Pete & Rach's Big Trip: The Bac Ha Adventure Day 1: 18 Oct 2013

With Neil and Stacey on the train to Lao Cai

Rach says:

In our Hanoi hostel we bumped into a Manchester couple we had first met in Yangshuo, Stacey and Neil - they had come to the same city and same hotel at the same time! We all wanted to visit the far north of the country, so decided to travel together on an over night train to Lao Cai and then stay at a 'homestay' in the town of Bac Ha, a small mountain town near the Chinese border. From there we would explore the surrounding rice
terraces, hill tribe villages and visit the weekend markets.

Hanoi train station is tiny for a capital city. It looks like a train yard, with no platforms and lots of trains sitting on overgrown tracks that you have to walk across. The train itself was the most luxurious sleeper of the trip so far (we'd had to upgrade to 'deluxe') with comfy mattresses, big fluffy duvets, flowers on the table and old-timey wooden panelling. It put me in mind of an Agatha Christie film. A 'welcome' tannoy message was then broadcast through the compartments, advising that amongst the items not allowed on the train are "hand grenades", "dead body parts", "corpses" and "mad persons likely to disturb other passengers"!! Interesting... We then settled down for a lovely sleep...or not. We bounced down the track (I almost left the mattress at times) and with the broken aircon and some very loud noises, we'd barely had a wink of sleep by the time the 'wake-up' opera music came blaring through the carriages at 4.45am.

Lao Cai town

The map

Pete says:

After a 2 hour bus ride we arrived in Bac Ha. We asked around until someone knew the man we were staying with and gave him a call. A car turned up and drove us until we reached a narrow rickety iron bridge over a river. The driver stopped just before it, got out, looked at the bridge and then back at his car, then looked at us and shook his head. It was a tiny car but he wasn't going any further!

The Homestay

We walked on and found the house of Sun's family. Sun, his wife Ang, and his 2 children (both also had one syllable names that I have forgotten) and his mother shared this kind of concrete barn with two floors. There was an outside bathroom and surrounding sheds containing chickens and pigs. Our beds were just mattresses on the wooden floor with mosquito nets hung over them but were surprisingly comfortable.

Rach says:

Another local home

After some reviving tea and breakfast, Sun drew us a map of the local area and the 20 minute walk into town. Just as we were leaving, he added "but this way is a short cut", pointing to a muddy track up the hill. This was probably the worst (and the best) short cut in the world, because we never arrived in Bac Ha town, but we did spend 6 hours wandering lost in the glorious (but very rainy and muddy) Vietnamese countryside. The locals were all really friendly and would greet you with a smile and 'hello'.

Eventually we stumbled upon a town

Rice terraces

Pete says:

That evening, Sun's wife cooked up a massive feast with only a basic stove and hardly any equipment. It wasn't the most hygenic kitchen in the world but we survived. Each night other locals would come and join us as well as a few people from other homestays and it was a very nice experience. Sun passed around shot after shot of the local corn wine and one night his father-in-law insisted on going round the table topping everyone up repeatedly, toasting them before moving on to the next person. He was an unstoppable drinking machine. We then sat up drinking red wine and chatting with Stacey and Neil on the - not really balcony but sort of upper floor veranda - while listening to the weird nature sounds.