HIKING AND BIKING IN VIETNAM
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HANOI visit to Beer Corner provides a real taste of Vietnam.
Beer Corner is famous for the many establishments located on the four corners of the intersection in this city of seven million. Each “bar” serves bia hoi, a freshly brewed beer that costs about 35 cents Cdn a glass and is delivered and consumed in the same day — no preservatives means it doesn’t keep.
Sitting on little plastic chairs right on the sidewalk as pedestrians dodge drinkers and beer teeters on little plastic tables, provides a true sense of the energy of this vibrant city.
A refreshing glass of bia hoi came in handy recently after navigation of the Old Quarter, which is made up of 36 busy shopping streets — each one dedicated to a specific product or service. I spent a great deal of time on Hang Dau (shoe lane) and had my prize — three pairs of beautiful wood sandals with intricate mother-of-pearl inlays and fitted leather straps (which cost less than $10 Cdn each).
Pedestrians courageously navigated the chaotic flow of traffic. There were pedlars on bicycles with oversized baskets of vibrant flowers and women with long bamboo poles balanced across their shoulders carrying huge baskets of bananas.
There were no stop signs or traffic lights to be seen. Several lanes of traffic zipped by in every direction, but everyone involved in this maze of transport all appeared to follow some invisible rhythm that made for an exceptional dance. It was like an unscripted reality show — and you never knew what the “contestants” would do next.
We knew that truly seeing Vietnam would take more than one visit — this one was to explore the north and we’d come back for the south. As a couple of Canucks who don’t speak the language, we also decided on a small group tour; one that would give us a local and authentically cultural experience and would let us do more than just sit on a big tour bus. We went with Vancouverbased BikeHike Adventures, an adventure tour company specializing in active tours throughout the world. They have been leading tours in Vietnam for 15 years.
Initially, we were a little worried about our fitness level. While we are reasonably fit, we’re not exactly spring chickens and we wanted to be able to keep up. Our concerns were completely unfounded.
BikeHike offers a range of activity levels for their tours — easy, moderate and challenging. Our tour was moderate — giving us the opportunity to bike, hike, trek and kayak at a reasonable pace for our abilities.
The tour was eight days long. Our guide, Hoa, was born in Vietnam, spoke excellent English, and has been leading these tours for many years.
With Hoa, we spent a day in Hanoi visiting several museums, temples and other historical sites — including the Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, where we lined up and respectfully viewed the preserved body of Vietnam’s esteemed leader.
This is a solemn activity and the white-uniformed honour guards there take their roles seriously. To the people of Vietnam, this is not a tourist attraction, but a monument to Ho Chi Minh’s greatness.
After experiencing the hustle and bustle of the city, we took a night train from Hanoi to Lao Cai. The sleeping came easy in the four-berth car as our jet lag caught up with us. Upon arrival, we were picked up by a driver and taken to the beautiful mountain town of Sapa.
Here, we spent an afternoon riding bikes into the mountains — heading toward remote hill tribe villages that we would have been unable to see without a bike.
We unexpectedly came across an event where a hill tribe was celebrating the planting of the region’s rice. Hundreds of people were dressed in their tribal clothing. Everyone at the celebration was welcoming and smiling. It was a once-in-a-lifetime experience that magically appeared before us.
Over the next two days, we trekked up rice terraces and came across water buffalo, ducks, pigs, dogs and many other animals. Going up the mountains took a bit of effort as we balanced our weight on the ledges of the terraced paddies — but the further up we got, the more amazing the views. Along the way, we came across locals. Many of them knew our guide and invited us in to see their homes. They live simply, often with three generations of the family in the same small, tworoom dwelling. It certainly made us realize how abundant our life in Canada is.
We stopped at a remote village for lunch and were hosted by the hill tribe’s elder. The lunch was made up of a dozen local dishes — including spring rolls, amazing salads, grilled fish and even tasty little eels that live in the rice paddies. Accompanied by cold beer, the elder told jokes (translated by our guide), introduced us to his grandson, and offered my husband many shots of rice wine. It was a lunch to remember.
That night, we stayed at Topas Ecolodge — located in Hoang Lien National Park, about a 45-minute drive out of Sapa. Our accommodation was a beautiful bungalow overlooking the incredible rice terraces and mountain valley. The lodge is focused on sustainability and creating opportunities for the people of the local hill tribes. It was one of the most memorable places we have ever experienced in all of our travels.
Then, we were off to Halong Bay to see the limestone karst landscape, which is a World UNESCO Heritage Site. We spent two and a half days on a luxury Vietnamese junk. On board, I took a Vietnamese cooking class with the chef and we learned Tai Chi as the sun came up each morning. We visited a pearl farm and a floating village and kayaked through the hidden caves and coves. On our final day, we climbed to the peak of a Titov Island to enjoy the 360-degree view of the bay. It is spectacular.
When it was time to leave Vietnam, I knew that we’d have to return. Not just to visit the south, but to come back to the north. We saw so much, but yet not enough. There is so much more of the incredible country to experience.