Ready for breakfast pho after we got off train in Lao Cai. Handspun leader Dong standing on the left,
Connie with her new H'Mong friends.
Rice field terraces
Bridge along the trail
Flower people
By the time I got to Woodstock.........
Buy from me, buy from me!
What a face
Walking to the festival
Kitchen in ethnic Thai community. Curing hams above the fire.
View from our hotel balcony The fog parted just long enough to take this image.We've done some pretty cool things in our travels but today might be the best thing ever!
They pounded on our door on the train at 5:45 and we were in a local restaurant by 6:15 to eat more pho (for breakfast yet). Connie saiys to mention the really good Vietnamese coffee. Kinda like espresso with condensed sweet milk. We met our guide, a Vietnamese guy named Dong who works for Handspan the group organizing our excursions while in Sa Pa. He had a van ready and we had a 1 hour trip to our hotel in Sa Pa.
3 couples were able to check into rooms and we changed into clothes for our bike trip. When we got up to Sa Pa we were blanketed in a thick fog that really never dissapated all day. We got our bikes and started a descent into the Muang Ho valley. The first portion was from Sa Pa on a "regular" concrete road. Then we moved on to what I called "The Rocky Road". Seriously rocky and muddy which disintegrated into the "I can't ride my bike any more" on this road for stages. It was worth the struggles on the bikes! This is the first day of the planting season in ethnic Vietnamese communities. People from several ethnic groups converged to where we were headed for a celebration. It looked like Woodstock! The community we visited was called Ban Ho but there were more people there than you can imagine - all in their individual ethnic garb.
We ate lunch in amongst a swarm of H'Mong women all saying "Buy from me, buy from me". The lunch was served up in a local's house and Dong assisted with the cooking. Dsih after dish kept coming to the table. More than you can imagine and all fantastic. We slipped and slid back to the van where the bikes were loaded into the vans. We stopped and saw a Black H'Momg home to see how they live.
Next, visited a community of ethnic Thai people who settled in Vietnam 500 years ago. Quite the difference in their homes. Much more sophisticated, pretty neat and tidy with modern plumbing and satelite dishes. We downed a shot of rice wine (Happy Water" to toast the new year.
Returned to the hotel after 9 hours of adventure for a much needed, warm shower!!!!!!
Our shoes and waterproof pants are just full of mud. I guess we'll just wear them again tomorrow.
Nice dinner, lots of food and $10 per couple - with a glass of wine.
They pounded on our door on the train at 5:45 and we were in a local restaurant by 6:15 to eat more pho (for breakfast yet). Connie saiys to mention the really good Vietnamese coffee. Kinda like espresso with condensed sweet milk. We met our guide, a Vietnamese guy named Dong who works for Handspan the group organizing our excursions while in Sa Pa. He had a van ready and we had a 1 hour trip to our hotel in Sa Pa.
3 couples were able to check into rooms and we changed into clothes for our bike trip. When we got up to Sa Pa we were blanketed in a thick fog that really never dissapated all day. We got our bikes and started a descent into the Muang Ho valley. The first portion was from Sa Pa on a "regular" concrete road. Then we moved on to what I called "The Rocky Road". Seriously rocky and muddy which disintegrated into the "I can't ride my bike any more" on this road for stages. It was worth the struggles on the bikes! This is the first day of the planting season in ethnic Vietnamese communities. People from several ethnic groups converged to where we were headed for a celebration. It looked like Woodstock! The community we visited was called Ban Ho but there were more people there than you can imagine - all in their individual ethnic garb.
We ate lunch in amongst a swarm of H'Mong women all saying "Buy from me, buy from me". The lunch was served up in a local's house and Dong assisted with the cooking. Dsih after dish kept coming to the table. More than you can imagine and all fantastic. We slipped and slid back to the van where the bikes were loaded into the vans. We stopped and saw a Black H'Momg home to see how they live.
Next, visited a community of ethnic Thai people who settled in Vietnam 500 years ago. Quite the difference in their homes. Much more sophisticated, pretty neat and tidy with modern plumbing and satelite dishes. We downed a shot of rice wine (Happy Water" to toast the new year.
Returned to the hotel after 9 hours of adventure for a much needed, warm shower!!!!!!
Our shoes and waterproof pants are just full of mud. I guess we'll just wear them again tomorrow.
Nice dinner, lots of food and $10 per couple - with a glass of wine.
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