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Vietnam–Bắc Hà and Sa Pa

After arriving back in Hanoi we had to spend a night before heading north to Bac Ha and I think this is generally where I started to get a bad taste in my mouth for Vietnam. Arriving at the bus station from Halong we were greeted my a multitude of taxis, none of which were of the variety that we knew to be honest. We decided to risk it but I kept an eye on the odometer versus the meter. Going rate at the time was around 10,000 dong per Kilometer. After one kilometer the meter had already racked up to 60,000 dong. I made the guy pull the car over and grabbed our bags from behind the seat and we walked away. The driver tried to follow demanding payment and I told him I wouldn’t be paying him a cent because he had a bad meter. As we continued to walk away a couple of locals noticed what was going on and must have recognized the brand of taxi and just motioned for us to keep walking and the pushed the driver back the other direction. We chose to walk the rest of the way to the Oldtown and found our hotel; The Red Dragon Legend Hotel. After dumping our bags we headed out to a Pho shop and again got overcharged the going price. Its just getting annoying at this point. After walking around Hanoi for the day and trying the Bia Hoi (beer of the day) we eventually hopped in a cab and headed for the train station to catch our overnight train north to Lao Cai. Finding our sleeper train room there were 4 people to a room and as per usual Asian standards the beds were tiny!

We happened to be sharing the room with an English speaking tour guide who was shuttling a huge group of tourists around the country. He explained to us that the train was going to be moving slowly for the night due to construction and that if we got off at a little town called Pho Lu the drive was much shorter to Bắc Hà. We found a bus marked for Bắc Hà and hopped on expecting that it may leave once the train was fully unloaded, but no such luck. It waited for another locals train and after handing the driver 100,000 vnd each we settled in and waited for departure. Two hours later we finally left the lot and headed for Bắc Hà. Problem is we started to notice the locals paying half the price we had just paid for a ride. An hour later of nauseatingly curvy roads at high speed and we arrived in Bắc Hà. I’d had enough of the double charging and decided to ask for my change. He declined and the situation escalated to a yelling match with him eventually threatening me with a steel pipe. I laughed at him knowing that he would never hit me as the penalty in Vietnam for harming a tourist is one of the harshest, and this made him even more upset. Eventually on Lis’ request I walked away, but it felt good to make a point even if it was an overall useless gesture. I don’t think I would have been bothered if we hadn’t have been crammed in to the same tight seats as everyone else. We walked a couple blocks to our hotel where the power was out but we were shown to our room and decided to take a nap for a little while as neither of us really slept on the crammed train. After a few hours we got up and decided to walk around town a little bit. I’d swear that the only people in Vietnam who appear happy are the kids. They still like to play.

After spending so much time in the crowded cities of Vietnam the streets of Bắc Hà seemed eerily quiet.

After spending so much time in the crowded cities of Vietnam the streets of Bắc Hà seemed eerily quiet.

In General the kids were far more friendly than the adults in Vietnam.

In General the kids were far more friendly than the adults in Vietnam.

After having dinner next door and a healthy pour of the local Corn Whiskey (probably over 100 proof) we headed to bed ready for the next day which is what Elisabeth especially wanted to be here for.

The Market wraps through almost the entirety of town.

The Market wraps through almost the entirety of town.

The Bắc Hà market is one of the most colorful I’ve ever seen and Elisabeth had no problem finding plenty of little things to take home with her.

Many of the people here are still very much from tribal descent and continue to this day to wear the traditional and very colorful tribal dress.

Many of the people here are still very much from tribal descent and continue to this day to wear the traditional and very colorful tribal dress.

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Puppies seemed to be a major part of the market.  It makes Elisabeth cringe at the thought of puppy soup, but it is a tradition here.

Puppies seemed to be a major part of the market. It makes Elisabeth cringe at the thought of puppy soup, but it is a tradition here.

Bamboo Chicken cage.

Bamboo Chicken cage.

What are you looking at?

What are you looking at?

Shopping.  I can feel my bag getting heavier.

Shopping. I can feel my bag getting heavier.

Bắc Hà lake near the town makes a nice break from the craziness of the market.

Bắc Hà lake near the town makes a nice break from the craziness of the market.

After our tour through the madness and noticing that the busses full of Sa Pa tourists were starting to fill the market past capacity we headed to a shop and rented a scooter for the day to go check out some other towns farther north. Lung Phin also has a market on Sundays so we figured we would see if we could motor up there before they quit for the day.

The rolling hills and endless terraces on the drive to Lung Phin Market are incredible.

The rolling hills and endless terraces on the drive to Lung Phin Market are incredible.

Much smaller, and far more of a local market we didn't receive anywhere near the normal amount of attention from the vendors up here, but more just curious looks.  It doesn't seem as though they see nearly as many tourists up here.

Much smaller, and far more of a local market we didn’t receive anywhere near the normal amount of attention from the vendors up here, but more just curious looks. It doesn’t seem as though they see nearly as many tourists up here.

Selfies on hilltops.

Selfies on hilltops.

No guard rails and plenty of good views.

Much of the road to and from Lung Phin Market was under construction and our backsides took notice with the constant bouncing. Heading farther north of town we stopped at a little snackbar/house and had a couple of cokes and some snacks. This guy ended up being one of the most accommodating people we met in the country, setting up chairs for us on his back patio which happened to have a great view of the valley. We got back into town for a little bit and had some lunch and then headed out again southeast of town to make the most of the day and cruised around until dark and then it was off to dinner.

These guys ride scooters like Californians ride crotch rockets.

These guys ride scooters like Californians ride crotch rockets.

Another night without electricity, the locals are rather prepared as it seems as though the electricity is off almost daily.

Another night without electricity, the locals are rather prepared as it seems as though the electricity is off almost daily.

Heading to bed after our daily limit of corn whiskey we were ready to be up early to catch the van to Lao Cai and on to Sapa. As with anything in this part of the world it took far longer than it was supposed to. We had a 16 passenger van with 26 people in it to get to Lao Cai and then we switched to a new van to get to Sapa. We landed at our hotel, Le Gecko, and dropped our bags before walking out to explore the town. Much higher in elevation here in Sapa (almost 5000 feet) than the rest of Vietnam, it was the first time we actually wanted a jacket. We booked our tickets to Laos for the following day and walked around exploring the area for the rest of the day.

Built in to a mountainside, Sapa has its own beautiful views.

Built in to a mountainside, Sapa has its own beautiful views.

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Playing "Jianzi" with the locals and other tourists.  Its a hackysack like game that has a bunch of plastic discs with feathers coming out of them that floats a bit more.

Playing “Jianzi” with the locals and other tourists. Its a hackysack like game that has a bunch of plastic discs with feathers coming out of them that floats a bit more.

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The church in the main plaza of Sapa.

The church in the main plaza of Sapa.

In the morning it was off to Laos which is its story all in itself.

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3 Comments

  1. Lem February 26, 2015

    Everyone has their own experience. But I’ve traveled extensively for twenty years. Am a Colorado resident. Have been to Vietnam only twice but loved it and the people both times. I’ve honestly never met anybody who has visited Vietnam in the last ten to fifteen years (and I know at least a dozen different parties who have spent time there) who hasn’t come back to the States raving about the place, but more importantly raving about the people and the culture. To each their own of course. I’m sorry your trip seemed to be such a downer and that you seemed to be so focused on how much people were charging you for simple, cheap services. Hopefully next time you’ll be able to see the beauty through the trees. _lem

  2. Lem February 26, 2015

    PS You do realize that you’re letting your experience be tainted by being overcharged basically two bucks for a train ride? Come on man. The time it took you to type this blog post on your mac in Aspen cost you more than that. Sheesh.

  3. Jordan April 8, 2015 — Post Author

    Hey Lem,
    Fair points all around. But when you contrast Vietnam with Cambodia and Laos, there is no comparison. The money itself is not the issue at all. The principle of how they treat even each other is the issue and the constant expectation that we should pay double to triple the normal cost, this wasn’t the case in Laos. We had great experiences in much of the country, but the Hanoi area is so dishonest and unfriendly that i felt compelled to write about it. I recommend travel to Vietnam, but not before its neighboring countries. Maybe we should have traveled north to south and we would have long forgotten about it. To each their own. But I think you missed the point.

    If you haven’t already… go to Laos.

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