I was first fascinated with Vietnam when I read the book ‘Tangerine’ in July last year. The book talked about a man’s travels through Vietnam. Maybe because what he was experiencing made sense or his encounters with the local people and culture intrigued me or just the thought of escaping into an exotic foreign land was so tempting. Whatever the reason, it created a spark in me, a longing to one day visit this land up north.
Later on in the year, in one of the occasional meet-ups with Wee Loong and Ravi, we broached the subject of going for a trip together in the coming year. A monumental year as it marks our coming of age into the 30s. Anyway our last trip together was in 2001 when we traveled by land to Phuket and Haadyai. It was pretty enjoyable then and the prospect of going for another trip together was pretty exciting.
Hanoi was thrown into the hat. Neither of us had been there before. Wee Loong might have flown there but these were turnaround flights. Ravi had traveled to Ho Chi Minh and Hue, but never to the north. We left thinking about the possibility.
However the idea remained dormant until we met again earlier this year to confirm the trip and built a plan around it. Ha Long Bay was suggested due to its proximity and popularity. Sadly that was the extent of our knowledge about the attractions of north Vietnam.
A short trip to the Travel Guide section of Kinokuniya later, we expanded our travel options. Sapa, a town on the hills, North West of Hanoi caught our eye. Maybe it was the words used to describe the place; words like hill station, cool mountain air, picturesque scenery. The only obstacle was the journey to the hill station which included an 8 hour train journey to a border town and a short drive up to Sapa. A short calculation showed that we needed at least a week to cover all three places. We decided to go for it.
Norman was later roped in and not because we needed a fourth player for cards as he suspected (3 could play Chor Dai Dee comfortably). We proceeded to book the cheapest fare to Hanoi through Tiger Airways. The round trip cost S$225, including taxes.
We were on our way to Vietnam.
2 comments:
welcome welcome to the 30s club *chuckles"
nothing beats good company.
Oh.. did u see the weekend market and trek in Sapa?
souplad, I'm almost there, in a few more months, shudder...
was in Sapa on a weekday, so no love market for us. but got to go for a trek down the valley.
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