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vietnam, sapa adventure
Wednesday 16/02/05
After a journey by plane from about 2H from Bangkok, we arrive in Hanoi around 14.30. This is much more pleasant than to arrive early morning or late at night! We read that the passage of customs and police would be terribly long and painful. This has not been the case. Good. On the plane, the hostess who served meals and drinks stopped just before our own to go recharge his cart. To tease, Frédéric told Johanna that there was nothing left for us. She looked with pity and said, "worry not, it will return." This child is a wise old man ...
We take a taxi from the airport "to go to a guest-house marked cards in my country. Fixed Price: $ 10, as indicated in the guide. Very good. We cross a landscape of rice fields. The peasants in conical straw hat repiquent rice. Other plowing with oxen. Cows graze near the highway. There are many 2-wheelers. The houses have a particular style: sloping roof and large balcony with bay window at first floor.
We arrive. Employees of the hotel is literally cast on us to open the doors and leave the luggage. Usually we stay in the taxi while Frédéric will see if the individual (s) room (s) we agree (nnen) t and the price. Again, impossible. Surrounded by several people, Frédéric pay the taxi. Strangely, it makes us a sign that this is sufficient for 90,000 dong. We assemble to see the room, it is very good, great, with a bathroom entirely correct even with a bath. Price, $ 14. Perfect. Amazed by the history of the taxi, Frédéric recount tickets and realize that it was not 90 000 but 900 000 dong! We are not yet accustomed to all those zeros and tickets. He descends into a disaster at the reception. They manage to remember the taxi back. He acknowledges that he too was paid, but claims that he was only 8 of 100 000 tickets. It sells, while saying that we are not fooled, but it is a lesser evil. Whew! The hotel, just kind insists we rest before completing the paperwork. And for good reason: when one goes down, we branch immediately on excursions! Difficult, just arrived, compare prices and know what is best done by ourselves or tour operator. Of course, it assures us that we would be more costly individual, which is possible, however ... We end up booking the trip in the northern villages in order to go Sunday morning market in Bac Ha. For the Bay of Along, we'll see tomorrow. A young man gives sweets and apples to Johanna.
I doubt if the name of the hotel is confirmed: nothing to do with the one I asked the taxi driver! Clearly, it does not much here!
We are going to dinner. It's night early. As announced, it is difficult to cross the street between the many 2-wheelers who do not respect the rules of the road and cars who ignore pedestrians.
We are approaching the market. But the mini-restaurants are already beginning to close. We sit down somewhere. We propose a kind of fondue broth but it appears that we are not eating offal and that this person will try tonight. Marianne and I rabattons on rice and maize, the other on the watermelon. We will do better tomorrow. Many people ask their young children to say hello. Few speak English.
Thursday 17/02/05
We start on foot for a first visit to Hanoi. We follow wide avenues lined with military buildings, pass the flag column and come to the Museum of Fine Arts. We admire the ancient sculptures, modern paintings, ceramics from various eras and objects "folk."
We will lunch in a "boui-boui" open. The dishes are good but they are dirty! There was of course no cards but we thought that prices would be the same as yesterday evening. But they make us pay 170 dong 000, about $ 10. It is cheap for Westerners, but here it is really ripping us blatantly. We will not make a stink, but it was inconvenient.
We continue our visit of the pagoda by the single pillar, pretty small temple suspended above the water by a single pillar as its name suggests, then the mausoleum of Ho Chi Min. The children had hoped to visit it to see the embalmed body, but it closed in the afternoon. We turn to the presidential palace and old colonial houses yellow ocher and then come to the lake from the west. I visit the temple .... The statues are numerous and are little Buddha. The atmosphere is dark and mysterious. There are all small citrus fruit and orange flowering shrub roses for the new year.
We will make the pedal on the lake, like the youth in Hanoi. They have a swan very kitsch, and we are good fun. The wind blows out to sea making the effort more intense. What rehabilitation for my knee! We turn next to fishermen who collect shells by scraping the bottom with large nets. They row with their feet. Bel exercice de style! The town is drowned in the fog and it starts to get cold.
I will drink coffee, but others prefer ice. We sell T-shirts representing dragons on each child and one with beautiful young women for me.
We will see a pagoda on a small peninsula jutting into the lake. The setting is very pretty. Many Vietnamese do their devotions. There is a tower decorated with several different Buddhas and temples; A young monk chant by tapping on a small drum. Many people attend the prayer a little girl very collected.
We walk in the old city. Hanoi is really a very dirty city. Many people admire the fact that we have three children. Here in the cities, children are a luxury because it is very expensive in terms of health and education. Many families have an only child.
We will dine in a real restaurant. The setting is nice, the map is bilingual but the staff does not understand English. Misunderstanding or bad times, they serve us and make us pay an extra drink and we have two servings for a dish, ordered a copy, they advised us and we already found a ridiculous amount. Frederick becomes angry, as they had become part of a flat on the ground without replacing it. They do not concede and we have a portion and then say goodbye with smiles force. But it is painful!
We wait at the hotel until it is time to go catch the train. Johanna chahute with the hotel staff. The taxi is a little late. We arrive at the station. The person who accompanies us playing together in the rush to reach the docks. We follow closely. We have a compartment with four berths close. The cleanliness leaves much to be desired but at least we travel for longer. I share my bunk with Johanna.
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Written by vietnamheritagetravel 21 months ago
This comment was modified by vietnamheritagetravel 21 months ago
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