Met up with the other 9 of the tour at Terminal 4 Heathrow, lovely ladies and one gentleman accompanying his wife......
.....take off delayed, for 1 hour, after we all boarded as the pilot had 'lost his slot'!!!
11hour flight with 7 hour time difference....
.....breakfast I chose, Dragon Fruit, Mango, water Melon and Lamaton- I think- all delicious.
....Hanoi Hotel...
....everything is transported on bikes....
....old town the lake shrine, flowers and trees everywhere...
...the lake
....trees and roots...
....shrine with food offerings...
.....this was so much fun, doing battle on the road with cars, buses, and bikes...
....the convey sets off...
....very wide pavements used to park bikes, pedestrians have to walk on the road!!
over 2 million bikes in Hanoi.
This is to show the electricity....
....singing birds hanging outside a cafe...
...all shops are just like open garages, wares displayed on the pavement...
...the man in the foreground is on his knees on the pavement cutting the metal with snips!!
...electric at a crossroads...
....these bikes were unbelievable, thought of RD...
....shops below, families live above, all properties are very narrow and high...
...when you cross the road here you have to stick your arm out and WALK, all bikes swerve around you, very unnerving the first time I did this.
This guy was cooking sticky rice doughnuts on the street,
DELICIOUS
....this is the only gate left into the old town, there were five...
...recycling cans and bottles.
>>>>>
Boarding the train was like being on a war time film set, no platforms, cross the tracks....
...this was taken at 6am as we reached Sapa....
...so much cultivation...
....our berth, I had the top bunk and slept well!!!
A very long train, all berths.
Taken from the bus...
...in Sapa they use every inch of space for cultivation, these are recycled polystyrene boxes.
Up into the mountains..
...our guide, the umbrella is a sun shade...
..
....spot the buffalo in the rice fields...
..and the pig..
...washing drying...
...typical shop in the village, children and pigs playing happily!
Sticky rice drying...
....spinning hemp..
....I had a go at weaving, you need a lot of rhythm and coordination!!!!
Indigo vat
....hemp cloth drying...
....blanket a mixture of embroidery and batik
...corn drying in the home..
...these leaves are mixed/pulped with the dried corn to feed the pigs...
...making rice wine in the same house..
....storage of rice and foods for the winter is stored in the upper room, the ladder is a log...
...fabulous water falls...
....an extension, no health and safety here!!!
Boys fishing with a net between the rocks...
...rice fields..
...water used to pound the rice..
...Sapa Hotel room...
...2 of my purchases from the village, hemp cloth and indigo batik.
Not sure when my next blog will be, have loads more to share!
