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cated in the northwestern mountains of the country, Sapa is a modest town nestled within the Hoang Lien Son mountain range in Lao Cai Province. Sapa is an excellent destination to enjoy outdoor activities with stunning landscapes that attract both domestic and foreign tourists.

Travelling in Sapa, few tourists miss an opportunity to trek to mountain villages and majestic waterfalls.

Cat Cat Village sits atop unspoiled landscapes and is a desirable destination for trekkers seeking to spend full days walking in a world of natural charm and tranquility.

Terraced paddy field, Sapa, Vietnam

Visiting the village, tourists will discover various traditional trades of the local people such as weaving, jewellery manipulation, metal work and stone carvings.

The road from Sapa winds through hilly terrain, past terraced paddy fields. A sign reads “Welcome to Cat Cat Cultural Village”, greeting visitors as they arrive at the entrance of the village.

A leisurely walk within the old village provides visitors with a better understanding of the traditional customs and practices of the ethnic Mong people that live here.

While wandering around the village, I continually asked the locals about their crafts and houses. I was curious about everything and the locals were friendly and ready to help. They also politely asked me to buy some hand-made souvenirs.

Visitors in Cat Cat have an opportunity to admire and watch locals sit with looms and create colourful pieces of brocade. When these pieces of brocade are finished, they are dyed and embroidered with beautiful designs of flowers and birds. Interestingly, Mong women use plants and leaves to dye the fabrics. After dyeing the fabric, they then roll a round, smooth piece of wood, covered with wax, over the material in order to polish. By doing this it helps to make the colours more durable on the fabric.

In addition to their weaving craft, many residents in Cat Cat are good at making gold and silver jewellery. Their products are quite sophisticated, especially the women’s jewellery.

Further into the village are waterfalls along with a stream that weaves its way around boulders, hills and mountains. The pristine stream is spanned by a suspension bridge, which offers a good view of the waterfalls and mountains.

The path after the bridge passes through bamboo forests filled with wild flowers and past tranquil brooks.

Another must-see village is Ta Phin, a remote village located 12km from the centre of Sapa, which still retains traditional customs and lifestyles of the Dao, Tay and Mong ethnic groups.

It’s recommended for tourists to catch a local xe om (motorbike taxi) at price of VND180,000 (US$10) in order to get there. Another option is to rent a motorbike for VND100,000 ($5.50) a day, which provides a convenient and interesting way to discover the landscape and villages.

Despite the winding road to the village, tourists can see picturesque rolling hills and terraced fields on the way. Much of the Sapa valley has been cultivated into verdant rice paddy fields equipped with irrigation systems.

Ta Phin Village seeks to capitalise from tourism and thus causes local children and adults to constantly follow visitors, in an effort to persuade them to buy wallets, hats, bags or fabric. However, these sellers tend to be friendly and hospitable.

The villagers often invite tourists to visit their homes, where they show them how they live and what they have, and tell about their families. Their living standard is still low, but their lives have been improved by the expanding tourism industry.

“We women are so active – not only do we grow vegetables and raise pigs and get wood for the fire, we also try to learn English so we can talk to tourists,” said a 25-year-old Dao woman. “Before there were tourists we were very poor, but now we can make handicrafts, make money and meet people.”

Ta Phin Village is able to win tourists’ hearts thanks to the beautiful sights that surround it. Lavie Waterfall is a common destination for trekkers. After trekking through forests, maize fields and mountains, tourists often enjoy soaking in Lavie Stream and sunbathing on flat boulders.

After a long day of walking on the curvy roads and hills around Sapa, it was pleasant to soak my bones and muscles in a traditional Dao herbal bath at Ta Phin.

The price was reasonable, VND60,000 ($3.30) for a one-hour bath. Soaking in medicinal waters may make you feel a little tipsy. When you start feeling dizzy, it’s time to get out of the wooden bathtub. After the soak, I finally felt relaxed. The herbal bath was good for my health, mind and bones.

I was very happy to have a chance to travel to Sapa. I will never forget how it felt to stand in front of imposing, beautiful mountains. — VNS

Source: Minh Thu/ Vietnamnews

Recommendation in Sapa, Vietnam:

- Hotels in Sapa
- Trek Fansipan, Sapa tours
- Trekking Tours in Vietnam

In the decades since the war, Vietnam has blossomed into a tourist’s paradise, with lovely beaches, extraordinary shopping opportunities, and friendly and welcoming people. In fact, more and more Westerners plan trips to Vietnam every year.

Ninh Binh, Vietnam

Step 1: Obtain a passport before you plan a trip to Vietnam. Bring your original birth certificate (not a copy), one other valid form of identification and two small passport-sized pictures of yourself to your post office. Note that it can take 4 to 6 weeks to get your passport in the mail unless you pay a significant fee to rush the process.

Step 2:  Develop a travel itinerary for your trip to Vietnam. Many tourists center their activities around the two main cities, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (formerly Saigon), and arrange for travel between the cities in advance. You may be able to fly into one city and fly back home from the other, or even include Thailand, Hong Kong or China in your flight plans.

Step 3: Schedule a visit with your doctor at least a month before you leave in order to get proper vaccinations, since you will need shots for yellow fever, hepatitis A and B and typhoid. While the risk for malaria is relatively low in the major cities, you may want to bring along malaria tablets if you’re going to be visiting rural areas. Check with the TDS website for latest vaccination requirements (see Resources below).

Step 4: Contact an experienced and knowledgeable travel agent to help you plan a trip to Vietnam. Your agent should be able to help you find the best travel and accommodation packages, and to help make travel arrangements between destinations within Vietnam. You can also use online resources, such as Travelocity, to find the best deals on airfare and hotel rooms (see Resources below).

Step 5: Visit the website for the Vietnamese Embassy and arrange for an application for a travel visa (see Resources below). You will need a valid passport and either a money order or traveler’s check made out to the Embassy of Vietnam. The cost of the visa will depend upon the length of your stay and the number of times that you will be entering and leaving the country.

Tips & Warnings
Since there are no direct flights from the United States to Vietnam, you will probably have to route your flight through other countries, such as Singapore, China, Hong Kong or Thailand.

Source: EhowRelated to Vietnam travel

- Viet nam travel guide
- Viet nam travel tips
- Viet nam tours

Editor’s Note: This is the second installment focusing of Cheryn’s travels in Vietnam. Be sure to read Cheryn’s other blog post about Hanoi’s old quarter.

Sapa field, Vietnam
We arrived at the train station in the city of Lao Cai and boarded a bus to Sapa. An hour later, the landscape changed from flat to mountainous and the views became dramatic, with terraced rice paddies trickling water from one to another and colorful hill tribe people on the side of the road, carrying baskets of leaves on their backs or selling veggies and fruit from roadside stalls.

Sapa, located in the western highlands of North Vietnam, was originally built by the French in 1922 as a hill station to escape the heat of Vietnam climes. Today, it sees a steady stream of tourists who come for its scenic landscape and to visit with the Black Hmong and Zao minority groups that live here. The journey to Sapa is an overnight train ride from Hanoi, approximately 10 hours if there aren’t mud slides clogging the tracks (which turned our train trip into a 20-hour voyage).

We arrived much later than expected and the mist and fog of the mountains had already settled over the town. We were reminded of Darjeeling in India, another hill station town nestled in the mountains and within the embrace of clouds. We took a cheap room, US$4 a night, one without views. We figured we’d be out in the scenery, not inside our hotel looking at it. And besides, with the fog, there were no views anyway. Everything looked as if it had a piece of white tissue paper laid over it.

We were in Sapa to trek and stay overnight in a village. There are many tour operators in Hanoi offering 2-3 day treks with homestays, but we’d left Hanoi intent on doing the trek on our own. However, once in Sapa, we signed up with a group at our hotel. Trekking with a local guide would be much better than going it alone. Plus there are permits to be had, inclement weather, and zillions of trails.

The trek takes us up and down steep rocky trails, over streams and rivers, through mud and fields and rice paddies. Children ride on the backs of water buffalo; clouds of dragon flies linger languidly in the sky; small red bridges like mini “Golden Gates” hang over rushing rivers; women’s hands stained blue from dye proffer local handicrafts; water falls stream over mountainsides; giant bamboo trees rustle in the breeze; white, blue, and gray fills the sky; terrace fields resemble topo maps, the lines of elevation in an architectural model, layered cake; soundless lightening fills the night sky.

It was the wet season in Sapa, with heavy rains in the forecast for our two days. When it rained, the water dumped down, swelling rivers and making dirt trails slick mud obstacles. We passed through several villages along the hike and stopped to stay the night in a rustic home located next to a river and fields of corn. In the distance water spilled over the mountain against a wall of rock. Our home for the night was simple — a construction of concrete, wooden boards, and corrugated metal. After a powerful evening rain storm, the river swelled and raged, making a thunderous noise. The WC, in a precarious position along the riverbank, became too dangerous to use… a shack of woven bamboo, it looked like it could be swept away at any minute, even in the best of weather.

It’s always a desire to pass through such places as if invisible, to see people living their lives as if there was no tourist trail. But it’s not so. Hill tribe women and young girls crowd around to sell souvenirs throughout the day. Along the path and at the homestay, there was a constant group of Hmong and Zao women and girls selling their wares. The Montagnards (the French name for the hill tribe people) used to grow opium, but a crackdown by the government has put a stop to this — many sell souvenirs instead. The tourist dollar is important to these people — and as we come there, invading their villages and homes, gawking (politely or impolitely), it is insensitive to complain about it. And besides, they are friendly people, so the sales pitch was tolerable… and creative.

“You buy from me,” they’d say, all 20 of them gathered ’round with fists full of handicrafts for sale. Embroidered pillowcases and blankets, hats, purses, tin earrings, bracelets, necklaces, musical instruments, toy tops. The little girls put bracelets on our wrists, declaring us to be friends. “We are friends,” they’d say with a smile. A little while later, they’d say, “We are friends, so you buy from me.”

Source: Cheryn Flanagan - viator blog

Recommended Itineraries:
- Sapa trekking tours: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=listByCategoryId&catId=9
- Sapa tours & excursions: http://www.activetravelshop.com/?name=product&op=listProducts&subcat=SapaTours
- Fansipan trekking tours, Sapa: http://www.trekfansipan.com

Tags: ActiveTravel Asia | Active Travel Shop| Indochina tours | Vietnam motorcycle tours | Vietnam biking tours | Vietnam trekking tours | Vietnam family tours | Vietnam Travel | Vietnam tours | Fansipan trekking tours | Sapa Trekking tours | Mai Chau trekking tours | Halong Bay kayaking tours | Cat Ba kayaking tours | Laos travel | Cambodia travel | Cambodia tours | Laos tours | Halong Junks | Dalat Biking tours | Huong Hai Junks | Halong Bay Junks | Halong Bay cruises |

NOTHING can disturb an urban traveller more than silence.

Real silence. This is my early morning thought on the balcony of a stone cabin perched atop a peak in north Vietnam.

On a nearby mountain, hand-carved rice terraces spill down into the valley and farther away there are chiselled ranges that will change colour and texture as the sun moves across a giant sky. Then I hear the distant chatter of women passing the cabin on their way to breakfast, the first sounds I’ve heard since dinner last night. Television and telephones are forbidden around here. The manager tells me there’s no wild night life either, apart from frogs.

Topas Ecologdes

Most people come to Topas Ecolodge in a shuttle bus from nearby Sapa, but I hire a local motorbike taxi for a slow ride through intermittent heavy mist along 23km of a runnelled dirt road that is regularly washed by clear-water run-off from the mountains.

We pass through the Muong Hoa Valley, strewn with mysterious, ancient carved stones; the origin and meaning of their inscribed patterns of couples in sexual embrace, the sun and parallel lines still baffle scientists.

This region is home to about 30 Vietnamese minority groups, some of whom moved here from China during the past 200 years. A carved stone, metres long, is fenced off opposite the small local museum. Somewhere around here a French scientist is taking stone impressions the old-fashioned way, with carbon paper and ink, while assigning locations to each one via GPS.

The road snakes through the Hoang Lien Mountains, now recognised as one of the most biologically rich in Vietnam. There’s a race to preserve what is left: years ago, poor Vietnamese used to kill, stuff and sell birds and animals to tourists in the local markets. That seems to have stopped, but the Indochinese tiger has become a prized stock for pharmacies across the border in China and there are fewer than 2000 left here.

Every now and again a human form takes shape out of the mist and is swallowed again. Then the curtain rises and a series of fairytale valleys is revealed. I glance down on earthen terraces of rice stubble and turbid water. Once or twice we dismount the bike to ford a gushing stream: my taxi driver, Hahn, walks through and I jump across rocks.

I want to ride forever but we run out of road and into the Ecolodge. Brilliantly clothed Red Dzao women are sitting and sewing at the entrance. They look so much more relaxed than the Hmong and Red Dzao women in Sapa, trapped in their created cultural villages.

The lodge features 25 white granite and hardwood cabins clustered on one side of the mountain top, all with solar panels. The surprise centrepiece is a huge, reconstructed Tay (minority) meeting house that now houses the bar, upstairs restaurant and office. On the restaurant’s doorstep is a rice field and down the path is the lodge’s organic garden, which supplies ingredients for contemporary Vietnamese dishes: lime and chilli-splashed salads and spiced seasonal vegetables served with tender beef and chicken on silver platters.

The bar is fire-warmed and there is a menu of local rice wines, crystal clear or tinged pink, which slide delicately down the throat like the best malt whisky.

So much of life in rural Vietnam revolves around rice-growing and to every thing there is a season. In July the Red Dzao harvest the rice around the lodge; months later they will plant young rice shoots again. In just two days, the average stay here, you can slip easily into this seasonal rhythm. Or get active. A group of Danes straggle in from a morning walk to nearby villages: the difference between a walk and trek is that the latter, apart from being longer, comes with a swarm of porters drawn from local villages.

“When we have a rush of visitors, we can always call on our neighbours to help us out at short notice,” says manager Walter Ariesen. “That’s one of the many benefits of having built a strong relationship with people in our community.” That philosophy, and the sublime location, is what makes Topas Ecolodoge unique.

Checklist
Topas Ecolodge, near Sapa, north Vietnam. Phone +8420 872 404; www.topasecolodge.com. Tariff: Depends on the season and package inclusions. In December, for example, double or twin is $US115 ($145), including all food and transport.

Getting there: Topas Ecolodge will transfer guests by bus from Sapa.

Checking in: International guests, mostly Germans, Australians, Danes, French, Canadians, Japanese and Taiwanese.

Wheelchair access: All cabins are accessible from a footpath, but there’s a lot of uphill. Suggest an advance request for wheelchair assistance.

Bedtime reading: The Light of the Capital, three short Vietnamese classics from the 1930s (Oxford), translated by Australians Greg and Monique Lockhart.

Stepping out: Breathtaking treks, biking, kayaking, walks to nearby minority villages. Climb Vietnam’s highest peak, Fansipan (3143m).

Brickbats: A torch and umbrella should be standard additions for each room, given the distance from the restaurant. Menu could do with more variety.

Bouquets: Staff are friendly and relaxed and the lodge has a community feel. Vietnamese-grown Arabica coffee is brewed here and served with the Western breakfast. In 2004, the lodge joined Australia’s GreenGlobe21, a worldwide benchmarking and certification program facilitating sustainable tourism.

Article from:  The Australian

Suggested other Itineraries in Topas Ecolodge, Sapa, Vietnam:
Active itineraries: Sapa trekking tours & overnight Topas ecolodges
Excursions: Sapa tours - trekking and stay Topas Ecolodges

Sapa tags: Trek Fansipan & Sapa Travel, SaPa Hotels , Sapa Tours & daily excursions , Trek Mai Chau , Sapa trekking tours, sapa tours, sapa travel, trekking in sapa  

 Travel to Ban Ho Village, Vietnamese Australian Tran Han expressed his excitement when he walked out of the Lavie Stream in the scenic village Ban Ho, more than 26 kilometers away from the famous resort town of Sapa.

Ban Ho Village, Sapa, Vietnam
Han said swimming in the Lavie was one of many unforgettable memories of his trip to northern Vietnam earlier this year, as the water was fresh and clean in the stream which ran from rocks and hills where a few minority groups live.Young citizens of Lao Cai Province Vietnam and foreign tourists often trek to Ban Ho to indulge in the pristine Lavie Stream, enjoy the sweet sound of running water from the Ca Nhay Waterfalls and other natural attractions of the tranquil village.

The Lavie Stream, together with Muong Hoa Stream, weaves through boulders, hills, mountains and terraced paddy fields of Tay village, which is nestled in the breathtaking Valley Muong Hoa, adding the finishing touch to the picturesque image of Ban Ho Sapa.

Even though Ban Ho is not too far from the center of Sapa Vietnam not many tourists have visited the village because of the tough approach road, which is under construction and slippery in the rainy season.

However, the village is also accessible by driving from Sapa to Su Pan Village and then trekking 10 kilometers to Ban Ho. Topas is one of a number of tour operators who offer this one-day package, with cost determined by the number of participants.

Ban Ho Village, Ban Ho is worth the somewhat difficult journey to get there, as the village rewards visitors with stunning views of unspoiled sites and an opportunity to discover the daily activities of the ethnic people Tay.

On the way to the waterfalls, which were named by locals after seeing fish jumping out of the water in the old days, visitors will pass brooks gently running down bamboo cylinders that locals use to channel the water into their terraced paddy fields, wooden houses perched on the sides of rolling hills and wild flowers.

When they emerge from the water in the dry season the boulders and stones along the Lavie Stream are artworks that resemble different figures, depending on the imagination of viewers. In the rainy season from May till September visitors can see water flowers created by the splashing water running into the boulders.

The trails and roads from Ban Ho also lead to the quiet Red Dao Village of Nam Toong and other ethnic communities, where trekkers can enjoy the best of Northern Vietnam, such as deep valleys, amazing mountains and simple people.

Motorcycles can be hired in Sapa at US$5 a day to travel to the Muong Hoa Valley, where more than 200 stones have been discovered, all carved with simple and complicated images of different patterns, as well as scenic villages of ethnic groups.

Alternatively, package tours that take in Ban Ho and other unspoiled corners of the areas around Sapa can be arranged through Topas, or other travel companies in Sapa Vietnam.

(Source: SGT)

Recommended tours to Ban Ho Village:
- Different Sapa - Different Trek: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=56
- Conquer Mount Fansipan - Mt. Fansipan & Hoang Lien National Park & Ban Ho Valley: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=60
- Sapa Long Trails: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=48

ATA and some owners of Adventure Tour Operators in Vietnam have meeting with NGO’s representative such as FFI and SNV with purpose to support and promote responsible travel products in Vietnam

Fauna & Flora International (FFI) was established in 1903, it was the world’s first international conservation organization and the pioneering work of its founders in Africa led to the creation of numerous protected areas, including Kruger and Serengeti National Parks

SNV is a Netherlands-based international development organization that provides advice to local organizations in developing countries. SNV have 30 field offices and 1200 staff working mostly in poor and marginalized communities in Africa, Asia, Eastern Europe and Latin America

With 3 days meeting in Vu Linh, leaders of tour operators and NGO’s representative have found the co-operated way to create responsible travel package, fund for reponsible and sustainable tourism projects and support the rural and ethnic community in travel industry such as house building, clean the rubbish on trails or in Halong bay.

Tour operators and NGOs have agreed to establish the club where is gathered by Tour Operators who supports responsible and sustainable travel and NGOs who support poor communities and preserve flora and fauna in National forest by funding responsible tourism projects in Vietnam.

ATA expresses a desire to promote Vietnam as Responsible and sustainable travel destination as well as become the leader of Tour Operators in Vietnam, Cambodia and Laos to develop responsible travel products.

For reference, please review some tours as below:
- Trekking in Pu Luong Reserve: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=30
- Biking in Pu Luong: http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=36
-Sapa trekking & Homestay http://www.activetravelvietnam.com/tour.php?op=detail&tourId=25

By Huyen Vu, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette

Sapa biking tours

PU DAO, LAI CHAU PROVINCE, Vietnam — I told a man in nearby Sin Ho Township that not long ago a British travel company (Gecko Travel) rated this place as one of the top five trekking destinations in Southeast Asia. He looked doubtful.

To many Vietnamese, Pu Dao, a collection of villages in the northwestern province of Lai Chau, offers no touristic lure. A community of only 900 H’mong people, it’s isolated by woods, mountains, ignorance and poverty.

But the rating piqued my interest, and I wanted to experience the trails for myself.

After a three-hour bumpy ride from Dien Bien Phu City — the only city in northwest Vietnam — I got off the bus at Lai Ha Bridge, which spans a tributary of Vietnam’s longest river: Song Da. From there I watched oblong boats, the common means of transportation in the Northwest, drift by.

On the other bank, there was Chan Nua, a typical village of Thai people with stilt houses hiding under coconut fronds. Through the roofs, smoke rose, threading through the foliage, dispersing into the misty air.

From Lai Ha Bridge, I began the 15-mile trek to Pu Dao. The trail spiraled up into the woods, where millions of bamboo sprouts shot upward and thick groves were interwoven as it had never been touched by humans. In H’mong language, Pu Dao means high mountains.

Hong Ngai, the first village I encountered, was a light patch adorning the interminable flora of the region. Four or five wooden houses of Vietnamese teachers clustered around the local government building. Several bamboo houses of H’mong people squatted on the hillside.

I visited Ngo Thi Thanh Nuong, a 35-year-old woman, and learned about part of a teacher’s life working in a school in the mountains.

For 15 years in Pu Dao, Mrs. Ngo had been struggling to teach the H’mong children the national Vietnamese language, known as tieng Kinh. She visited every family, begging the parents to let their children go to school. To keep the kids coming back, she would buy them candy.

At the village’s communal water tank, I saw a group of H’mong women and kids bathing. Their naked bodies sparkled under the sun.

I ran into Pa Thi Lau on her way to get water. With a brown complexion, high nose and large eyes, Lau had the face of an Indian beauty queen. The little girl had nearly finished her elementary education when her older brother had another baby and made her quit school to run domestic errands.

Lau had nine siblings. Her older sister got married the year before and became pregnant at the age of 15, but the baby died at birth. Lau carried the 2-gallon cans toward the thatched hut at the corner of the soil path; her torn skirt tangled her feet.

I dropped in at the nearest house, where a villager was grinding corn. Around and around, the stone grinder lagged at every push and pull of the little woman, sifting layers of powder, fine and pure like flakes of snow.

Then I met Vu A Ca, the secretary of the local Communist party, on his way home from the field. A hoe hung loosely on his shoulder, sweat dripping from his wrinkled face. Nearby, a girl and a boy, about 9 or 10 years old, were crawling up a slope. The baskets of bamboo shoots on their backs weighed them down.

Night came in Hong Ngai quietly as if someone lowered a curtain. There were no electric lights, no TVs, no motorbikes. The village slept under a chorus of insect shrieks.

I spent the night in a small room with Vu Thi Quynh Hoa. The 24-year-old woman came to Pu Dao from Nam Dinh, 370 miles away, to work as the only accountant for the local government.

“A thousand years from now, Pu Dao will still be behind the present development level of the lowland,” my hostess said as she blew out the oil lamp before going to sleep.

The next day, I set off for the second village, Nam Doong, though Ms. Vu warned, “You’ll die halfway.”

I followed the only rugged trail linking the two villages; dry leaves cracked under my steps. In one stretch of glades, I could peek between the many tree trunks and admire white clouds and see mountain after mountain. Another time, I passed lawns full of rose myrtles with quivering young flowers.

I crawled along a narrow track between what seemed like a bottomless abyss and a topless cliff. Bubbling explosions resonated. From behind a hill, smoke spewed out — people were burning down the rain forest to prepare the field for a new crop.

Despite the country’s reported growth rate of more than 6 percent even in the global economic recession of 2008, despite the The World Trade Organization membership it received in 2007, this region — 350 miles to the northwest of Hanoi –still relies on slash-and-burn agriculture.

I approached Nam Doong to a chorus of goat bleats and cock crows.

A H’mong man named Hang A Pao came out to the dung-covered yard and said, “Hello.” He asked, “Where is it?” when I told him I was from Hanoi, Vietnam’s capital and the nation’s largest city. Mr. Pao invited me into his home, offering me water from a soot-stained kettle. Then he went to the oil lamp at a corner, stuffing tobacco into the pipe-stopper. One moment later, smoke filled the hut, and the man indulged in delight. The sun receded behind the mountains. Dusk brought the village to its fullest animation. Following a buffalo, a boy carried a younger brother on his back and a parrot on his shoulder. A woman bent down under a bunch of firewood with a plastic can in one hand, a hoe in the other.

As I left Nam Doong, I had to climb over a communal bamboo gate. The last villager coming home from the field had knotted it too tightly.

The moon floated over the top of the trees.

I thought of the “wood ghost,” which for thousands of years was the utmost power in H’mong people’s spiritual life. A story about a gold miner dying of marsh fever, or about the many H’mong victims of cholera came to my mind. I visualized the corpses wrapped in mattresses, buried in the shallow holes right by the trail I was walking.

The fires on the field across the valleys flared up, flickering like will-o’-the-wisps.

The woods opened then closed. The moon poured mysterious moving patterns on the path. Hoots resonated from the abysses. Rattles rolled down from the hills.

I looked up at the Great Bear to keep my bearings. The starry sky was peaceful as ever.

There were no electric lights, no TVs, no motorbikes. The village slept under a chorus of insect shrieks.

Huyen Vu/Post-Gazette

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Introduction

Vietnam has done very well tourism-wise since reopening its doors to foreign tourists in the mid 1990’s. Combined with a good train system, affordable and frequent flights and a tourist-orientated minibus system, a bunch of very worthwhile destinations have developed into what has become a pretty well worn path running up and down the length of the country.

Most first time visitors try to get a taste of the north and the south of the country, but be warned, Vietnam is deceptively large and if you try to do too much in too short a time, you’ll wind up needing another holiday to get over your Vietnamese one.

Running north to south, visitors commence with the capital Hanoi, with many doing side-trips to both Sapa and Ha Long Bay before heading south, generally stopping at Hue, Hoi An, Nha Trang then either Da Lat or Mui Ne before running into Saigon. From there many do a trip into the Mekong Delta. For those with more time, the northwest mountains, the Central Highlands and deep into the Mekong Delta are all well worthwhile extras. How long a holiday?
While you could see the basics on a top to tail trip in as little as a week to ten days, we’d strongly suggest — at least — two to three weeks as being a more realistic timeline. If you can’t give that much time to Vietnam, then consider just seeing one part of the country and saving the rest for another trip.

Ways to see more in less
Fly, fly, fly Both Vietnam Airlines and Pacific Airways have affordable domestic fares — a couple of one hour flights can save you 36 hours on a train or bus.

Suggested itineraries for Vietnam

	HIKING TOURS
•	Trekking Mai Chau (4D/3N)
•	Mai Chau easy trek & home stay (3D/2N)
•	Sapa Trekking & Home-stay (4D/4N)
•	Sapa trek & Topas Eco Lodge (5D/5N)
•	Sapa Long Trails (6D/6N)
•	Different Sapa - Different Trek (6D/6N)
•	Conquer Mount Fansipan - Cat Cat Route (6D/6N)
•	Conquer Mount Fansipan - Heaven Gate Route (4D/4N)
•	Conquer Mount Fansipan - Sinchai Route (5D/5N)
•	Conquer Mount Fansipan - Mt. Fansipan & Hoang Lien National Park & Ban Ho Valley (11D/11N)
•	Trekking in Pu Luong Nature Reserve (6D/5N)
•	Trekking Cuc Phuong National Park (2D/1N)
•	Bach Ma National Park Trek & Camping (2D/1N)
•	Trekking Nam Cat Tien National Park (2D/1N)
•	Jungle Fever - Trekking Dalat (2D/1N)
	MOTORCYCLING TOURS
•	Motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Half Challenge (11D/10N)
•	Motorcycling the Ho Chi Minh Trail - Complete Challenge (18D/17N)
•	Motorcycling Northwestern Trails (7D/6N)
•	Taste of Ho Chi Minh Trail (3D/2N)
	KAYAKING TOURS
•	Kayaking Halong Bay 4days(4D/3N)
•	Kayaking Halong Bay 3days(3D/2N)
•	Kayaking Halong Bay & Trekking Cat Ba National Park (5D/4N)
•	Trekking Cat Ba National Park & Kayaking Lan Ha Bay - Halong Bay (4D/3N)
	BIKING TOURS
•	Mekong Explorer (4D/3N)
•	West to East Biking Exploration (11D/10N)
•	Biking Pu Luong Nature Reserve (4D/3N)
•	Biking Hidden Paths of Mai Chau & Ninh Binh (4D/3N)
•	A Taste of Mekong (2D/1N)
•	Biking Mai Chau (2D/1N)
•	Biking Dalat - Northwest Circuit (2D/1N)
•	Biking Adventures Mekong & Centre Highland (11D/10N)
	FAMILY TRAVEL
•	Family Adventures in Vietnam (12D/11N)
•	Northern Highlights (10D/9N)
•	The Mighty Mekong (3D/2N)
•	Discover Vietnam & her National parks (20D/19N)
	INDOCHINA ADVENTURE
•	Vietnam-Laos Adventures (17D/16N)
•	Mekong Delta & Angkor Wat (10D/9N)

Halong bay scenery

We arrived at this UNESCO World Heritage site in northern Vietnam’s Gulf of Tonkin, we badly needed a break from the mad motor-scooter traffic of the nation’s second-largest city, the swarming pineapple vendors and the ceaseless capitalist hustle.

Three days of swimming, kayaking and just chilling on the deck of the Dragon’s Pearl, with drink in hand, were the ideal respite and one of the high points of our two-week trip to Vietnam in October.

A fascinating drive

My husband, Dave, and I chose the cruise of Ha Long Bay because of its proximity to Hanoi and its World Heritage designation. Still, the 105-mile van trip takes almost half a day — Vietnam’s highway system is still a work in progress and buses and trucks share the road with darting motor scooters, bicycles and plodding water buffalo.

Ha Long City’s harbor, a gateway shipping port supplying this fast-developing region, is on the dreary side. In fact, I was having second thoughts about this trip as we dragged our suitcases along a rutted path past rusting, crumbling buildings to the ship, a deluxe junk.

But once we were headed into the bay, the breeze and the view from the motorized Dragon Pearl’s top deck, along with our “welcome” glasses of iced tea, lifted my spirits.

So did our cabin. Our room — like the others on the junk — was small but contained plenty of amenities, including a king-sized bed, a minute bathroom complete with terry bathrobes and rubber flip-flops, and air conditioning, necessary to cut through the withering heat and humidity.

The first afternoon, our ship and several others dropped anchor at a deserted beach on the tiny island of Soi Sim, where we swam and lounged away the rest of the day. The water was calm and warm, but apart from the setting, this was the least memorable outing of our cruise.

Escalating tourism in the region, perhaps because of its World Heritage designation, has generated litter and pollution. So, here, miles from anywhere, plastic drink bottles and candy wrappers floated in the water and washed up on the sand.

A couple of hours later, we were back on board. With a school of silvery jumping fish as our escort, our ship headed northeast toward the Hang Luon grotto, where the Dragon Pearl dropped anchor for the night in the company of several other junks.

Before dinner, we hung out on the chaise longues arrayed on the ship’s deck, watching as the peaks surrounding us turned a dusky blue and lights on the neighboring junks twinkled on.

Have kayak, will paddle

We were lucky to have gotten tour guide with disarming charm and deep knowledge of the area’s geology and culture, as our guide. He was never far away and always eager for the chance to improve his English.

We were also lucky in our fellow cruisers, an amiable bunch that included some friends. Our two evenings out on the top deck, trading stories and watching night fall, were among the few times I relished being outdoors in Vietnam’s blistering heat.

But the highlight of the trip was a kayaking tour on the second day. I had been dubious about this — I had never squeezed into a kayak before, and we were far out in the bay, close to the open waters of the gulf. I feared capsizing, not being able to keep up with the group and getting drenched if the threatening skies opened up.

It was nothing like that. Tour guide led the five kayaks in and around cliffs and through grottoes, pointing out birds, plants and the cliffs where monkeys nest The skies held, and when we beached the boats at noon on an uninhabited island, the sun came out in time for a swim.

In fact, all our meals were extraordinary. Lunch and dinner aboard the ship were multiple-course, white-tablecloth affairs that usually included soup, locally caught prawns and fish, chicken, stir-fried vegetables and terrific tofu dishes. Breakfast was a buffet of fresh fruit and baked goods served outdoors on the ship’s middle deck.

That afternoon, we paddled some more, at one point passing a lone fisherman casting his net. His wooden rowboat rocked gently. A teapot perched on the stern. One large fish, Bien told us, would net him about $10, a good day’s wages.

The next morning, our ship steamed to Sung Sot Cave, one of the area’s largest and most impressive limestone caverns, spanning 12,000 square yards inside. The entrance required a short hike up several flights of stone steps to a spot high above the bay. Here, you can see water at work, dripping from the ceiling and pooling on the floor in ponds so still and mirror-like that it left me disoriented.

That afternoon, we headed to Ha Long Harbor for the return trip to Hanoi. Back in our hotel, as the horns of a thousand motor scooters honked outside our window, I realized the cruise had given me a different impression of Vietnam.

If Hanoi is like 4 million people on Red Bull, Ha Long Bay is where time stops, where the old ways of doing things endure and where it’s quiet enough to breathe deeply and hear fish leap from the water.

Recommended vessels for Halong cruises
The Indochina Sails Email: info@indochinasails.com, http://www.indochinasails.com/
More cruises on Halong Bay - Active Travel Shop, #31, Alley 4, Dang Van Ngu street, Hanoi, Vietnam, (844) 3573 8569.
Adventure tours on Vietnam - Active Travel Vietnam

Once in the north of Vietnam, we had to decide whether going to Sapa or to Halong Bay because our one month tourist visa was running out soon. Two factors determined our choice: on one hand, the bad weather conditions in the northwest region of Vietnam, on the other hand, a tropical storm which had flooded and incomunicated the northern region of Sapa, leaving hundreds of deads and homeless people behind. We could only go then for a boat trip in Halong Bay. As it is usual on our trip, we asked for advice in many different travel agencies and checked the internet to make our move independently with all the info available. This is how we found Indochina Sails(www.indochinasails.com), a tour operator based in Halong Bay, who offers tailor made boat trips for independent travellers.

We booked a 3 days/2 nights trip and paid about 175 USD each. We arranged more or less the plan for everyday: sail in the morning to a nice spot, go on the kayak for a while to hidden lagoons and caves and have a swim, then eat and do the same in the afternoon in another spot. Overall we wanted to avoid tourist places and crowds. We wanted to go further away than the normal tours go. We wanted to be alone most of the time and sleep in a different secluded place every night. We wanted many things and almost all of them were accomplished. You can contact Mr Tony, the operator, through his website or under info@activetravelshop.com.

Halong Bay is spectacular and the weather conditions were great (sunny, cloudy and few big storms during the nights, which gave a feeling of adventure to the whole experience), as well as the arrangements of the organizer. Basically we had a wooden and bamboo sail boat for four people –we were travelling with two other spanish guys together- entirely at our service. We could decide where to go and where not to go, if we wanted to stay longer or not. We could stop the boat and take the kayaks or just jump off the boat for a refreshing swim in the middle of nowhere –with some restrictions, of course. The crew, Tim and Hum -at least this is how their names sounded to us- were great although we had kind of communication problems sometimes, when we had the feeling they had not understood what we were asking for. They cooked so well and so much that we are missing their food a lot now –we have to say that we ate the same lunch and dinner during the 3 days with slightly variations, but still great food!

If we sumarize the trip, it was awesom! Just some tips if you are planning to do a similar tour: fix the route and what you are interested in seeing –it is enough to have an approximate idea, you can change plans once in the boat-. Insist on it once onboard. Ask for a map to be able to locate yourself at anytime –we didn’t do it and missed it- and corroborate you are doing what you were promised to. Ask in advance any question you may have and above all, enjoy the experience!!!

Halong Bay guide

If you’re intersted in the wonderful cruise trip like this, you can visit Halong Bay cruises, Halong Bay junks; vietnam travel for more information