Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Aircraft’s here, wooooooohooooooo! No overnight sleeper bus.
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Hanoi here we come.
25th Mar 2019 9:27 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Good to be back in Hanoi, nice bus ride from the airport to a few hundred metres from the hotel for all of 30p!! Tucked up in hotel room having just chickened out of welcome meal and gone for KFC next door. 10 days touring the north so will prob not have much power/weefee/data service so may not be updating that much. Should be some fantastic scenery with mountains and terraced rice fields, will post when I can.
No pics since last one, only thing of note was a couple of MiG-21s under shelters at HAN airport. Prob parked up waiting on a museum to go to.
25th Mar 2019 2:22 pm
ianm27
Member Since: 02 Jun 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2154
What!!!
No pics??
Don't believe you're back in Hanoi
C'mon, tell the truth - you are stuck in a tunnel somewhere in the North Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
Limo Tint
Blackvue front & rear dashcam
Cruise control switch pack
Bodsy's remote for FBH
25th Mar 2019 5:06 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Deffo back in Hanoi, where they do overnight roadworks. All night!!!!!!!!! Tired and grumpy, SWMBO more so as she says I slept through most of it!
Pic, incl very nice (SWMBO’s word) trench. Right outside the hotel!
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26th Mar 2019 12:09 am
discovery1953
Member Since: 07 Jan 2014
Location: Westbrook, Wilts.
Posts: 1165
where they do overnight roadworks. All night!!!!!!!!!
Our road was shut all day yesterday with road works half a mile away.
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
They’d have a revolution if they thought about closing the road in the day!!
Taster pics.
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26th Mar 2019 12:05 pm
stew 46
Member Since: 01 Dec 2011
Location: cornwall
Posts: 10146
Big steps -------------------------------------------------
if you cant hold on dont let go , it ill come in handy for something even if you never use it.
D3 SE 05,
110 s wagon 300 tdi SOLD
h top transit
crew cab transit
transit connect
ausa dumper, muck truck .
peljob 2.5 digger
06 L 200 crew cab
26th Mar 2019 12:46 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Very but luckily we had little steps, but very steep and muddy during 10km trek from Sa Pa to the homestay we’re staying in . I almost swan dived into a paddy terrace and ended up slipping down in the mud on my knee and hand. Bit more trekking tomorrow but we’ve unanimously chosen the longer but easier option to get back to the bus then Sa Pa hotel tomorrow. Will update then.
26th Mar 2019 2:46 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Moved down.
Last edited by DSL on 28th Mar 2019 2:42 am. Edited 3 times in total
27th Mar 2019 1:41 pm
Rescue01
Member Since: 14 Jan 2008
Location: Aberdeen
Posts: 2432
Derek are you ever coming home
PS you need to order more logs for Grantoon Its not the height of the fall but the sudden stop at the bottom that hurts!!
27th Mar 2019 2:13 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
or re logs, depends on whether you’ve cleaned us out or not.
Re coming home, not for a while. Enjoying it out here much too much.
27th Mar 2019 2:29 pm
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Ok, where were we?
We made an executive decision that the only way to see the top of Vietnam is on an organised tour so signed up for 10 days of adventure in the North of the North with Intrepid Travel. This is mobile home from home for 10 days.
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An interesting trinket available to buy in the service station.
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Bit of a road trip to Sa Pa, followed by lunch, then a 10km walk to the homestay (basic accom attached to a home). As the weather was good we were doing the more difficult route, very muddy in places as they were mostly the tracks that the farmers used for accessing the terraces. Whilst not having proper hiking boots, we had light boots but it was pretty slippy and I almost ended up sliding into a paddy terrace a couple of times. Good fun but knackered at the end of it. Great chance to see the local minority peeps and farming life, fair bit of hassle from souvenir sellers but we’re getting used to that.
Pics from the walk down, taken when I wasn’t concentrating on staying upright.
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Unfortunately we’re about a month too early for the classic green terraces views but it was still pretty spectacular.
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Night time was the May Homestay. Basic but lovely and clean, no bugs. Food was excellent!! View from the bog access platform.
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And after a bit of a sleep on to yesterday.
Good walk for the morning flowing the valley down. All roads (with free flowing motorbikes and some cars) or paths. Lots of lovely dogs around, playing or schooling, one joining us for breakie even though he didn’t live there.
Automated rice dehusker, just fill the bowl in the morning and husk free rice ready when they get back from the terraces. Simple but brilliant.
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It’s a tough life being a guard puppy.
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On way up to top of mountain. This is the cable car ride to the top of the Fansipan.
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Getting a little high. I was feeling the air was a bit thin but the top was totally socked in with cloud. A bit scary at times as steps were very steep and you couldn’t see more than a few metres in front.
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What we should have seen but solid cloud.
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It’s a bit like going around with perminantly fogged glasees.
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This shows how steep the steps were.
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Luckily there was a funicular to the top, where we turned round & headed down as I wasn’t for going up to the very top in the cloud & wind.
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And then back to Sa Pa, most of the ride was in the clouds so we’re happy we saw what we did in the way back. Didn’t bother with evening scoff, just a rubbish bottle of almost fizzy Vietnamese vino & crisps.
But on the way to hotel hot great view of Vietnam telecom in the clouds.
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View from hotel room at 6:30 this morning. Boooooootigul.
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Today is mostly on the bus with the odd stops. Will post anything of interest along the way.
28th Mar 2019 2:34 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Lots of wood for making matches. Bit of a local speciality.
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And VERY strong chairs here at coffee stop!!
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28th Mar 2019 4:41 am
DSL Keeper of the wheelie bin
Member Since: 11 May 2006
Location: Off again! :-)
Posts: 72789
Question from lunch: “waiter, waiter are these figs wild?” “Wild, they were livid!”.
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And we are about as far N as is possible to go in VN and it’s Bia Saigon!! Or Freedom Beer as Mr Trung would say.
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28th Mar 2019 8:09 am
ianm27
Member Since: 02 Jun 2016
Location: Hertfordshire
Posts: 2154
Hope you have alot of fun on your 10 day trip
What is it with you and heights??
And wow, they must be VERY strong chairs Uncle Ray's spare wheel protector
Limo Tint
Blackvue front & rear dashcam
Cruise control switch pack
Bodsy's remote for FBH
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