flying from Ho Chi Minh to Hanoi
to start another adventure,
on Vietnam Airlines at 6:00 AM
leaving my fears of coronavirus behind,
headed towards Sa Pa in the
north western mountains of Vietnam
we picked up our shuttle van at E-5
in the Hanoi Airport at 9:00 AM
taking us to meet the sleeper bus
for a six hour trip to Sa Pa,
then transferring to another shuttle van
that took us to our downtown hotel
checking into the magnificent Hotel De La coupole (M-Gallery) Sapa
so French, so fashionable, so unique, so much,
then taking a taxi to Cat Cat Village and Market
where we had lunch at the Sa Pa Sky Restaurant
with wild boar and stream fish for lunch
and pictures of the terraced fields in the background
it started to get chilly so we went back to our hotel
to enjoy a hot latte and a hot chocolate drink
at the Sapa Memory Coffee Shop and Restaurant
located in Sun Plaza near the M-gallery hotel,
with a wonderful Japanese restaurant complete
with a large pond full of koi, salmon, and sturgeon
and a realistic looking cherry blossom tree and deer statues
the next day we were picked up by our Vietnamese driver
(+84962349630 named Chung)
and he took us on a tour of foggy SaPa,
visiting the Lá Dao restaurant and Homestay
in Ta Van village where we enjoyed a traditional
H’mong breakfast with noodles, vegetables, and beef
served with a smile from a H’mong girl
after breakfast we were met by
about twenty H’mong teenagers
eager to sell us their colorful handmade bracelets
for 10,000 VND each (about 50 cents each),
while I was deciding which one I liked the most
I thought about the culture clash that tourism
would bring to their traditions and culture
I bought a homemade bracelet from a older H’mong woman,
then Chung then drove us to visit the Dao ethnic community in Ta Pin Village,
whose ancestors had migrated from China in the 12th and 13th century,
where we met May and her sisters
wearing the traditional red head dress
I enjoyed learning about their culture and simple life
while sitting in the bare cold house with no furniture,
heated only by an open fire on the floor
that was enjoyed by people and cats
with the smoke used to preserve the buffalo beef,
and the cats were useful in catching voles or mice
that munched on their stored rice
we talked in English with the Dao women
about being rich in culture and poor in living,
while sipping their traditional rice wine,
then looked at all their handmade bracelets and bags
with each reflecting the culture of an indigenous people,
finally deciding on the ones to buy as gifts after serious price negotiation
Chung then dropped us off at the Japanese restaurant
in Sun Plaza and watched the staff
capture “Sam” – the 1.3 kg salmon from the pond
and eating him for our sashimi and hot pot dinner,
learning that farm raised salmon and sturgeon
are popular fish to raise by locals due to the cold weather
we then rode in a cab in the fog to our next hotel,
Silk Path Grand Sapa Resort and Spa to relax,
a contemporary offering value for the money with a
comfortable and spacious room with courteous staff,
looking forward to a good night’s sleep
we were picked up again in the morning by Chung,
who drove us to the Fansipan Mountain Tram
(the ticket included a buffet for about 750,000 VND ($35 USD)
and an additional 70,000 VND for the train to the summit),
everyone was excited riding the tram or cable car into the fog
to get above the clouds at the “rooftop of Indochina,
with blue skies and fluffy clouds and a Buddhist monastery
we rode the train to the summit for more pictures
with tourists posing by the Vietnamese flag
and the landmark designating the summit
of Mt. Fanispan at 3142 meters or 10,300 feet,
before taking the tram back down the mountain
to catch our limo van back to Hanoi on New Years Eve
we were dropped off in the heart of Hanoi’s old quarter
at the Bonsella Cozy Hotel
with crazy New Years hustle and bustle in the streets,
and had a late dinner of Pho in the Pho Suong restaurant
where we ate black sesame sweet soup in very cold weather of winter
while listening to live music on the street
in the morning we had a northern typical breakfast of Bún riêu,
which is a traditional Vietnamese soup
of clear stock and rice vermicelli,
sitting on a stool on Ta Hien Street,
while waiting to be picked up in the morning
and taken on our bus ride to Ninh Binh
we headed north from Hanioi stopping to have lunch
served with tasty goat meat and Vietnamese crispy rice cake,
that was shared with fellow travelers,
such as a mom and her daughter and
a young couple that was recently married and on their honeymoon,
noting that there were not any other foreigners on this tour
continuing our day trip to visit the Trang An UNESCO World Heritage site,
which was also the filming location
of the famous “King Kong: Skull Island” movie,
with our tour starting after listening
to traditional Vietnamese folk music
while our guide bought our tour tickets
with tickets in hand we walked to the dock and
climbed into a traditional boat with our guide/rowman
who told us he was a driver for the “Kong” production crew
as we traveled down the river looking up at dramatic limestone towers
and explored limestone caves under the mountain ridges
as we explored Trang An by boat and drifted
through caves along stunning scenery,
our guide rowed the boat so we were never felt in danger
during our two hour tour by keeping our heads low and
stopping to take lots of pics with each other
our tour ended as the sun was setting and
we headed back on the bus to the hotel to relax,
and eat a delicious dinner at the Ban Cong Restaurant,
a breakfast burrito and Bun cha,
which is a Vietnamese dish of rice noodles with fried spring rolls,
pork, herbs and fish sauce
sleeping late in the morning and grabbing a Banh Mi,
a Vietnamese bread sandwich,
before leaving for the Hanoi airport
on Pacific Airlines in the afternoon
full of exciting memories of Hanoi, Sapa, and Ninh Binh
Summary and personal viewpoint on our trip to Hanoi, Sapa, and Ninh Binh Vietnam
The H’mong and Dao communities
are traditional agricultural societies
growing their rice and vegetables for centuries,
it is these ethnic minorities that are now having to learn to balance
their history and culture with increased economic opportunities
It is because of the income that comes with tourism
that the H’mong and Dao communities
have taken to learning Vietnamese, English, and French
with a ferociousness so they can communicate
with tourists from the outside world.
Their challenge will be finding a way
to manage the generational divide
that is growing because the younger generation
now has access to the world
using their phones and the internet.
An example of this challenge would be the parents
wanting their children to create more family income
by having them sell handicraft goods
to foreign tourists rather than stay in school
and stay focused on their education
The Vietnamese government is offering jobs
to ethnic minority college graduates
who can go to work back in their communities
and help facilitate change that the government
wants them to help implement
Everytime I see the world from a high mountain
such as Mt. Fansipan and Mt. Fuji
or the dark caves of Trang An, Ha Long Bay, or Paradise Cave in Vietnam,
I marvel how majestic Mother Nature is
and how strong and resilient the human spirit is
The coronavirus has kept all of us indoors
for about a year and this trip reminded me again
about the true value of travel,
exploring the outside world gives us all a chance
to learn more about our inner world through the lives of others.
There are many ways to travel
but what has the most meaning to me
is when we take the time to talk with and
be touched by other human beings,
It is from finding these new relationships
comes our most memorable and meaningful trips
Tom Yeager – January 2021