Where were we? Oh right, getting back to Hanoi after the fun at Halong Bay.
Here's our third travel mate's diary entry for Day 10, 12th June.
"We took a boat and minibus back to Hanoi. Tour guide was a bastard, he refused to let us alight at the place we wanted. Took a cheap cab to Vin Comm Tower. Things are exp there but still cheaper than in SG.
There are alot of chio bus there. The 3 amigos were right! I bought a branded t-shirt there. It looks nice and it's cheap. But i tried 8 shirts before buying.
We had a scrumptious meal at a roadside restaurant near VC tower, eating dishes with eel inside. Yummy! The meals just cost less than 2 bucks each.
We went to the train station next, by cab but it was yet another scam incident. The driver acted stupid & took us a big round before bringing us to our destination. Such petty scams really spoilt our good impression of Vietnam.
The train station looked antique. Our cabin is hard berth, meaning hard wooden seats. It's uncomfortable but it allows us to be in the midst of the locals.
Playing cards right now."
After an hour of extensive card bouts with Chinese High's self-proclaimed 'Daidee Kings', we settled down to sleep for the night. Jon and i squeezed under the benches and slept on the cold, hard floor.
Meanwhile the train rumbled and grumbled on into the night.
The next day, in the border town of Lao Cai.
We got out of the train station, all rough and gruffy, and caught a bus up the spiraling mountain path, up to our last pitstop in Vietnam.
Sapa. A mountain town overlooking a gaping valley, where ethnic minority groups eke out a living by farming on its lush verdant slopes. Rows upon rows of rice terraces had been etched painstakingly across the vegetation, as though Order had made its way through this wild, forested Nature. Little settlements bloomed at little corners of the valley, like mushrooms hiding beneath tree roots. The clouds flooded the sky, and sheets of sunlight flowed across these fertile fields amid gentle rain.
Gusts of icy winds blew through the windows into the van. I gasped.
We booked our hotel, and began to seek adventure outside. Jon saw a little native girl holding an umbrella, and excitedly rushed to take a picture with her. Her name was Si. We slowly walked to the local markets, and met a awkwardly huge crowd of female touters, all from a nearby native tribe, the Hmong people. All seemed experienced and equipped with Touter-level English (T-level).
"Hello whats your name? Where you come from? My name is ---. I am happy to meet you... now BUY MY STUFF!!"
I am seriously sick of touters. But fortunately in Sapa they were much nicer and weren't as persistent. I thought.
The flea markets contained folkwear for every season and tribe, as well as souvenirs that screamed 'I am so cheap that you can buy a dozen and give me to all your colleagues and twice-removed cousins!' I resisted the temptation.
Si led us upwards, towards the highest point on the mountain. After awhile of climbing, we explored gardens and pavilions, then navigated through rock formations to wide fields of flowering bushes. Our understanding tour guide even allocated break times for us, even though she herself didn't even break a sweat and hadn't taken a sip of water.
It was breathtaking scenery, finally, at the watch tower on the peak. A quiet spot, cool and refreshing, off the Lonely Planet maps of most tourists. I'm glad we decided to get up here.
As we dropped down to explore further, Bape felt slightly sick. We took a break. Si seemed pretty bored, so i passed her my camera. She took photos excitedly. After all, every sufficiently advanced technology is like magic. It was the first time we saw her smile naturally today.
We descended back to the town, where 3 touting girls came at me. Somewhat imaginatively, they got the idea that i'd promised to buy from them later on. We went for lunch, while Si agreed to meet us afterwards, to bring us to a village nearby for a trek. Quite a couple of streets were saturated with touristy restaurants, so we just picked one and crossed fingers. Surprisingly it was good enough.
Bape decided he'd look for a western doctor in town. Previously Si had recommended her village's voodoo doctor but Bape wasn't game enough for that heh. Ian and i met up with Si. Fatefully, three of the previous touting girls returned and suddenly confronted me! I was busy trying to distract them when out of the blue something happened.
A cow, dragged to the slaughterhouse along the streets, was frantically struggling for its life! It trotted here and there, dragging and goring its owner around, and knocked down motorbikes. In the end the owner managed to tie it around a lamppost while calling for more help.
"It's going to die," Na (the youngest of the three) murmured.
We met up with the rest, and began the trek to nearby Cat Cat village. The three had tagged along, so we had four native girls following us! Ha, one for each of us.
"Un, deux, troix, quatre, cinq..." The oldest girl chanted. Her name was Nini, and she turned out to be able to converse in French! We began speaking in French awhile, till i couldn't catch up. She'd picked it up from a friend, perhaps a French tourist.
Anyway, it turned out to be really, awfully fun with them leading us on the trek. Si, Emh and Nini were great guides well equipped with knowledge of natural history and the flora and fauna. Cute lil' Na mostly mucked around in play.
"How old are you?" Nini asks curiously.
"Oh, i'm eight years old," I reply.
"You are? Well, then i was born YESTERDAY." She taunts back.
The scenery of rice paddies and wheat fields grew closer and closer, till we stood within them. Cat Cat village loomed at the bottom of the valley. Boars, ducks, chickens ran astray everywhere. The children ran around, their faces smeared with mud, and clothes soiled for days. The farmers toiled away in the fields. We walked through to a large roaring waterfall at the end of the village, which stood as though it were the most natural thing in the world to exist.
The girls began leading us to a shortcut, which turned out to be a dead-end in the paddy fields! That was a crazy funny incident, but it was nice to walk along the tees of the rice terrace. After long tiring hours, we finally trekked out of the valley.
The girls have incredible stamina and agility. We were huffing and puffing while scaling a 60` slope, while Na was skipping ahead like a goat. Bape got to the top, and asked her for a hand.
"..... Lazy Boy!" Na glared and ignored him. She walked off, and eventually led us by a huge distance.
"Na, Tor Pi Yo!", and she finally smiled and stopped to wait for us.
Our delightful trek today ended back in town. We bought things from all of them as a form of thanks. But today, truly, we gained something priceless- this memorable trip with our four wonderful guides. Their innocence brought us joy and laughter, their antics kept us endlessly amused, and their local knowledge left us awed.
Nevertheless, it's time for us to 'Kia Kia lo'. The sun slowly set on the mountain top. We ate at Mimosa, a pretty good restaurant, then wandered to look at the night scene. Sadly, it would be the only night we'll spend in this dreamy town.
Tomorrow...
The twelfth morning arrived. Jon and i bade farewell to Bape and Ian as we moved on to our next phase of travel: Yunnan, China. As we searched for a taxi, we bumped into Si and Na again. Si seemed much more cheerful today, and she told us that she had actually been ill. She now has a large mark on her forehead, from the witch doctor. We said our farewells to the girls, and prepared to leave. I couldn't resist saying,
"Na, Tor Pi Yo!" And they echoed it playfully, all the way.
As the van lumbered down the winding path, the scenery outside shone. Filled water terraces gleamed in the sunlight, mirroring the perfect nature that hung about it.
We had left beautiful, unforgettable Sapa.
Our journey in China still awaits.
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