north - west safari

6 days 5 nights

Day 1: Hanoi - Son La

Our guide will meet you at your hotel and we drive north west along the scenic route to Son La. Arrival in the afternoon, check in at the hotel. Your time for relax. O/N in Son La.

Day 2: Son La - Dien Bien

Short easy trek to Thai villages, visit old French prison and Thuan Chau market. Crossing the Pha Din pass (1300m high) we drive to Dien Bien. Some stops for spectacular view and photographs. Upon arrival, check in at the hotel. Your time for refreshment.

Day 3: Dien Bien Phu - Lai Chau

Visit Dien Bien Phu battle field, then drive along scenic route to Lai Chau. You will see ethnic ladies of H’Mong, Kh’Mu, Black Thai, Muong, Dzao seemed to be colorful flowers. With our delicate guide, we can stop and communicate with them.

Day 4: Lai Chau - Sa Pa

Depart for Sa Pa. Along the way we will stop at some morning markets. Arriving Sa Pa, check in at the hotel. The remainder of the afternoon and evening is yours to relax and enjoy. (If in Saturday, you may attend at the Saturday lovers’ market held at mid-night).

Day 5: Sa Pa

Full day hiking for visits of ethnic villages of H’Mong and Dzay minorities. Now is your chance to enjoy stepping through suspension rattan bridges as well as to learn about daily life, culture, tradition and customs of hill-tribe people. Lunch in a Dzay family. In the afternoon we return to Sa Pa town for dinner & overnight.

Day 6: Sa Pa - Hanoi

Following refreshment, return you to Hanoi with wonderful memories of your adventure.

Price: .../pax

Included: Private car, hotel, English/ German/ French-speaking guide, entrance fee.

Excluded: Meals, drinks, personal expenses, ...

Friends

Hanoi - Yellow spring leaves

Hanoi - Yellow spring leaves

Travel Vietnam with Haiyenito: TET - the past and the present

Travel Vietnam with Haiyenito: TET - the past and the present

TET - the past and the present

The present

Over than 35 years, everything changed speedy.

Now you can see plenty of motorbikes and cars in stead of bicycles on the streets where young boys and girls in modern wears dodging through vehicle crowd. Apartments and houses replace flower fields in Nhat Tan, Nghi Tam, Ngoc Ha villages... Children ask their parents to buy for them China toys, new clothes, shoes and even mobile phones, motorbikes, ... in stead of being happy with grandparents or parents to prepare for Tet.
People now don't buy so much food for their Tet because it's really easy to have it even on the

First Day of the Tet. Rural traders understands well what their Kings want, with, of course, much higher price than the other days.

People travel more since the first day of the Tet, they spend money for showing themselves with brand new or luxury motorbikes, cars or wearing sparkling jewely.

Family members gather once during the Tet depending on tradition of each family (the last day of the Old year, first day or second day... of the New Year).

For most families in Hanoi, they keep tradition to worship the ancestors during at least 3 days of the Tet and one thing not to miss at mid night (the moment the old year comes to the new year) of the New Year's Eve is to creat an altar outside of their house (normally in the garden or on the highest place of the house outside to worship Heaven and Earth. They pray for a New Year with health, luckiness, happiness, prosperity, ... Especially during the Tet, everyone avoid doing nonsence and try to keep delicate and humorous towards the others.

Other Tet's thing people keep until now is to go worship at pagodas, temples or churches during last days of the old years and first days of the new year in hoping that all bad lucks have gone and good lucks will come. However, they spend too much money for burning votive paper offerings (money, clothes, shoes, vehicle, house, .... all personal belongings)

For me, Tet always comes with drizzle, peach blossoms, Banh Chung and new feelings.....
I love the Tet!

TET – the paste and the present

Tet came into my my mind since I was 4 years old. A little girl was being around her grandmother when she prepared Tet’s things for the whole family of 10 people. I remember that I just wanted to help her to clean up and decorate our house, and cook Banh Chung (square shaped green sticky rice stuffed with fat porc, black pepper, green bean inside).
For us, Tet is the greatest festival in the year of the country and our family as well when all members of the family (grandparents, father, mother, brothers and sisters, uncles, aunts and nephews and nieces,...) gather to celebrate the New Year (New Spring) under the same roof. People staying away try to back home to catch up during the Tet.
Relatives and friends come to visit each others and give their greetings and good wishes.
Children like me always receive the “lucky money” (Tien Mung Tuoi or Li Xi) from adults in hoping that they will be well, happy and lucky all over the year (I like mostly this thing!!!)
I went out hand in hand with my grandmother in spring drizzle coldness, but felt warm and really excited as she had promissed to teach me to wrap banh Chung. It was grey and wet. People hurried off to cycle home with such hanging things as a big piece of porc meat, a plastic bag containing some packs of cigarettes, tee, candy, jam,... and flowers. We went to flower market to buy a branch of peach blossoms. She said that the peach blossoms branch in olden days was used as a charm as it could ward off evil spirits that prowled by night time. And we believe that we can rejoice our Tet under protection of these spring blossoms.
We have tradition to reserve foods for Tet holidays so we prepared fish and porc meat well cooked in fish sauce, pickled onions and vegetables.

In the evening, we was sitting beside Banh Chung cooking barrel and keeping the fire while talking about Tet stories. It was my happiniest time in the life.

To be continued...

Mekong Delta - Quiet charm

An unforgetable way to see the Mekong Delta is to drive along provincial roads down on the Southern region of Vietnam through paddy rice fields, pineapple plantation, orchard and small hamlets ...

After 2 hours drive, we’ll take 1st boat trip to visit a floating fish market in My Tho with fishing men and merchants doing their business on the water. Tour around the four islands: Dragon, Unicorn, Tortoise and Phoenix. Continue our trip to visit natural creeks and peaceful villages of Ben Tre province – enjoy tropical fruits in an orchard and natural pure honey at a bee farm and traditional music. Read more...

Conquer Fanxipan - Indochina roof

After a rainy night at 2,800m base camp, I conquered 3,143m altitude Fanxipan top on 23 Oct at 10h05'.

It's cloudy and grey but no rain here. It worth overcoming hard long way during 2 rainy days of crossing streams, climbing on slippy rocks and sticky muddy mountain path.

Small bamboo forest

Vietnam North West Adventure - Motorbike trip

Day 4: Muong Nhe - Sin Thau (Ta Kho Khu) - Ha Nhi hill tribe people
We started to ride our motorbikes on awfully stony, dusty and muddy road. Crazy bumpy! Sometimes we meet local motordrivers in the opposite direction who offer us understanding smile. Crossing 4 streems (in which crossing one by bamboo raft) seemed to struggle with big slippery large rocks under water.

Rafting lady is about 32 years old waded across the rather deep streem (water level is approx. her waist) pulling me with motorbike on the raft. It's really difficult to keep balance for the old raft.

This is Nam Ma streem of Trung Chai, 18 kms west of Muong Nhe town







Mo Phi streem where we have to cross to get in Sin Thau village.







Sin Thau is a small village of Muong Nhe district. Most people here belong to Ha Nhi ethnic minority. They are very nice, generous and friendly. We learnt a lot from them about their daily life, culture and customs. Difficulties always cover their poor living conditions.



Children from remote villages have no way to school in flooding days, lack such hundred things for their study as workbooks, notebooks, and information, pens, ...
I was sunk in rice wine and endless stories with their heartfelt feeling for us.



House and kitchen of Ha Nhi people




















To be continued...

Adventure trip to conquer A Pa Chai Western pole

People say that A Pa Chai is a place where a cock singing cans alarm citizens of both three neighbor countries: Vietnam, Laos and China. That's why I decide to take a moto-trip to realize my dream of seeing that Western pole of Vietnam.
Departure on 8 Oct (same time last year I made my motorbike riding trip to Lung Cu, the Northern pole of Vietnam) by night train to Lao Cai and send my motorbike with another train that leave 1 hour later.
Arrived in Lao Cai at 6.30am, we took our motobikes no sooner than 8h30. Driving to Sapa via pictoresque scenery of yellow ripe rice fiel on mountain sides, we took a lot of photos when we had stopped at each pass top.

After a coffee stop in Sapa town to refresh ourselves, we take a move to Sin Ho via Tram Ton pass, O Quy Ho, Binh Lu, Tam Duong, Giang Ma pass. Funny lunch on the way (prior to approaching to Giang village of Lu tribe).

Overnight in Sin Ho at a nice hotel.

Day after, we left Sin Ho early in the morning when fog was covering the town. The Sun came up when we were driving up to Lang Mo pass, but all the things were sunk in the fog. No photo was taken here. Right after leaving back Ma Thi Ho pass, we can see a marvelous scenery of continuous mountains and valleys.
We drove through Chan Nua, Chieng Chan, Muong Lay to Muong Cha town for lunch.
From Muong Cha, the road became worse and worse. It seems to ride a horse but not a motorbike on endless bumpy and zigzag road. Finally we had to cross a streams named Muong Toong to get into Muong Nhe small town. Dinner at a local food shop then overnight at Post Office. people are very nice and helpful.
to be continued...

Cat Ba island

Cat Ba town in dawn

Sunset on Catba island

Walking along the dike, I caught this at 6.10pm on the Cat ba island, a quiet moment!

One pillar pagoda

The pagoda was built by Emperor Ly Thai Tong, who ruled from 1028 to 1054. According to the court records, Ly Thai Tong was childless and dreamt that he met the bodhisattva Avalokiteshvara, who handed him a baby son while seated on a lotus flower. Ly Thai Tong then married a peasant girl that he had met and she bore him a son. The emperor constructed the temple in gratitude for this in 1049 having been told by a monk named Thiền Tuệ to build the temple, by erecting a pillar in the middle of a lotus pond, similar to the one he saw in the dream.

Lotus in the West lake

Lotus lake

I enjoyed rowing a basket boat among lotus in early morning on the West lake of Hanoi.

Hoan Kiem lake

I started my blog today

Falling leaves appear to remind me the autumn came into Hanoi. Magnolia in the garden blossom with its little white flowers.... i'm so sad in the room. Miss the passing times...