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Midnight flight to Hanoi and trekking in Sapa

When I was booking our exit route from China for our visas several month ago I booked a 3.30am flight from Guangzhou to Hanoi.  I knew it would be a bit tiring but thought we’d cope, and the flights were super cheap!!  So on 23rd October we arrived to Kunming airport at 7pm for the first short flight to Guangzhou to wait for our 3.30am flight.  In Guangzhou, we weren’t able to check-in until about 12.30am so we didn’t have many dinner choices in the departure side of airport but after some hunting Lani and I found a MacDonald’s which was open and kids got fast food which made them happy.  We found some seats we could lie down on and we all managed to get a bit of rest.  It was a struggle to wake kids up at 1am to get to check-in but we got there without too many complaints (I think they were still half asleep and had no energy to fight). We checked in and by the time we got through security it was time to board the plane for the short flight to Hanoi. We arrived and were picked up by our hotels driver for the 40min trip to the city and after leaving our bags at the hotel we went for a walk to find some breakfast.  I love it in Vietnam how transport by car is so cheap that we can get a pickup rather than having to navigate our way by public transport as we’d done in most other places.  It is always good to see your name on a sign in the arrival hall and know that you just need to sit in a car to get to your accommodation and not have to think about how!

We ventured out into the streets of Hanoi at 5.30am and found a local coffee shop and had café su da and xoi (sticky rice).  After that we walked around and unfortunately wandered down a street filled with shops selling BBQ dogs.  The kids were fascinated and horrified by the piles of BBQ dogs stacked on the table.  We had Pho at a nearby restaurant which wasn’t very nice, probably because of the nearby dogmeat.  We all felt really tired from our long night of travel and luckily we were able to check-in to the hotel early were we all had a shower and a rest.  The hotel we stayed at (Hanoian Central Hotel and Spa) had a delicious buffet breakfast each morning with western and Vietnamese foods which we really enjoyed.  

In Hanoi we enjoyed wandering the streets of the old quarter finding different foods to eat which we had been looking forward to.  We wandered around Hoan Kiem Lake and checked out the shops including the night market where they sold lots of counterfeit shoes and clothes.  We did some shopping and sent a box of things down to the family house near Saigon which we will pickup before we head home which made our bags a bit lighter and gave us some space (we later discovered the box was sent to the house but not delivered and so was sent back to Hanoi and then after Hung called was sent back to Saigon and arrived looking very battered but intact).  I went to see the famous puppet show at Thang Long Puppet Theatre with Lani which tells a traditional story of farmers and animals set in the rice fields with live music and singers.  It was just as I had remembered after going several times before with each of the boys, and Lani enjoyed it.  One afternoon, Hung, Leon, Lani and I went out for a foot massage which they thought was funny, especially Leon, but they enjoyed it.  We also found a really obscure magic shop one day where we bought some card tricks and props for Leon and Lani.  It was owned by a young vietnamese guy who was obviously really into magic and enjoyed showing us what he had for sale.  

We left Hanoi on 27th October on the overnight train bound for Lao Cai and we booked the deluxe sleeper which was fairly basic but had clean sheets, water and some snacks provided.  The train was slow and bumpy but relaxing and we all had a reasonable sleep. We arrived at 5.30am and got a shuttle bus to our hotel in Sapa (Sapa Elite Hotel) which was surrounded by construction and was really noisy. The day we arrived it rained most of the day so we had a very relaxed day in the hotel.  Our hotel had a view out over the main square and valley to the mountains so it was lovely to sit by the window and watch the rain.  We did wander around the town and found it to be full of construction and a fairly ugly town with rundown buildings and dirty restaurants, roads full of holes and non-existent sidewalks.  There were many groups of local Hmong women and children hassling us to try to sell handicrafts or be tour guides.  Lani was surprised to find the children trying to sell things or be tour guides to make money and not at school.  Lani thinks she would rather be out making money and not having to go to school.

The following day we had arranged for a local Hmong woman, Ger, to meet us at our hotel and she was to be our guide for the next few days. So together we set out from Sapa at about 10am for our trek through the mountains.  She asked us if we wanted to go the hard way and avoid the government fee as we entered the nearby village or the easy way where we would have to pay a charge (never did find out how much it was).  After a bit of negotiations with the kids, Hung and I decided to take the hard way with some complaints from the kids.  Ger thought the kids could manage but didn’t really tell us the difference between he options.  The first couple of hours was fairly steep in sections along a rough track which was overgrown in some parts.  We definitely wouldn’t be able to find it without a guide.  Our mountain looked across the valley towards Fancipan which is the highest mountain in Vietnam at 3100m.  

Ger talked to us about Hmong people and their life, how they get married and have children very young, men usually stay home to look after the animals and farm while the women go out to work – selling handicrafts or guiding people on treks.  Children now go to a local school but fend for themselves a bit with children as young as 4 and 5 walking alone or in groups along the edge of the road to get to school.  She explained about land ownership and rice farming and how each family is fairly self-sufficient and is able to grow enough rice for themselves for the year as well as vegetables and keep chickens and cows for meat and trading.  I was surprised to learn that Ger and almost everyone in her village has never travelled any further than Sapa.  She has never been to Hanoi or seen a train in real life.  She never attended school so can’t read or write but can speak her Hmong language and fairly good English she has learnt from tourists.  She can’t speak Vietnamese which I found surprising.

I was interested to see some local medicine in practice with a women who was feeling unwell sitting by the side of the road having her necked pinched (and spat on) by an old woman so she ended up with a series of bruises in lines all around her neck,  We saw many people, children included with circular bruises to their foreheads where a buffalo horn had been heated and placed here to relieve headache.  I was glad my altitude headaches had resolved!

We saw old women carrying heavy loads of wood up hill to their home, with Ger telling me they were at least 50 while they looked at least 100.  Women here definitely look older than their years due to the years spent out in the sun with no protection.  Hmong women don’t tend to smoke, but they do drink rice wine (happy water) in the evening with the men.

Over the morning we made our way up the mountain then along the range before stopping for a break and lunch at a local restaurant which was at about 1900m elevation.  During the day Lani got a bit tired and told me that her ‘energy was getting really low, no actually I’m all out of energy now’ and she wondered if we were just walking again ‘just for the view’.  At the restaurant (aka tin shed), we all enjoyed some rest and fried rice or noodles. We set out again and continued along the range before descending into a valley and walking through a village until we got to Gers home about 5pm.  Lani wondered how they got their groceries and lollies if they don’t have a road or a car. Ger said electricity was introduced to the village only 5 years ago and until only the last few years there were no motorbikes in the village, and they walked to Sapa every few weeks to buy items they needed.  Ger’s house is a 2-storey wood structure separated into 3 small bedrooms with a kitchen with an open fire on one end.  One the second floor they store the rice they have grown and will use for the following year.  The floor was concrete and dirty from the outside dust and the house was smokey from the indoor fire.  Ger cooked us dinner of springrolls, fried rice and vegetables.  We had walked a total of 16km over the day and all enjoyed a rest. 

On our second day we headed out from Ger’s house after a breakfast of banana pancakes at about 9am.  We walked down towards the valley and river through the village to the rice fields.  It is really interesting to walk through the village, past people homes and farms and see how they live.  We found a lady brewing some happy water for her family and she gave us taste and Hung bought a small bottle from her for 30,000 dong – about 2 dollars.  We saw farmers growing hemp for clothing and tea and I discussed cannabis with the kids and answered lots of questions with Leon asking if men who smoke cannabis really do end up with boobs (not sure where he learnt this) to which I told him that yes that’s true.  We walked along the end of the rice fields which wasn’t so easy and Leon and Lani ended up with feet full of mud.  We all enjoyed to see the water buffalo in the fields which made it worthwhile.  About lunchtime we made it across the river to a waterfall where some local boys were sliding down the rocks and swimming.  Leon and Lani worked up the courage to have a swim in the pool at the bottom which was muddy and quite cold.  We had lunch nearby the base of the waterfall and decided to walk on towards our accommodation for the night in Tevan village.  Kai hadn’t been feeling well with a cold and Ger’s son picked him up by motorbike and dropped him off at our homestay.  We farewelled Ger and Hung, Leon, Lani and I set off for our village for the night.  We walked up a very steep, muddy hill and accumulated a couple of Hmong ladies with us. If they see you without a guide they latch onto you and try to become your tour guide.  The walk was along the mountain range through a bamboo forest and very different to the walk previously.  After about an hour, with the ladies still following us, we stopped and bought some of their wares which made them happy and then they headed off to their homes.  After walking through a few villages and picking some random paths we found our homestay about 5pm.

The next few days we relaxed at our homestay enjoying the tranquillity and rest.  I am sitting on our small verandah looking out over the rice fields writing this blog while watching the passing village life.  Hung walked into the small village to find some Xoi and fruit for lunch. Leon and Lani have spent the morning playing with the dogs, doing homework and using the computer for games.  Kai is recovering from a cold and getting some rest. I can see the local children coming home from school for lunch, with the occasional water buffalo wandering by.  We walked around the village out into surrounding farmlands and enjoyed the fresh air and rice terrace views.

After a couple of days we arranged for a taxi back to Sapa for the shuttle bus ride to Lao Cai to board the night train back to Hanoi.  

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Kunming

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Stone Forest

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Green Lake Park

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Kunming

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Last stop in China - Kunming

On 16th October we were dropped at the tiny Shangri-la airport for our short flight to Kunming which is a city of 6.6 million and 625km away.  There were no trains servicing Shangri-la and the bus journeys were too long for me, especially with kids who get motion sick, due to the mountainous terrain.  But it was amazing to see the close mountain ranges on both sides of the plane as we took off, and I hoped the pilots had good training.  We’d decided to stay for the remaining time we had in China in Kunming as we’d heard it was a pleasant city with lots to do nearby and we didn’t think we had time to go to Guilin as we’d earlier planned.  Kai especially was getting very fatigued with our constant travel and was keen to stay in one place for a bit longer.  Our Airbnb was a small but clean and recently renovated apartment right next to Green Lake Park which was where we’d been recommended to stay.

On our first night in the city, Hung and I stumbled across one of the snack street areas which was next to several large shopping malls. We tried some Chinese noodle dishes which were different to others we’d had previously then we found a supermarket and stocked up on cereal, eggs, bread, milk, pasta, pesto, bacon and cheese which were the staples we were always looking for when we arrived somewhere new and kept the kids, especially Kai, going.  The following day we met Anders (a Swedish man we met in the TLG) for lunch at Salvador’s which is supposed to have the best western food in town and enjoyed some Mexican food which was pretty good.  We wandered around checking out the surrounding streets for the afternoon and on our way home we found the Kunming Zoo which was 60 rmp ($11) for us all to visit so we decided to check it out.  Some of the enclosures were fairly small but they have a huge variety of animals, including a black panther, and we didn’t manage to see them all.  Leon’s favourite was the sloth while Lani loved the otters and snakes.  They both were surprised how big the camels were and said that was the first time they’d seen a camel in real life.

The next day Leon woke early and for some reason suddenly thought that there must be some new books out that he hadn’t read and we spent a morning checking out bookshops looking for the new Diary of a Wimpy Kid, but after some online research we found out it wasn’t being released for another month.  We did find some bilingual versions of books he has, as well as a couple of new books in English which we bought.  Then we spent a few hours in a café with a good coffee enjoying them.  We came home to get Lani and we visited the zoo for the afternoon to check out the rest of the animals we hadn’t seen on our first visit. We also managed to see an acrobatic show in the zoo theatre which was as good as the one we’d seen in Beijing, although the clowns were really annoying and noisy.  Hung and Kai went for a wander in town together for the afternoon to check out the shopping areas while we were at the zoo.  

There were several interesting day trips from Kunming. One day we got a car out to the western hills area or Xishan scenic spot which is an area to the west of Kunming with forested mountains and various temples.  From the ticket office we got a bus to the cable car station to get the cable car to Dragon Gate overlooking Dian Lake from where we could walk along a rocky path cut into the steep cliffs looking at the views and temples along the way. The area, like most places we visited in China, was very crowded with domestic tourists which definitely takes away from the quietness of visiting these natural areas.  Lani wasn’t too happy to find out that we had to walk down the side of the mountain once we had arrived by cable car with her asking, ‘What’s the point of going up if you just have to walk down?’.  But once we had descended down the path we got another cable car which crossed a section of Dian Lake from where we got a bus back home.

Another day we caught a bus to the Stone Forest which is 75km from Kunming and apparently just far enough away from Kunming so most people who live there never visit it.  It is a set of limestone peaks which looks like a stone forest and covers over 400 sq kilometres.  As you wander through the site it feels like a stone maze with huge limestone peaks with many different formations.  The kids enjoyed exploring the different areas, especially once we got away from where the bulk of tourists seemed to be.  After a couple of hours we decided to get a taxi to the Jiuxiang caves which are about 40km away.  After we arrived our taxi driver wanted to wait for us to see the caves and take us the 45min back to the stone forest and he refused to shut off the meter, but after some discussions with broken English we told him that we didn’t need him to stay and wait for us.  The caves are a cluster of 100s of caves and we walked along the designated path through some of the largest caves which were interesting but filled with coloured lights which made it seem artificial.  It was quite busy and we followed along behind several tour groups all talking very loudly and taking many photos.  There were several large waterfalls inside the caves which were very beautiful and there was meant to be a boat ride but we couldn’t seem to find it.  At the end of the path, we got a cable car back to the entrance and had to rush as we were told the last bus out was about 5pm. After getting on the bus we waited for about an hour before leaving which was annoying as we’d rushed through the caves to get on it but the kids were all tired and enjoyed just sitting as we’d walked a lot in the heat during the day.  We then had one of the bumpiest bus rides I have ever had with the road very poorly maintained and the bus with either too much or not enough suspension, I’m not sure.  I just know it was about 2 hours of constant bumping and almost hitting the roof with our heads.  We arrived at a  central bus station in I’m not sure where but from there we got another bus back to Kunming. It was a very long day but I was pleased we’d managed to see both areas in one day.  When we got back to Kunming, Hung was keen to jump on a bus for a few hours and to checkout some other local surrounding areas but in the end decided he was too tired.  

We spent several mornings and evenings wandering through the Green Lake Park and found a constant supply of Chinese people, young and old, playing games, singing, chatting and dancing together.  On the weekend, there were groups of 100’s of people dancing together for hours in different areas according to their dancing style.  This aspect of Chinese culture, with people joining together in parks, promotes community togetherness and encourages people to participate and I’m sure there are less people alone at home than in many western countries.  

Several other things are really well done in China, including the public toilets which you can find on most streets.  They are free and fairly clean, although smelly, but a necessity with several children in tow.  We also appreciate their various delivery services which are cheap and very efficient. One evening we needed water and after contacting our Airbnb host we had a deliver driver at our door 20mins later with a full bottle of water ready for installation.

On our last Sunday in Kunming we had a relaxing day, as Lani and I got up early and wandered around the park.  We found a man selling fishfood and she fed fish with another girl for a long time.  After a couple of hours we went home to get the boys and Kai took Leon and Lani for a ride in one of the electric boats for rent on the lake and they went around all over the place shooting things with water and crashing into bouys.  It was good to see Kai out enjoying the ride with Leon and Lani as it is easy to forget that at over 6ft he is still a 13yo kid. We all enjoyed Kunming but especially Kai, as he had a desk in his room overlooking the lake where he could play computer games as well as a Starbucks around the corner where he could duck out for drink when he wanted.  But by the end of our stay we were looking forward to traveling onto Vietnam.

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Shangri-la

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Shangri-la

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Shangri-la – Paradise?

We boarded the mini-bus at Tina’s Guesthouse bound for Shangri-la at about 3pm for the 3 hour journey, the first part of which is along a narrow road on the cliff edge which gave us a good view of their gorge but was a bit frightening.  We arrived to Shangri-la to find a city which felt like a film set as it seemed the buildings were a façade which had been built for tourists to view and didn’t feel real.  As we drove into town there was a yak wandering down the sidewalk which completed the picture.  There was construction going on everywhere and nothing felt finished.  The Dukezong Old Town has cobblestone streets and winding alleys with tibetian style shops but is mostly new buildings made to look old as the real old town had been destroyed in a fire in 2014.  The town was eerily quiet except for groups of Chinese tourists wandering around.  Shangri-la is a town of 130,000 people at an elevation of 3200m in the Yunnan province. There are approximately 20 ethnic groups in Shangri-la with Tibetians comprising the majority.  In one of the few shops in the old town owned by a tibetian family, Hung bought a hat to replace his French hat he left on train few weeks ago.  Hopefully a Chinese man is enjoying his leather cap from Paris.  We spent the time in Shangri-la recuperating from our hike as there was not much to do in the town and we didn’t feel like travelling to the surrounding areas to see the sights as we felt the gorge and mountains we’d seen in the TLG were so beautiful.  On our first day the kids had a complete home day and were in their pjs all day.  The veged out on computers and tablets all day and loved every minute.  Desperately missing western food, Kai ordered pizza from attached restaurant which was not too bad.  Hung and I went for a walk around town and through the old town and enjoyed some tibetian tea.  We ventured outside into the local parts of town and found a great restaurant where we had iron hotpot with chicken (which was the whole chicken, head and all). Once I looked past all the extra bits it was really delicious, and we ate it all. We left satisfied with our local meal with happy owner who gave us two souvenir glasses as he was pleased to have foreign tourists try his food.  We tried other foods also, with Leon and I going out for dinner one evening to the Flying Tiger Café and he had a Yak hamburger while I had mushroom ravioli. They were both really delicious, and Leon and I enjoyed playing UNO and having a chat together.  Another night Leon, Lani, Hung and I went out for hotpot with all the usual things plus yak.  It was pretty much like beef but much less fatty and is supposed to be healthier for this reason.  We also tried yak yoghurt from the ladies selling on the street, which was really sour but delicious with the sugar they add on top.

With the main religion being Buddhism, in the old town there is a large buddhist temple on the hill with a very large prayer wheel. It was interesting to see the local tibetians come here each morning and say their prayers, as spinning the wheel and chanting a couple of times is considered equal to saying the chant several billion times.  We also visited the Songzanlin Lamasery Monastery which is a large tibetian Buddhist temple complex and was built in 1679AD but rebuilt many times since.  There are several huge halls for ceremonies with many buddhist treasures and lots of gold covering everything.  In all of the halls and praying areas you can leave donations and light a candle and it was interesting to note that the donation boxes are setup to accept WeChat payments.  Apparently 700 monks live in this monastery, but we only saw a few, mainly serving in the souvenir shops.  It was funny to see one young monk so intently playing a video game on his phone he didn’t want to come and serve us making me think that teenagers are the same all over the world.  

While we enjoyed the break we had in this town, and the feeling of tibetian culture all around, the real treasures are in the mountains, lakes and surrounding small villages around the region.  

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Hiking down to Middle TLG

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Completing our hike and arriving at the Tibet GH

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TLG Day 3

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TLG Day 3

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TLG Day 3

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Summit Inn

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TLG Day 2

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TLG Day 2