Monday 3 May 2004, 9am
By Angelica Cameron

Visiting Vietnam: The final days

H'mong children in the mountains ofLao Cai, Vietnam. (Photo: Angelica Cameron)

I woke early the next morning and went for a little walk. Neha had been coughing in the night and she had a fever, I gave her some medicine, and maybe it helped because she began to get better.

March 30,

We began walking this morning, heading further away from Sapa… We walked and walked and didn't have to carry Neha once, we are so proud of her. We saw more snotty nosed, bare bottomed, beautiful little children scampering around the rice paddies.

Today I asked Mimi if she thinks the H'mong people here are happy. She said that they are, but life is hard for them.

Our walk took us through the bamboo forests, which would once have covered all these hillside slopes, mountains and valleys. I took some photos for Dad. After lunch in a tiny village, we crossed a river, and headed up the other side of the valley, towards the road that winds around the mountains and back up to Sapa. Our friend in the jeep was waiting to take us back. That trip was a bit scary, as there is only really room for one jeep on most of the road, and passing another one was quite a hair-raising ordeal.

When we reached Sapa it was almost time to go, we had to catch the train that night back to Hanoi. We just had enough time to take Mimi to the market. We insisted on buying her a gift to thank her for all her help, and her patience with Neha. She chose a tiny tape player and I think she was very happy to have it. Then Miho had a shower, and we got on a minibus back to Lao Cai.

Angelica and her friendly guide Mimi. (Photo:Miho)

As we boarded the train, it began to feel like our trip was almost over. We were leaving the place that had been so nice for us, the sort of climax of our trip.

The train arrived at Hanoi station at four in the morning, and we made the short trip back to the Real Darling Café by motorbike. It was Neha's first ride, and she loved it.

March 31,

At four thirty this morning we checked into the Real Darling Café, and slept for a few hours. When we got up we went to the Lotus Tea Shop, where we sat and drank jasmine tea, and Miho bought some of the special lotus tea. This family had been making the tea for hundreds of years, supplying it to the emperors of Vietnam.

Then we found a man who was willing to take all three of us on his motorbike to Bat Trang, a sort of suburb of Hanoi, where the people are famous for their ceramics and porcelain. We browsed the numerous beautiful shops and found what we wanted. Outside one shop there was a monkey in a cage! Neha and I watched it for ages, and somebody told us that we should feed it sweets, so we did; it ate a whole piece of chewing gum!

We had lunch in Bat Trang, we ordered a few things, and they just kept bringing out more food…it was a great feast.

Click on the above photos to view larger images. (Photos: Angelica Cameron)

That night we went to see the water puppets, a special traditional Vietnamese art, where puppets appear to rise up out of the green water and dance around, spurting fireworks from their mouths. Neha loved it so much and she was very sad when it ended. We were all pretty exhausted as we walked back to the Real Darling Café, where we went straight to bed.

The next day was our last full day in Vietnam, and Miho thought that it would be good for me to have some time there to myself…to explore and enjoy what ever I wanted to do alone…

April 1,

This morning we had French breakfast, and then I confirmed my flight for tomorrow at the Thai Air office. It was turning out to be quite a warm, humid day, and I was feeling pretty hot and bothered as we headed back to our room.

On the way we stopped to have a look in a photo gallery. The photos were some of the finest I have ever seen. Miho enjoyed looking at the photos so much, it did our hearts good. the pictures captured scenes of life in Vietnam.

This afternoon it was time for me to explore Hanoi alone. I set out, and promptly got completely lost in the little streets and markets. I found a CD shop and bought some CDs, then, with the help of some tourists, and my Lonely Planet map, I found my way back to our room.

Neha was asleep so I packed my bags, ready for tomorrows departure.

It was really good to spend some time out and about alone. I couldn't have done it at the start, but by the second last day I was ready to enjoy getting lost and just wondering around, looking smelling and hearing the things which were now almost familiar.

In the evening we went to say goodbye to the nice family in the Lotus Tea shop. Again we sat down and drank tea with them. This time we had a really special talk with them. We learnt a bit about what life is like for them, and what they believe.

That night we went back to Hoa Sua, the training restaurant, but this time we chose our meals from the French menu. I had a very good veal steak with creamy mushroom sauce. The desert was good again, as was our walk back through the streets of Hanoi with the northern stars smiling down on us.

It was our last night, and we would all be sad to leave. Neha was really happy, and we walked holding her hands and swinging her up in the air.

Our last morning dawned, with rain washing the streets clean. We left our room, and took a taxi to the airport-bus station.

My last Vietnamese meal of noodle soup hardly taste of anything to me as I lost myself in thought… It had been so hard at the start, but now I didn't want to leave.

I feasted my eyes dreamily on the paces of the Vietnamese people and on Miho and Neha. Who knows when I will see them again? They were the best travel companions I could have wished for, thank you.

The bus was ready to go, I said goodbye to Miho and Neha, and then I was off… alone again, following my nose around the world.

 

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