presented including the bento box and a multitude of high quality pre-packaged food at every railway station and convenience stores
- to the literally hundreds of shops we saw that sold beautifully packaged sweets and biscuits that seem to be a very common and courteous gift for family and friends for ANY occasion
- to taking off our shoes numerous times each day in shrines and museums etc
- every toilet being clean, always with bidet/ wash function and the possibility of an electrically heated seat and even musical accompaniment - whether it be at a railway station, a tourist venue or the middle of nowhere
- the pristine lush country side that is uninterrupted by useless signage, litter or graffiti
- a very punctual, although somewhat tricky to navigate railway system where many people sleep or play on their phones but RARELY talk. They leave carriages and restaurants to speak outside.
Japan we love you.
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