Vietnam 2023 – Trip Report 8

Tuesday 5 September – Ta Van

Sleep, which a little surprisingly for me, comes quickly, but the need to rid myself of that last beer, just two hours later, becomes enough to wake me up.

Outside, into the very dark Vietnamese countryside, and Honey the dog does her watchdog thing.

The initial thought of puncture wounds and rabies shots, quickly turn to wondering how many people are now awake, due to my bladder issue.

I try to placate her.

I’m unsuccessful.

Bladder issue resolved, I head back.

It’s dark, like real dark, and the realisation dawns on me that I am now unsure where the door is.

First attempt is made, and a second realisation becomes apparent; I’m not at the door I thought I was.

Bearings recalibrated, correct door found, and then so too is my bed.

Under my insect net, and again, surprisingly, sleep quickly returns.

But the sleep can hardly be described as uninterrupted, which is no one’s fault but mine, and I wake several more times throughout the night.

But each time, I have no problem getting back to sleep, more than likely helped by listening to the sounds of rain, which is quite heavy at times, as well as frogs, insects and all the other usual noises associated with all things nature.

My mattress is firm, which is far from unusual, and my pillows are more cushion like, than pillow like, but nothing that using two of them can’t fix.

I’m comfortable, and right now, even though I would much prefer to be asleep rather than laying here with my mind doing what my mind tends to do, I can think of no other place I would rather be.

Eyes open again, and this time it’s light, with that light shining through the gaps in the wall.

It’s not quite 6.00am, but not unexpectedly, the people here in the outskirts of Ta Van are already waking up.

Including a guy, somewhere further up the hill, using his hammer.

Oh well, it’s better than karaoke…..

Lay there for a bit, finally making a move at 6.30am, and outside things are very wet.  But it’s not raining at the moment, and it actually looks quite clear.

Breakfast is a local bread, which I’m pretty sure is the same mashed up sticky rice thing that’s cooked in a banana leaf, I had last night, as well as one of those instant milk and coffee packets.

The coffee is actually alright, and far better than previous instant coffees I’ve had here in Vietnam, and the bread, while very chewy, is good, but also very filling.

But that could just be me, with my food eating issues at this time of the day.

Breakfast done, along with a little Trip Advisoring and notes, and just like yesterday, I spend some time simply taking in the view and my surrounds.

It’s now very overcast, with the mountain tops in the clouds, and while it doesn’t look like it’s going to rain, it also doesn’t look like it’s not going to.

But my laziness is starting to become a problem, so I decide to go for a bit of a walk, following a path that I can see just below the house.

Eventually finding how to actually get to the path, I’m reminded we’re part way up a hill, with the path’s steepness the first thing that is noticed.

It’s also very wet from last night’s rain, which has made it incredibly slippery, and as I begin, very nervously, to make my way down, I start to wonder if it is actually walkable.

One foot on the path, one foot off it, for, hopefully, a little traction, and I make my way down.

A couple of small slips, but I manage to stay upright, and I push on.

Cho Cho, who I can’t actually see, calls out from above, asking if I’d like a walking stick.

It is easily the best idea I have heard today, so I take up the offer.

She probably could have easily thrown it down to me, but she insists on hand delivering it, so I wait, not wanting to risk anymore unaided steps.

A minute later she appears at the top of the path, and while she too is wary of the path, she does move down it far quicker, and far more gracefully, than I had.

But just a few metres from me, and in the blink of an eye, she’s on her bum in the middle of the path.

I gasp, and rather nervously, ask if she’s okay?

But she just laughs, and as she jumps up, she hands me the stick.

I’m relieved, but at the same time, now feel vindicated at my over cautious approach to traversing this slippery slope.

With stick in hand, but Cho Cho now stickless, we continue down, no doubt both of us now even a little more wary after what just happened.

Rice terraces above us on the left, and massive bamboo growing up from somewhere down below on the right, the likes of which I don’t think I’ve ever seen before, we eventually reach the bottom.

A local Hmong woman is sitting in a nearby field, and we’re greeted by a very friendly little dog.

We take in the view for a couple of minutes, and as we do, I notice a small group approaching us.

Two local girls, along with three or four tourists, and my initial reaction is one of surprise, as I was not expecting to see anyone else that looked like me.

Some of the unexpected, at least to me, tourists.

But Cho Cho explains that this particular area is a quite popular walking route, for visitors to the Ta Van and Sapa area, with it being done as either a day, or multi day, walk.

Again, I’m surprised, but it then makes me think back to when I had read about people visiting Sapa, and what it was that most of them intended to do once here.

Yep, it’s amazing what you forget, when you set about trying to avoid a place, as well as distance yourself from pretty much anything written about it.

Cho Cho takes us on a loop of the area, rather than tackling that path again, and we pass several more groups of people I didn’t expect to be seeing today.

It certainly seems I’ve found the well trodden path, and Cho Cho explains that she goes out of her way to avoid this busy little thoroughfare, whenever she takes her guests out on a trekking adventure.

Eventually off the path, and then back onto the rice terraces, where rice is either growing, being harvested, or being cleaned up by very happy looking water buffalos.

It’s scenic, idyllic, and any other superlative you can think of, and I’m more than just a little bit happy to have left the tourist path behind.

Harvest season!

Back to Cho Cho’s, our newly found friendly little dog still in tow, and it’s time for morning tea, which includes just that; tea; along with a banana.

More sitting and just taking it all in, and then Cho Cho comes up with the suggestion of trekking to her husband’s place, have some lunch there, and the trek back ‘home’.

Sounds good, and it also sounds non-touristy, so that’s the plan.

Just before 11.00am, and as we’re about to head off with my trusty and bum saving stick in hand, Cho Cho mentions that I should take some water with me.

I hadn’t thought about that, with the thinking being that I could probably go without, but she has now made me alter my thoughts on what kind of walk this may be.

It now feels significantly longer, and quite possibly, a fair bit more strenuous.

Water retrieved, and we head up behind the house, in the opposite direction of this morning’s earlier walk.

The path quickly narrows, and like earlier, foot watching and placement becomes the thing.

We reach an area filled with bamboo, and if this morning’s bamboo was big, well this bamboo is seriously on another level.

It’s also incredibly dense, and because of that, as well as its height, it is quite dark walking amongst it.

It actually has an eerie feel about it, but at the same time, the whole thing looks so interesting.

The walk continues, and leaving the bamboo behind, the scenery is constantly changing.

And as it does, so too does the track.  Narrow, steep, wet, muddy, and at times, rather uneven; I am very glad for my trusty stick.

On we go, and it’s all so very local.  Local houses, local people, the typical farm animals of cows, water buffaloes, goats, chickens and dogs.

I have no idea where we are, but wherever it is, it feels like the middle of nowhere.  And I love it!

Coming around a bend, I can see a steep path in front of us.  I don’t know how much further it is, but surely we’re not walking up that!?

We are, and it’s tackled the way you’d eat an elephant.

It was steeper than the camera shows.  And yes, that is Cho Cho way up ahead of me…..

It’s tiring, and it’s hard work, but it’s oh so rewarding, especially when you reach a cleared area and the view reveals itself.

Stunning, and getting stunning-er, the higher up we get.

Our track then turns into what looks to be a fairly new concrete path, and it looks new because it is.

There’s actually a group of guys further up, and they’re in the process of extending the path, by mixing concrete, by hand of course, on site.

We reach the part where hard walkable concrete becomes soft unwalkable concrete, and as we do, a local guy hops on his bike to ride down what we just walked up.

Now I’m no motorbike rider, but as our local guy hopped on his bike to do his thing, I couldn’t help but look at the degree of the slope he was about ride down, and then seriously wonder, and worry, about how he was actually going to be able to do it.

The attempt began, and my concerns were quickly realised, as his back wheel, after making a couple of short rotations, then remained in the locked position for over 95% of his descent, finishing with a small fishtail at the end, but fortunately, remaining upright.

Better nerves than I…..

Up past the workers, and what they’re doing makes our walk look like, well, a walk in the park.

Working harder than I am….

Around another bend; no concrete here yet, just dirt, stones and rocks; and three young local boys, no older than ten or eleven, come walking down towards us.

One is carrying a rooster, of course…., and they smile and acknowledge us as they go past, perhaps slightly bemused, at the bemused look on my face, as they nonchalantly go about their business with their feathered friend.

Cho Cho then explains that the kids pretty much walk most of this path, that we’ve been walking, when they go to school each day.

And that’s not just once in the morning, and once in the afternoon, but you can add another return trip, when they head home for lunch.

It blows my mind, and just reinforces the magnitude of the differences the locals deal with up here, when compared to the relatively cushy lives of the people back home.

And not for the first time over this journey, it’s just a little difficult to comprehend.

We leave the path behind when we reach a road, and with the sun now making more of an appearance than it had been, along with a lack of overhead shade giving trees, the carrying of a bottle of water now seems a better idea than it had earlier.

It’s not hot, but it is far warmer than it was.

The road is walked for a bit, and both the flatness of it and the now far more visible views, are both enjoyed and taken advantage of.

We stop for a bit, a few photos are done, and Cho Cho calls her husband.

Me and my stick…

A few minutes later a guy on a bike turns up, and I’m quickly seated behind him and moving up the mountain far quicker, and with far less exertion, than I had been.

He drops me off a bit further up, and even though he has no English, he makes me acutely aware to stay where I am, as he heads back to get Cho Cho.

I wait, taking in the views, looking at the dot on Google maps that is telling me where I am, even though I have no idea where I am, and wave and smile to a couple of rather surprised looking locals who go past, when they see this strange westerner standing in a place that I’m guessing, doesn’t see too many tourists.

Cho Cho and her husband return a few minutes later, and while her husband heads off on the bike, Cho Cho and I do it on foot, but by taking a short cut through the bush.

Less than ten minutes later, we reach her husband’s house, which could very easily be described as remote.

There’s no mod cons, which includes power, but it’s all so real, and I have a certain amount of envy in his little patch of ‘paradise’.

We sit around the side of the house to take in the view, as well as take advantage of the shade, as the sun is well and truly doing its thing now.

Cho Cho points out Sapa way off in the distance, and having seen the minute little bit I did yesterday, and now standing here, essentially in the middle of the jungle, I have absolutely no problem in working out where I’d rather be at this very point in time.

Suitably cooled by the shade, we head inside for a lunch of beans and rice, as well as some tea.

It’s all simple stuff, but also really nice, but again, it’s just all about where we are, and what’s being experienced.

Yep, copious amounts of pinching myself still going on…..

Lunch done, a bit more walking around this patch of ‘paradise’, and we bid Cho Cho’s husband farewell around 2.00pm.

Back the way we came, and past the small-ish, but not that small, dam, we’d walked past before.

I’d noticed it earlier, but hadn’t stopped to think about it, and as we walked near it, Cho Cho pointed out a rustic seat that she said her husband sat on to fish.

It stops me in my tracks, as my brain, finally, kicks into gear as I contemplate this body of water.

I ask the question that I believe I already know the answer to, and yes, her husband did dig it all out by hand.

While it’s not quite on the same scale, it takes me back to Can Gio in 2019, with Mr Chinh and his monumental excavating job.

Yep, more than just a little impressed!

Back on the road, and while the walking is relatively flat and easy, the sun is becoming a problem.

While it’s hot, it’s not excruciatingly so, but I am now sunburnt, which is not ideal.

Particularly for my tattoos, which I was told to protect from the sun for the first week or two.

Trying to achieve that protection, and with nothing to cover them with, I follow any shade I can find, as well hold my arm in a way that keeps it out of the sun.

I’m only partly successful.

A bit further along, and Cho Cho tells me she’s going to leave the road to check something out, but that she will catch up with me a little further down the mountain.

No problem, and as Cho Cho disappears off into the rice terraces, I’m now alone with just my trusty stick, and pink coloured arms.

That scale thing, from up above.

The solo walk continues, and while it all kind of looks familiar, I do know we have to turn off at some point, and I’m not sure I’m going to know exactly where.

That then gets me to thinking about how I’m going to find Cho Cho, or perhaps more to the point, how she is going to find me.

But just as that concern begins to become the primary thought in my mind, I notice movement from the rice terraces above.

It’s my saviour!, and the whole scene was both rather funny, and also a little surreal, in a kind of Crocodile Dundee type of way.

Reunited, we soon turn off the road at Cho Cho’s direction, seeing as, not unexpectedly, I missed it.

Back onto the narrow paths, and while it took a certain amount of effort to walk up them earlier, it’s quickly discovered that that was actually easier than the now, walking down them.

What, or who, went up, must now come down.

Water buffalo enjoying post harvest time.

Feet and surface watched even more closely, and we eventually get back to the very newly poured path.

The workers are nowhere to be seen, and the still wet concrete has been covered with the traditional Vietnamese wet concrete protector of freshly broken off branches.

It’s effective, and no one is going to make the mistake of leaving their foot or wheel marks in the new path.

Onto the hard concrete, and then the various surfaces of stone, rock, dirt and mud.

It ranges from steep, to not so steep, but with the one constant being that I spend a ridiculous amount of time looking at my feet.

Somewhere back near the bamboo forest, and I know we’re now close.

Being lower, and being more overgrown, the path is now more soft mud, very uneven, and also very slippery.

Step by step, following Cho Cho up ahead, and putting huge amounts of faith in both my stick, as well as my decision making, on where I place my feet.

Successful, with just the occasional small slide, it’s rather slow going, but at the same time, going quite well.

Well, it was, until it stopped going well.

Foot on ground, and as weight is transferred, that dreaded sliding begins.

Instinct kicks in, but realisation quickly becomes apparent that I may have passed the point of no return.

I have, and just like Cho Cho this morning, I am now sitting on my bum in a place I wouldn’t ordinarily choose to sit.

Fortunately, no damage is done, well, apart from my pride, and Cho Cho is relieved, after being rather concerned when she heard me go down.

Just ten minutes later, we’re back at the house; so near, yet so far; but with falls remaining at one all for the day.

A good hour and a half each way, reasonably hard work for some of it, but oh so rewarding in both scenery and achievement.  And all without another tourist in sight!

Yep, most definitely well worth the effort!

The resting, recovering, cooling down, and scraping mud off my shorts, begins, while drinking tea, taking yet more photos, and just watching the kids do their thing.

A huge bundle of very large, and very recently harvested, chunky green leaves, is brought back to the house by Cho Cho’s daughter in law, who then proceeds to chop it all with a rather large knife, on a chopping board on the ground.

Bits fly everywhere, and I’m reassured that it is for animal feed, and not for the consumption of us humans.

One of the kids then takes over, and while he was almost as efficient and skillful as his mother, I just can’t imagine a parent in my own over governed and over protected Australia, who would be comfortable with allowing that to happen.

And that makes me sad for the world that I now find myself living in, when I’m not living the dream while visiting this incredible country, and spending time with these amazing people.

He was very good!

A much needed shower, as in far more much needed than it has been in a while, is had, and then it’s back to my view, along with some catching up on emails.

While sitting there, I get a message from Mike.  He’s currently in China, but not too far into it, and has plans to come back to Vietnam tomorrow via Lao Cai, with the view of staying a few days in Bac Ha.

We had discussed the possibility of a Bac Ha catch up before, and it’s great that that now appears to be a plan.

The idea is that we will ‘talk’ again tomorrow, once we both have a more accurate idea of when each of us will be passing through Lao Cai.

A bit more view looking at, it really is hard to not look at it, and then I head in to see the dinner preparations in the daughter in laws house.

The appetiser tonight is a corn cob, cooked over the coals, and even though I’ve not really had corn cobs too often in Vietnam, every time I have, it’s been a moment that has been memorable, with two of those moments being on the side of a road with Toan.

And tonight, even though I’m not on the side of a road, this will be as, if not more, memorable.

I sit, while enjoying my corn, and watch as dinner is prepared as it was last night, still shaking my head at the fact that I have the opportunity to see what is happening in front of me.

The fire, the cooking, the kids being kids in the most boisterous way, and it’s all same old, same old, but also absolutely brilliant.

There is some sadness, however, knowing that this is it, and I won’t be here this time tomorrow night.

Dinner ready, and it’s pretty much the same as last night; a stir fry of carrot, capsicum and onion, but this time with pork, along with some rice, as well as some potato and pumpkin.

And just like last night, it can’t be faulted.

Dinner done, the kids once again take care of the tidying up chores, before then returning for a bit of fun with their cousins prior to bed time, including cramming together to watch some ‘television’ on a mobile phone.

It’s a slightly surreal, but funny, scene.

Soon it’s time for them to go to bed, and peace and quiet is restored.

I sit and chat with Cho Cho, while enjoying a beer, and we talk a little about life and tourism up here, including the number, and type, of homestays that are now in the area.

The bungalow arrangement, where you have your own ‘house’, of which I’ve seen a couple, versus the true and authentic homestay that she has set up.

I can certainly see advantages in that slightly more private option, but gee, getting to experience what I have over the last two days, well, yeah….

9.00pm arrives, and I head off with my final beer of the night, to do the usual on the bed of Trip Advisor, notes, and ridiculous amounts of contemplation.

The walk today, despite working up a sweat, and then falling down, was brilliant, and well and truly worth the effort.

Although I’m not sure Lisa would have agreed.

Regardless, I am incredibly grateful to Cho Cho that she was prepared to show me all that.

Last night, and then again tonight, particularly with dinner and its preparation, absolutely blew my mind, and it’s an experience that I feel honoured and privileged to have been able to be a part of.

Will I ever return to Sapa, and the area around it?

Maybe.  Maybe not.  I really don’t know.

Having said that, ‘Sapa’ is a big area, and there’s obviously more to it than just Sapa and Ta Van.

I guess we’ll just have to see.

Early-ish, but more than respectable, start tomorrow, with the plan being to head off by 10.00am.

Cho Cho has arramged for a driver to pick me up over in Ta Van proper, who will then take me back to Sapa, where I can get a bus to Lao Cai.

Another bus / van will then get me to Bac Ha, hopefully with Mike, and then it’s a few nights there, which, after a recommendation from Mike, a hotel has already been booked.

Saigon leg done, so too the initial Hanoi bit, and now the Sapa / Ta Van / Cho Cho bit is effectively done as well.

Three legs down and a week in already, with a bit over a week to go until I meet up with Lisa again.

It’s now been three weeks since I’ve seen her, and while the walk / trekking wouldn’t have been her thing today – as in potentially marriage and / or life (either one of us) ending – I have missed her.

But while I’m hanging out to see her again, I do know that when that time comes, I’ll be halfway through this adventure.

And that’s not something I’m really looking forward to.

Cheers,

Scott