Heading for the hills

Saturday 10th March

We had a much-needed sleep in this morning and took advantage of the midday check-out time.  Our wonderful Charming 2 Hotel people said we are welcome to come back for a rest on the day when we get back from Sa Pa.  If a room is available, we can use it free of charge until we need to go to the airport to fly to Da Nang.  It’s been such a delight to be looked after so well!

After we checked out, we made our way to the Post Office to send our postcards.  We discovered that the lady who sold us the post cards and stamps at the Ho Chi Minh Museum had overcharged us for the stamps but as usual, what sounds like a big ripoff in Vietnamese dong is only a few Australian cents so we didn’t feel the need to track her down for a refund.

Selling cleaning products outside the Charming 2 Hotel
Note the mobile phone!

So much fruit in Hanoi!

At least Dad has a helmet!

We then attempted to find the other market that was marked on our map.  The Charming 2 ladies told us that it had better quality products than the market we went to earlier.  We knew that we were in the right general area, but couldn’t find the market, so we went back to the shoe shop to buy my sandals.  We then found a nice little café called La Brique and stopped in for a beautiful lunch.  We were expecting lots of nice food on this trip and we haven’t been disappointed.

Interesting plant training

Power lines Hanoi style

The lake is a popular spot for wedding photos
Isn't she gorgeous!

It was getting a bit cold by then (better than too hot, in my opinion), so we dropped back into the Kangaroo Café for a cup of tea and to pick up our jackets, and after asking the staff about the market that we hadn’t been able to find, we set out again with better directions.  This time we succeeded, but we didn’t find it a great deal different to the other market.  There were a few knick knacks that caught my eye, but they’ll have to wait until we’ve done the Sa Pa and Hoi An trips.

It's not all work

Afternoon tea time

We then found the supermarket and bought a few things for tonight’s train journey as we’ve been told there’s no dining car on the train.  We passed the Catholic Cathedral which gave a great performance of bell ringing while we were taking photos.  There was a huge group of school kids in front of the cathedral so we asked a young boy what was happening.  He said that school had just got out – at 5.30 pm on a Saturday!  Apparently school only stops on Sundays.  He was very good at speaking English and said that they are all learning English at school.  It will be very interesting to see how Vietnam develops over the next 10-20 years.

Our young friend. He said 'my friends call me a nerd',
so John told him he'll be President one day.

We then made our way back to the Kangaroo Café to have dinner and I had a shower while we waited for Max to take us to the railway station.

The price of the tour includes being escorted from the Kangaroo Cafe to a building adjacent to the station, a nice waiting room to sit in with a free drink and then being taken right to the cabin door to ensure that we make it to the right place without falling for the 'ticket-switching' scams which sometimes happen to unsuspecting tourists. 

Waiting in style for the train

Our cabin mates were an American with more baggage than I've ever seen carried by one man and a young Swedish man with his lovely accent.  It was a little odd sleeping in a room with three men but we all settled down to read before lights out.  The train was very noisy and rocked a lot, so it was very difficult to sleep but we will be in a hotel for the next two nights so we hope to catch up.  Looking forward to seeing Sa Pa!