Travelling North-East
I decided I want to visit Sapa so I booked a night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, this time I took the sitting ticket as I had a good experience the previous time. Well this train was a bit different, the soft seat wasn’t that comfortable and the cockroaches on the wall didn’t make it any more pleasant, but I was lucky as it wasn’t full so I had two sits for myself. And as the sun was starting to light up the amazing views came to life. But to get back a bit, I had one day to spend in Hanoi and I this was a day that confirmed that it was time to go home. I spent the day finding a shop to buy my phone which wasn’t that hard, but the hardest part was to find an ATM that would give me more money than just 2 million of VND. I googled and found the banks, but locating the ATMs wasn’t as easy as some locations on the maps weren't precise. So I was walking around, searching an ATM with my hurting leg, it didn’t seem far but it kept getting away from me. Finally I decided to take a bus to another place when just after a few seconds of the drive I saw a sign for ANZ, the bank that usually gives you 5 millions of VND. I was so happy when I heard it count the money, the slot opened but all of a sudden it didn’t want to give me money nor my card. I admit, I was so tired and fed up with the search that I got upset. By this time it was already past bank opening hours so I was very happy when the ATM gave me the card back and after some time I got an SMS from my bank that the transaction was cancelled. This I recommend to everyone travelling – arrange with your bank that they send you SMS for the transactions, because sometimes some banks don’t give you the money but the money gets off the account. I was so upset I needed a sugar pump and bought a great chocolate cake to make me feel better, and it helped. Ok, I decided to find any ATM that would give me the money and this was a hard mission again, finding a bank that would give me any money. I stopped by at the phone shop and asked again if there is any option to pay with a card and they said no. I explained them I would buy the phone I was checking before but just needed to get the money. It took me half more hour to find a bank that gave me just 1,5 million VND, but I also managed to exchange some money at the jewelry for a good exchange rate, I actually recommend changing it there, better than this crazy ATM game :)! Ok, finally I got enough money and I came back to the shop where they explained me, using of course google translate which in this case was actually really good, that the phone I wanted to buy was out of stock. The world stopped at that moment, I spent the whole day going around searching for this thing and all in vain. I couldn’t understand why they didn’t tell me this before, as half an hour before I was right there, telling them which phone I chose. It was too much for me to handle at that moment. I went outside, sat beside the road and cried. I couldn’t stop. All of my emotions that I was keeping inside got out. I was tired, I was hurt, I felt alone and powerless. It wasn’t about the phone but it was about the way I felt at that time. Exhausted and happy to be going home soon. I called my friend because I needed just to hear a voice from somebody that was close to me, although very far on the map. It was actually very funny as my cry turned into laughter soon and I actually didn’t know what I feel like doing more. I calmed down and decided to make the most of this situation, so I went back into the shop and just bought the other phone I was actually deciding between that day. Not a big problem, I just needed to calm down to find a solution and I felt better soon. I was also tired as during the day I tried finding some place where I could avoid getting meat on my plate, but in vain. So finally I got a nice dinner with the friendly staff that were happy to prepare something for me and for a cheap price. They made me so happy that they got a really good tip, just for being there at the right time, with a friendly attitude.
I want to tell you that travelling sometimes can be hard and emotional. It is not easy and relaxing all the time, I don’t want to write just about the good days but also show you the real picture. Sometimes it is exhausting, but looking back, it was well worth the tough moments. To be honest, I realized at some point that in average I feel so much better travelling. Despite the pain. Despite the hunger. Despite being constantly in action. At home I had more mood swings and felt more tired although I wasn’t doing so much. So yeah, it can be rough, but as long as it feels right in your heart it feels amazing at the same time. And when the time comes to go home you just need to listen to it and go back. Although confused, not knowing how you will manage to combine this two different worlds. When it’s time, it’s time.
Well let’s jump to the next day, on the train one lady already offered a van to Sapa and of course I took it. The drive was windy but very nice. Tea plantation. Rice fields. Green is really the colour for me. Sapa is touristic and that means a lot of people offering you stuff and services, but it is well worth it. It can be a bit annoying when after a long night there are lots of local hill tribe ladies that want to sell you something or take you to their homestay, but they are actually very nice, friendly and not really aggressive. Just trying to make a living. I decided to rent a motorbike again as my foot situation didn’t allow me much trekking. But the first day I spent in Sapa just walking around a little, eating good food and also did some shopping. As I was coming home it was time to get some things, like good trekking pants and great shoes – I bought them just because I really needed them as my hurting foot didn’t allow me to put on my too narrow running shoes and my Fei Yue’s soles (shoes from Kung fu training) were already too flat and not really safe for a bit of rain. The new shoes were amazing and it felt so good walking in them, my foot was hurting less. I also bought lovely silk shirt, which really wasn't planned but here they make such lovely things and I when I saw it I really loved it. I visited the local market at the bus station and ate a lot of delicious and cheap pineapples they had here and I found an amazing pomelo. There are a lot of nuts selling there, I liked the almonds and macadamia nuts! Sapa is a nice place to walk around but the highlight was the surrounding. I rented motorbike for two days and visited Lao Chai. When I saw the village from the top, surrounded by colourful rice fields, I felt happy. I felt relaxed. I felt great. I stayed at Tavan Ecologic Homestay where I got a nice room and the staff were great. I needed just some time to relax and enjoy the amazing view, so this was perfect. The rice field just outside my doors made me calm and happy. I didn’t need much more. During the night it was raining so much but luckily the day began with a sunshine. I was admiring lots of waterfalls just up in the mountains but later realized that after a rainy day it is actually not good to be close to the waterfalls. The water was all over the roads and I had to learn one more thing to do with my motorbike – just go through the water with it, it is normal there. Actually going through the water isn’t a problem, what I learnt is that going through mud is the biggest problem – I got stuck in it. So there I was, with my new shoes all the way in the mud and trying in vain to move my motorbike. Luckily one local guy was very nice and helped me move it so I could continue my drive. My shoes were filled with mud and I washed them in the stream that was coming from the mountains. It was an interesting experience but I was happy that I was going to some other place that had better roads. I wanted to drive around a bit to get to Tram Ton Pass where at 1930 meters above sea level you can get amazing views of the Fansipan mountain with the peak at 3143 meters high. I enjoyed driving around on a good, empty road and enjoying seeing lots of waterfalls on the way and great scenery. Totally refreshing, even the weather was like that at this height. I found a nice restaurant on the way where I met one couple and a guy who travelled around with motorbikes and it was fun talking to them. I bought some tea on the way and as I found no place to sleep there returned to Sapa where I found a great place to stay with friendly owners. The next day I visited another village, Ta Phin, which had maybe just 5 tourists and was really nice. I just drove around as I was going to Hanoi in the afternoon. Luckily I managed to get ahold of the interesting five coloured sticky rice, which is a speciality here. I was happy to have found it but wasn’t fascinated by it. Even driving back to Hanoi on a sleeping bus was nice, relaxing a bit and enjoying the lovely view outside the windows, the North of Vietnam is really special place.