Sweaty SEA: Vibrant Vietnam

Alix and I split up to go our own ways, and I headed to Vietnam for a few days. Since I only had ten days there, I decided to just stay in northern Vietnam. This was an excellent decision.

You have to get your visa before entering the country, unlike Cambodia and Thailand (at least, if you're American). This is a cinch in Bangkok, thank goodness. Arriving in Hanoi, I immediately headed to the Old Quarter, where the French influence is still present in the architecture and food.

Old Quarter main intersection.

A view from above.

I loved Hanoi, it was beautiful and full of interesting streets and the food was amazing. I met up with some Germans and spent the majority of time with them. First, we explored Hanoi.

At a coffee shop, admiring the nonstop moped/bike traffic.

After a couple days, we headed to Ha Long Bay, one of the New7Wonders of the World. First we explored the bay and went swimming. I was kinda scared that some sharks would eat me. :) Then we headed to Cat Ba Island, the only one in Ha Long Bay that is inhabited. There was a tiny village that we biked to and spent the night. The next day, we hiked up the tallest mountain, Haiquan, in Cat Ba National Park. The hike was super sweaty and hot, but it didn't take more than an hour to get to the top. The view was INCREDIBLE! Tiny islands surrounded by a sparkling sea.

In Ha Long Bay.

Mein Deutschen Freunde

Coming into Cat Ba Island.

Perfect little shrine!

The tiny village that we biked to and spent the night.

View from the highest mountain on Cat Ba Island.

The whole group! Ein, zwei, drei, vier, funf, sechs!

I had to get some shirts because my laundry took more than two days...

Required pedestal of hiking awesomeness.

Cycling back to the boat.

I think limestone is the most magnificent rock in the world.

A teeny-tiny arch! The houses in the back are floating, and the people fish and sell snacks to tourists by boat!

We kayaked in the afternoon under limestone karsts and arches, and through a great big tunnel where people were rock climbing. Wish I could do that overhang! Then we boated over to the AMAZING CAVE. No, seriously, that's its name. We followed a congo line of tourists, and the formations were quite pretty. No stooping in this cave! In the evening, we chilled on a big boat where we enjoyed the stars and a lightning storm show. The boat didn't rock too much even in the thick of it.

Me at the AMAZING CAVE!

Sweet stalactites.

I'm pleased my camera captured the two types of light!

Our guide loved the formation on the left, I like how they lit it in red!

Emerging from the cave.

Heading back to Hanoi, we made arrangements to go to Sapa. I heard that Fansipan Mountain was the tallest in Indochina, at 3,143 meters, and what could I do but make arrangements to climb it? You theoretically have to have a guide, though I'm sure if you have a head on your shoulders you can make arrangements to go by yourself. I, however, am rather air-headed, nor did I have any gear with me, so I arranged for a guide. I was astonished that three people were involved to get me to the top - my guide, the guy who carried the sleeping and food gear, and the driver. Did I feel colonial or what! They didn't warn me that a typhoon was coming through, and starting out it rained. Being in Southeast Asia, that's to be expected, so I headed on up anyway.

Rain cleared a little.

A wild herd of water buffalo.

A view!

Fansipan is pretty gorgeous, with dark jungle and occasional open areas of thick, deep grass. The trail was mostly rock-covered and slippery. I was wearing Tevas and had a ridiculously tight poncho that ripped in the first minute. Ah well.

Looking up on a particularly steep part of the trail.

I still got some views when the clouds broke up and my guide made me the most delicious sandwich at the first hut. I mean, the sandwich was amazingly good. I met a couple of other Westerners who were birding. One, now my friend Johnny, was from Australia and this was one of the higher mountains he'd climbed. Now he's climbing in Nepal. Gotta start somewhere! :)

Camp 1.

My friend Johnny! Terrific view!

The first phase took about 2 1/2 hours and it was the same to the next hut. The guide asked if I wanted to continue, since the wind and rain had picked up a bit. I was determined, and Johnny had happened to come to the hut at about the same time, so we went together. My guide didn't speak English all that well, so it was really pleasant to talk to Johnny about our previous experiences. The trail was pretty steep and had some sheer drop-offs near the summit. When we topped out, we were hemmed in by fog so no view to be had.

And how the wind howled!

My Guide and I!

We took the required summit photos of fog and headed down the mountain to the highest hut. This was not the sturdiest structure, though thankfully it had four walls and a roof. A large group of Vietnamese hikers were hilariously impressed that we summited in a typhoon, and the food and booze our guides provided was terrific. The booze was some super-strong liquor! Woof!

Then we tried to go to sleep. The wind was howling, the rain was like a flood, the typhoon was in full force, and the whole time I thought the hut was going to collapse on us. I don't think I slept 10 minutes.

Camp 2.

Shimmying down the mountain.

The next day it was still raining so once more I stepped out into the wet. The hike down was easy, but I gotta say, wear shoes that cover your feet! Sticks and small rocks get stuck in Chacos pretty easily. However, I could clean them quite fast by just walking in the water of some of the major creeks we crossed. At least I had an excuse for wearing them - I didn't know I'd be hiking mountains so I didn't bring my boots!

Sapa! Traditional, indigenous clothes on the left.

The markets in Sapa were excellent, got tons of good stuff.

After exploring Sapa for an hour or two with the lovely Germans, we headed back to Hanoi and split ways. I headed back to Ha Long Bay for some epic rock climbing! Slo Pony Adventures (now Asia Outdoors Adventures) was the amazing group that organized the trip. It also included another kayaking session.

Ha Long Bay again, I couldn't resist!

Kayaking!

Can't get any better!

This could totally be used as advertising, lol.

Getting on belay, Vue, my belayer, is a famous climber in Vietnam.

Climbing!

At the top!

Coming onto the face.

On my way down. My belayer was Dave Weintraub.

Vue and a view.

Unfortunately, since it had been years since I'd climbed, I decided to go with on-belay instead of deep water soloing! What a mistake! Ah well, I had an amazing time anyway. I will definitely return to Vietnam, do the deep-water soloing, and head south and get some nice suits for cheap! Yay!

I ate the food before I took a picture, it was toooooo good!