Sapa, Vietnam

On October 22, 2014October 21, 2014 By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

Tourist love this Hill Station, first developed by the French.

The first permanent French civilian resident arrived in Sa Pa in 1909. With its attractive continental climate, health authorities believed the site had potential. By 1912 a military sanatorium for ailing officers had been erected along with a fully fledged military garrison. Then, from the 1920s onwards, several wealthy professionals with enough financial capital also had a number of private villas built in the vicinity. …

Sa Pa is a quiet mountain town and home to a great diversity of ethnic minority peoples. The total population of 36,000 consists mostly of minority groups. …

I happened to arrive on a Sunday morning, a real market day for the surrounding villages.

Before the 1990s, the town’s economy was mainly based on small size agriculture.

Tourist arrival between 1995 and 2003 grew from a total of 4,860 to 138,622. On average, 79% of the visitors are Vietnamese and 21% are foreigners. …

Those that were here before you, all tell that Sapa has been ruined by tourism.

Tourists create trash. The town of Sapa does not know how to dispose of it. That’s clear.

I loved it, as I love all Hill Stations. Especially the lake.

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The Communist Vietnamese government continued with the faded yellow French architecture. I find it charming.

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Animal lovers will be horrified, however.

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The life of many animals in Asia is harsh.

Mostly I wandered the town, avoiding touts, checking to see what regular people are up to. The Cathedral and plazas are entertaining.

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Tourists love Sapa. Even if many of the young have abandoned the fields to chase tourists.

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My only other big complaints about Sapa are the smoking. And the motorcycle culture.

Tourists can rent crappy bikes for as little as $5. 😦

more photos

Sapa Unique Hotel

On October 22, 2014October 21, 2014 By Rick McIn product endorsements, travelLeave a comment

This might just be my favourite hotel of all time. (I’ve stayed in thousands of hotels.)

As I’m doing constantly these days, I found the Sapa Unique Hotel on Trip Advisor.

$35 / night single is far more than I normally pay in Asia. But the Unique was well worth it.

Here’s the view from the balcony terrace.

Sapa Unique balcony

On arrival, you’ll find the bedspread and bathroom shower scattered with flower petals.

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In a tourist trap town where it’s near impossible to get information, front desk staff are helpful and thoughtful answering questions. They sent me to the most reputable trekking agency in town, unlike the official government tourist information office.

Before bed, they surprise guests with fruit or caramelized bananas drizzled with chocolate. What a treat.

If you are departing on a night bus or train, they pack you a snack for the trip.

Even better, they keep a room free so guests can take a shower at the end of day before climbing on to the sleeper bus.

Thank you Sapa Unique Hotel. 🙂

highest man in Indochina

On October 21, 2014October 21, 2014 By Rick McIn hiking, travelLeave a comment

Mt Fansipan, Vietnam. | 3,143m (10,312 ft) | 11.5hrs up and down

Rick Fanispan

Yes, those who conquer Fansipan are awarded a medal. 🙂

See my trip report and photos on BestHike.com.

Peter Hessler – driving in China

On October 20, 2014October 19, 2014 By Rick McIn books, travelLeave a comment

Peter Hessler (born June 14, 1969) is an American writer and journalist. He is the author of three acclaimed books about China …

River Town: Two Years on the Yangtze 2001

Oracle Bones: A Journey Between China’s Past and Present 2006

Country Driving: A Journey Through China from Farm to Factory 2010

Amazon

I read his third book while in China. It’s excellent. Hessler does a terrific job of painting a picture of how China has changed since he first arrived 1996 with the Peace Core.

Emulating the USA, China built many roads before the population had cars to drive them.

Surprisingly, the stories of what happens to him while driving rent-a-cars across the new roads of the emerging nation are fascinating and informative.

Every Province is different. Every town within a Province is different. And every Chinese citizen he meets is a unique individual with their own story.

So different than the simplistic stereotypes assumed by myself and most other westerners.

In 2011, Hessler received a MacArthur Foundation “genius grant” in recognition and encouragement of his “keenly observed accounts of ordinary people responding to the complexities of life in such rapidly changing societies as Reform Era China.

Those 3 books are highly recommended for anyone visiting China.

Maura Elizabeth Cunningham, in 2010, posted a review of all the writing by foreigners who have lived and traveled in China. She rates Hessler high.

Vietnam – adventurous eating

On October 19, 2014October 19, 2014 By Rick McIn food, travelLeave a comment

Bun Bo Nam Bo

Finally, an eatery in Vietnam where I’d be proud to bring Anthony Bourdain.

street front

It’s a cheapo, yet ranked #11 of 943 Restaurants in Hanoi.

Always crowded, this hole in the wall in the old quarter pretty much sells one dish. Rice noodles with beef in broth.

Roasted peanuts, bean sprouts. A few other things.

ingredients

As I entered, I just held up one finger, meaning … ‘one bowl’.

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Mine wasn’t spicy. But you can add Soy and Chili to taste.

Vietnam – Pho

On October 18, 2014October 16, 2014 By Rick McIn food, travel1 Comment

Pho is a Vietnamese noodle soup consisting of broth, linguine-shaped rice noodles called bánh phở, a few herbs, and meat. Pho is a popular street food in Vietnam and the specialty of a number of restaurant chains around the world. It is primarily served with either beef or chicken. …

In the aftermath of the Vietnam War, Vietnamese refugees brought pho to many countries. Restaurants specializing in pho appeared in numerous Asian enclaves and Little Saigons, such as in Paris and in major cities in Canada, the United States, and Australia …

Pho
my first Pho in Vietnam $2

Fresh. Tasty. Safe. 🙂

Though I’ve been to KFC (twice in Hanoi, once in China) I’ll make more of an effort to try the local staples.

Thang Long Water Puppet Theatre

On October 17, 2014October 16, 2014 By Rick McIn travelLeave a comment

One of the most popular tourist attractions in Hanoi.

… Today’s Vietnamese water puppetry is a unique variation on the ancient Asian puppet tradition.

The puppets are made out of wood and then lacquered. The shows are performed in a waist-deep pool. A large rod supports the puppet under the water and is used by the puppeteers, who are normally hidden behind a screen …

When the rice fields would flood, the villagers would entertain each other using this form of puppet play. …

It seems all puppet theatre script is simplistic. Punch & Judy simple. The puppets are crude. Therefore the plotting is crude.

Click PLAY or get a glimpse on YouTube.

Eisenhower was wrong

On October 17, 2014October 17, 2014 By Rick McIn economics, government, travel2 Comments

It’s as if you can’t trust a President / Commander in Chief. 😦

Though he never directly used the term “domino theory“, U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower put the theory into words during an April 7, 1954 news conference, when referring to communism in Indochina:

Finally, you have broader considerations that might follow what you would call the “falling domino” principle. You have a row of dominoes set up, you knock over the first one, and what will happen to the last one is the certainty that it will go over very quickly. So you could have a beginning of a disintegration that would have the most profound influences.

Introducing the domino theory, that if Vietnam fell to communism, the rest of Southeast Asia would soon follow. Press conference, April 7, 1954.

wikipedia

Today Thailand, Indonesia, Vietnam and Canada? are NOT Communist.

domino_theory

Eisenhower was wrong.

… Hanoi will be the fastest growing city in the world in term of GDP growth from 2008 to 2025 …

On February 2013 Dubai-based property developer Global Sphere announced a mega-project to build about 70 residential towers in Hanoi in an area dubbed the Hanoi Wall Street. The first phase, valued at $10 billion, is expected to be finished by 2020. …

Fall of Saigon - evacuation of CIA personnel 1975 — Fall of Saigon – evacuation of CIA personnel 1975

The USA could not win in Vietnam. Nor can they win in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Syria, …

George Santayana – The Life of Reason

When you hear a leader call for armed intervention, follow the money. Who’s going to profit in the proposed military action?

Good Morning Vietnam

On October 16, 2014October 15, 2014 By Rick McIn food, travelLeave a comment

Rick in Vietnam

I arrived Hanoi very early morning, via the soft sleeper night train from Nanning, China. And slept well on the train, especially after drinking half a Coke Zero bottle of red wine chatting with a young Frenchman who’d traveled by train all the way from Europe. The trans-Siberian express was an excellent experience, he told.

Unfortunately we twice had to troop out of our sleeper cars hauling luggage for two inefficient border crossings.

Showing up at Little Hanoi Diamond hotel at 5:30an is normal. All kinds of tours arrive and depart the Old Quarter Hanoi early morning. I found this one hotel amongst hundreds of alternatives with Tripadvisor. Booked with Little Hanoi directly. $15 / night including a wonderful breakfast and all the Vietnamese (hot) coffee I can drink all day long.

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Sweetened condensed milk is the dream ingredient.

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After breakfast I headed over to Hoàn Kiếm Lake.

Hoàn Kiếm Lake

Only 400km from modern Nanning, old Hanoi feels far different. A nice change.

I’m living large on this trip. Check my room.

room Hanoi

In 2014, Hanoi ranked #8 in TripAdvisor’s list of World Best Destinations (by Travellers’ Choice).

I’m going to have trouble leaving. 🙂

farewell Nanning

On October 14, 2014October 13, 2014 By Rick McIn gymnastics, travelLeave a comment

After 18 days in Nanning, I departed by sleeper train to Vietnam.

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Aside from the fantastic World Gymnastics Championships hosted here, I’ll best remember the many hours I spent walking and running along the river parks.