Day 75 - Sapa
Friday, October 22, 2010
Friday 22nd October
As I said in yesterday's blog, the mountain air here makes it 'early to bed, early to rise', and I was out of bed before 8am. Although breakfast was included at my hotel, I wanted to go back up to Chocolat and Baguettes, where I'd had such a great meal yesterday. I ordered the same meal of eggs and toast and this time ordered a hot chocolate to go with it - is there anything more perfect than eating a hot chocolate on a cool day?
Coming down the hill (Sapa is based on a mountain, so everywhere you go you are either climbing or descending steps), I saw a sign for "Internet" and walked in. It was quite a maze - inside someone's house, to their back room, and then up a rickety staircase to a large room (but short roof!) full of computers. It seemed this was where the locals came when they wanted a game or You Tube fixed, and it was quite an odd sight to see the young girls, dressed in the traditional outfits, watching You Tube clips on the modern computers!
I hadn't booked any treks or tours in Sapa because I was determined to get my blog up-to-date and photos online. Having had next to no internet access in India, and then being on a boat and then overnight train in Vietnam, I was (as you may have noticed, if you're a loyal reader!) slipped violently behind in my blogs - photos hadn't been posted for 3 weeks! I spent two hours at this internet cafe, replying to e-mails and Facebook comments, and getting the blogs up-to-date, before needing a short break to rest my hunched over shoulders and weary eyes.
An hour back in my hotel room and I was ready to face the long task of uploading more photos. I'd make the task easier by previously sorting through the photos on the camera and writing which ones I wanted to post up alongside which day they occurred, but it still took me over 2.5 hours to post them up! I hope you are all enjoying them!
I had already decided I was going to skip lunch that day, instead waiting for dinner with Abi that evening. I e-mailled her the name and location of the restaurant I'd chosen - Sapa Rooms, which had great reviews on TripAdvisor (and similar to Chocolat and Baguette, was a training school for disadvantaged kids), and spent some more time researching tailors in Hoi An, for when I would reach there on Monday night. I'm still trying to work out what exactly I want to get made - jeans; black pants; a few casual dresses; will I risk getting a suit made?
Shortly before 6:30pm (it was already dark), I wandered down to the Sapa Rooms restaurant to meet Abi for dinner. The decor was very interesting - very dark and tribal - and there was both a Western and Vietnamese menu, with lots of vegetarian options. I chose the vegetable burger, with crusted roasted pumpkin and salad - ok but the burger was full of sugar! The service was terrible as well, as had it been in every other restaurant I've visited - they stuffed up our bill royally, overcharging for wine and missing out two items (we paid the correct amount though).
I'm really not in to Vietnam at all, and although it's nice to be in the cool mountains of Sapa, the locals just pester you every second. Even when you're having dinner in a restaurant, they stand at the windows, pointing at you and their goods. There are gangs of them waiting at your hotel door for you to step out, and they step in line with you as you try to take a relaxing walk around the town. The count down to Canada is well and truly on!
As I said in yesterday's blog, the mountain air here makes it 'early to bed, early to rise', and I was out of bed before 8am. Although breakfast was included at my hotel, I wanted to go back up to Chocolat and Baguettes, where I'd had such a great meal yesterday. I ordered the same meal of eggs and toast and this time ordered a hot chocolate to go with it - is there anything more perfect than eating a hot chocolate on a cool day?
Coming down the hill (Sapa is based on a mountain, so everywhere you go you are either climbing or descending steps), I saw a sign for "Internet" and walked in. It was quite a maze - inside someone's house, to their back room, and then up a rickety staircase to a large room (but short roof!) full of computers. It seemed this was where the locals came when they wanted a game or You Tube fixed, and it was quite an odd sight to see the young girls, dressed in the traditional outfits, watching You Tube clips on the modern computers!
I hadn't booked any treks or tours in Sapa because I was determined to get my blog up-to-date and photos online. Having had next to no internet access in India, and then being on a boat and then overnight train in Vietnam, I was (as you may have noticed, if you're a loyal reader!) slipped violently behind in my blogs - photos hadn't been posted for 3 weeks! I spent two hours at this internet cafe, replying to e-mails and Facebook comments, and getting the blogs up-to-date, before needing a short break to rest my hunched over shoulders and weary eyes.
An hour back in my hotel room and I was ready to face the long task of uploading more photos. I'd make the task easier by previously sorting through the photos on the camera and writing which ones I wanted to post up alongside which day they occurred, but it still took me over 2.5 hours to post them up! I hope you are all enjoying them!
I had already decided I was going to skip lunch that day, instead waiting for dinner with Abi that evening. I e-mailled her the name and location of the restaurant I'd chosen - Sapa Rooms, which had great reviews on TripAdvisor (and similar to Chocolat and Baguette, was a training school for disadvantaged kids), and spent some more time researching tailors in Hoi An, for when I would reach there on Monday night. I'm still trying to work out what exactly I want to get made - jeans; black pants; a few casual dresses; will I risk getting a suit made?
Shortly before 6:30pm (it was already dark), I wandered down to the Sapa Rooms restaurant to meet Abi for dinner. The decor was very interesting - very dark and tribal - and there was both a Western and Vietnamese menu, with lots of vegetarian options. I chose the vegetable burger, with crusted roasted pumpkin and salad - ok but the burger was full of sugar! The service was terrible as well, as had it been in every other restaurant I've visited - they stuffed up our bill royally, overcharging for wine and missing out two items (we paid the correct amount though).
I'm really not in to Vietnam at all, and although it's nice to be in the cool mountains of Sapa, the locals just pester you every second. Even when you're having dinner in a restaurant, they stand at the windows, pointing at you and their goods. There are gangs of them waiting at your hotel door for you to step out, and they step in line with you as you try to take a relaxing walk around the town. The count down to Canada is well and truly on!
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