Hello and welcome to this week’s edition of the mrlukeniktravels blog, from Hanoi, Vietnam. I have, regrettably, reached my final stop, for this trip, in Vietnam. It seems a long time ago that I arrived in Saigon in the south. I arrived in the capital this afternoon and have a few days here before flying west. Europe beckons! That, unfortunately, heralds that this trip is coming to an end. Enough of that for now, there is still time to squeeze in a few destinations before becoming homeward bound. The past week has seen me exploring Ninh Binh and Sa Pa on my way northwards. Here is some of what I have been up to.
Since last week I have travelled up from Hue to Ninh Binh by night bus. Reader I can reveal that it was not a pleasant journey. The roads were bumpy, the other passengers noisy and the air-conditioning barely functioning. Is it possible to be cold and sweating simultaneously without having a fever?! For me it seems entirely possible. Arriving in the dark at 4:30am I made my way to my hostel. Having been recommended by other travellers on my way north, it did not disappoint. Some distance out of the town, the homestay/hostel was in a beautiful location. There was a small lake with a backdrop of the limestone cliffs the area is famous for. Think Ha Long Bay but inland. It provided an ideal base from which I could hire a motorbike to get out and explore the surrounding countryside. The scenery was beautiful, even without the best weather. I visited ancient citadels, temples and took a boat ride along the Trang An river.
Having the use of a motorbike was very liberating, allowing me to visit places that interested me. Being central Vietnam and not near the cities the roads were pretty quiet and undaunting. Being able to use offline navigation apps was essential to prevent me from getting lost! Using the drive mode also provided a preview of the road ahead, warning of tunnels or sharp bends. Really useful when I didn’t know the roads. Some motorbikes come with a mobile phone holder, otherwise I had to improvise using a headphone in one ear to read me directions. Having one ear on the road was essential to hear nearby buses, trucks and other traffic that could appear from nowhere. I think I became quite used to using Vietnamese roads so it will be strange to go back on them when I do return home. One thing I shan’t miss is the advisory nature of red lights here. It will be nice when red means stop again.
Leaving Ninh Binh behind and another night bus ride later, I arrived in Sa Pa. At an altitude of 1400m, the air felt refreshingly cool after the heat of Ninh Binh. The town itself is nothing special, the usual mix of dust, dirt and traffic. However, the surrounding countryside is spectacularly beautiful. Snow-covered in winter, the surrounding mountains when I visited were often shrouded in mist. Early morning was the best time to catch a glimpse of the view that greeted me on arrival (it was an early one yet again). Just like Tanah Rata in the Cameron Highlands of Malaysia, Sa Pa began as a retreat from the summer heat for colonial officials in the late 19th Century. The area is also known for the number of ethnic minorities that call the area home. Many of these people still wear, with some concessions to modernity, traditional dress. Plastic flip-flops are, as always, ubiquitous. Little change there!
The main experience I had planned for Sa Pa was to climb the summit of Mount Fanispan, the highest peak in Vietnam and Indochina (Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos). Standing at 3,143m (10,310ft), the hike took two days, for the less adventurous there is a 15 minute cable car ride to the summit. I went with a group of four others and a local guide. The weather on the first day was perfect, sunshine and a light breeze. The steep inclines up to the overnight camp were on a path built to service a power line to the summit. I enjoyed the climb as it was a good challenge without being overwhelming. At the overnight camp there was no electricity, so dinner was cooked over an open fire and nothing much happened after nightfall- other than the temperature dropping to just above freezing. This was a new experience for me in South East Asia as it had been a long time since I had felt those kind of temperatures! With an early start the next morning, my eyelids closed around 19:45, such a party animal.
The next morning began at 03:00 with rain falling on the tin roof of the night shelter. I was greatly warmed by a bowl of noodle soup before starting to hike the last vertical 300m to the summit. The rain did not stop for one moment before I reached the summit. Tales from other hikers of a picturesque sunrise at the summit were veiled by a wall of cloud and rain. The visibility at the top was perhaps 70m at best. No great exhilarating Mt Fanispan experience was had after all. Such is the way when mountains refuse to unsheathe themselves from the weather. At this point a few of the group were wet, tired and miserable and took the cable car back to Sa Pa. For the remainder of us, a return hike was the final step. Retracing our outward route, we arrived back at the start point a little under five hours later. As a reward I received a medal and a certificate, which had my name spelt wrong, wrong date of birth and my nationality as Irish! Perhaps I can use it one day as evidence to get an Irish passport…
That is almost all for this week and from Vietnam too. Next week I shall be writing from the edge of Europe in autumn (what’s that?!). This weekend brings an overnight flight across a few time zones to bring my watch within striking distance of London time. As I mentioned earlier, there are still a few places to visit before I return. For more updates on the go, you can follow my Twitter feed which can be found using the handle @mrlukeniktravel. For photos, videos and more my Instagram handle is @mrlukeniktravels. Thirdly, to subscribe to this blog, please use the button below for an email notification very time I press publish. Finally, for the last time from Vietnam and until next time, stay safe and travel on!
