A Birthday to Remember.

We thought it was time to take the driving control into our own hands and hired 3 motor bikes for the day.  At $5- each bike we had freedom and our chance to write our own episode of
Top Gear Vietnam. Team Clarkson on the red Honda was Paul, with Maisy in front telling him where to go and when to change gears.  Team Hammond on the black Yamaha was myself with a feverishly sick Charlotte behind only just hanging on with one hand while taking photos with the other. Team May on the other red Honda was Pete and Gail with the map, technical expertise and previous Vietnam experience.

And then we were off.

Sapa is located at the very north of Vietnam in the mountains bordering China, at an altitude of 1800m it is often covered in a blanket of cloud and can be very cool. My birthday brought out the sunshine and clear blue skies for one glistening day. It was a perfect day for exploring Sapa and the surrounding area. We took off heading north for about 45 minutes to the Silver Waterfall. The road out was potholed and littered with gravel. Mostly, there was no shoulder, just a sheer drop on one side and a rock face on the other. I had never doubled anyone on a bike before nor ridden on the right hand side of the road so the first 20 minutes was quite intense. I managed to survive the first 10 minutes with two bee stings to my neck and one flying stone to my top lip. The tears came, firstly from the wind in my face but as soon as I found my way on the bike the tears of laughter took over.

We continued north to a lookout point with spectacular views of the mountains and valley below. On the way back into the small town of Sapa we saw a cockfight by the side of the road and had to stop for a look. There were no blades attached to the legs as they were in training but it was still a very vicious game with a clear winner.

Back in Sapa we found the highly recommended Chocolate and Baguette coffee shop and celebrated my ten and three quarter birthday with a rather good coffee and citrus tart. We met up with our lovely Sapa girls who walk around the streets selling handicrafts and talking the talk. We made pinky promises with them that we would buy from them tomorrow.

Pulling out of the coffee shop was a very near miss for Team Clarkson who came within millimetres of colliding with a scooter girl from nowhere. If not for the long anchors of Paul’s legs at just the right moment it could have been a dreadful 24 hour trip back to the nearest hospital in Hanoi.

Heading south this time we ventured off road and took a hard left down a rocky track and found ourselves in a very remote little hillside village. Away from the town and sealed road, life here was slow and hard work. Everywhere we looked was a picture from another world. All sorts of animals roamed the fields, rice paddies clung to the hillsides and soil-crusted people blended in with the earth. We passed a group of children playing on the side of a hill and turning back to see them as the laughter turned to screams, we saw a small baby sliding down the rubble only to be stopped metres below by a stalky shrub. Life, once again left to chance, saved by mere fortune.

 

Further along this track we followed two women carrying heavy baskets and stopped to talk to them when they rested on a rock at the top of a hill overlooking a spectacular farming valley. We found out they had walked 7 kilometres from Sapa carrying these heavily laden baskets which must have weighed more than 10 kilos, full of vegetables and a 5 litre bottle of rice whiskey. They had little English but were good communicators and we learnt a lot about their daily lives and families. They lived a tough life but were so happy to spend time with us.  Paul and Pete decided to give them each $10 USD and their day became a party.

They broke open the bottle of rice whiskey and shared it with us. Tasting more like methylated spirits than any other whiskey we had tasted before. This may have been the start of Paul’s next bout of sudden and rapid bowel movements. 
When we rode back to the other side of the valley we could look back and see the little figures still sitting on the rock swilling from the bottle as the sun went down.

A well deserved rest for these two ladies

Sharing rice whiskey.
The man behind is one of the ladies sons.
He never helped them carry any of their heavy packs or talked to us.

Trying on Maisy's sunglasses

Maisy could probably fit a bit more in this style back pack than the one she has

My perfect day was not over yet. Our hotel for the three days was Sapa Rooms. www.saparooms.com
 They are an eco-friendly group that work together with the local community supporting ethnic minority groups with education and health care. They employ local youngsters and train them in hotel management and cooking and give them the opportunity to move to Hanoi to work in their sister hotel Six on Sixteen. Highly recommend both.
We enjoyed a fabulous Vietnamese mountain meal of mixed hot pot. Everything was fresh and ever so delicious. A recipe I will have to learn and perfect when I return home.

A delicious stock of lemon grass, chilli, pineapple, ginseng, goji berries, and other medicinal mountain herbs.
A great choice after a big day of trekking around the Sapa trails. Made with a beef, pork and vegetable stock. Served with a selection of organic chicken, wild pork, beef, many leafy green vegetables, tofu and noodles.
                                                                                                                                From the menu.


Can you smell it?   Mmmmmmmm yum!



Thank you for all my lovely birthday wishes.
As you can see I had an awesome day.
Lots of love from Lee.     xxxx