No Fixed Abode: Noisy Neighbours

Tue 12 Apr 2016 - Sapa

Although Yvonne was still not completely over her tummy troubles we went for a walk. Our route took us past Huong’s cafe/shop so we popped in to say hi and ended up with the largest fruit salads we’ve ever seen - all prepared from fresh fruit in front of our eyes. Glenn valiantly battled his way through his but Yvonne conceded defeat a little over halfway through hers.

By the time we’d finished and sat a while to let them settle the day was getting hot but, hey, we’re English, the home of mad dogs and Englishmen, so the midday sun held no fear for us. Following our noses we took a side road out of town then found a dirt track descending the side of the valley through bamboo groves and around rice fields. Rounding a corner we were greeted by two loudly barking dogs. While Glenn gave them a hard stare that seemed to hold their advance, Yvonne stayed a safe distance back. Eventually they got bored and scampered off they way they’d come.

Moving cautiously on, the path became narrower and steeper and ended up in a rice terrace: the way ahead looking tenuous. With the heat and her grumbling tummy Yvonne opted for the sanctuary of the hotel lobby with a cup of tea and wifi to plan some of the South Africa trip.

Once on his own Glenn found another path and began nose following once more. This path also became tortuously steep but luckily Glenn had hewn himself a useful bamboo walking stick to aid his descent. As the path became more and more indistinct he contoured round a hillside and found himself in a step terrace planted with corn. Now a good distance on, the thought of retracing his steps did not appeal so he pushed on, trying not to step on any of the plants, until he came to a good track.

With the way now easier, Glenn made good progress passing a young boy - the only human he was to see on the whole trip. Keeping his eyes on the hillside above Genn watched for a path that would return him to Sapa and eventually he spotted a promising candidate. Clutching his trusty pole he flogged up the steep winding track, sweating profusely, until he heard the sound of horses, most unusual in Vietnam. They took one glance at a sweaty, white man and ran for it.

At the end of a long, hot grunt Glenn reached the top and made his way back to the hotel and a well needed shower - the hotels out here are really good at looking after bags and providing showers on your check out day.

At 1700 we were collected by the last minibus to Lao Cai and after collecting a few other groups we wound our way down the mountain road until we were dropped outside a restaurant next to the station - no doubt earning the driver a small backhander. With three hours to kill Yvonne settled into the restaurant while Glenn went to exchange our travel voucher for actual tickets for the night train (yes, once wasn’t enough). On his way he passed several street vendors and small restaurants, all emitting delicious smells of Vietnamese meals. Should we have tasty Vietnamese food for our last dinner? Well, we savoured the thought, but having spotted burger and chips on the menu we both weakened.

With our western yearnings satiated we tarried in the restaurant making use of the free wifi, along with an ever growing throng of other people, until it was time for the train to leave. The platform was at a curious height that made climbing aboard literally a climb but having hauled ourselves into the carriage we made our way to the compartment and clambered into our bunks. With only a few minutes to go we hoped we might have the room to ourselves but just before departure two locals entered and made a big fuss about wanting to sleep one above the other. The elder one snatched our tickets from Glenn and gestured furiously but, knowing we were right, Yvonne grabbed the tickets back from her and we both stayed put. Thwarted, they slipped into their bunks and then began a loud conversation. We turned the lights out to drop them a hint and eventually they shut up and one went to sleep. The other, then began a noisy telephone conversation, despite the evil looks from Yvonne and a loud “shhhh” from Glenn. Becoming increasingly annoyed we were both on the verge of snatching her phone from her when she finally shut up and went to sleep.