Vietnam 2023 – Trip Report 13

Sunday 10 September – Bac Ha – Ban Phung

Awake.

It’s 4.30am.

Good, still got two hours.

But the two hours is made up of a mixture of some sleep, some half dozing, and some simply just lying there.

The alarm is saved from doing its thing when I give up just before 6.30am.

Yesterday’s missing water returned sometime during the night, and the good news is that it’s still there.

The desire to use the toilet is dealt with, and yeah, still not great.  But it has been far worse.

Get organised, pack up for the second time in 24 hours, and as I make my way towards the door, a rather strong desire for a repeat toilet experience becomes apparent.

That dealt with, and really not wanting to get caught out, I sit and wait for a bit to see if there’ll be a third.

There’s not, and with a fair amount of trepidation, I decide to take a chance.

As I’m about to step out the door, Dong suddenly appears.

He’s concerned about the water situation, but is pleased to know, at least at the moment, all is okay.

He’s also concerned about me still being here, and not already down at the market, and points out that it’s best to be there early.

Yes, that was the plan…..

He offers me a lift down there, which is much appreciated, and a few minutes later I’m dropped off around the corner from it, just after 7.30am.

I head down to the main part, and yep, not surprisingly, there are people everywhere.

While the market has been here every day that I have, and been rather busy at different times, today it’s just on another level.

It’s busy, it’s crowded, it’s noisy, and it’s oh so vibrant.

It’s a market on steroids.

Walking through the fruit and vegetable section, the colours are incredible.  Not just of the food itself, but the people buying and selling the produce.

Again, different world stuff.

I find the meat section, and as is always the case, it’s a real eye opener, and one that I always find so fascinating.

Although the one remaining recognisable part of the deconstructed water buffalo; his head; was a little, I don’t know, confronting, I suppose.

But, still hard to look away from.

Pork vendor.

Over into the seafood section, and again, fascinating.

The skill and efficiency of the vendors never cease to amaze me, with what they do when dealing with slippery and wriggling fish.

Off in the direction of where the buffalo market was yesterday, and it’s madness down there as well, with vendors lining both sides of the road, selling all manner of things.

At the bottom, and there’s a bit of a commotion, with a number of vendors hurriedly packing up their wares.

It takes me a minute to work out what’s going on, but it all becomes clear when I see the police officers in their truck.

Yep, same as in Hanoi, they don’t want them taking up room on the street.

But also same as Hanoi, once they’ve gone, it’s business as usual.

More aimless walking, and I find myself back where last night’s cultural show was.  It was busy last night, and it’s even more busy today, with countless vendors, along with pretty much every product you can think of.

Again, it’s all just so interesting, and this market seems to go on forever.

Waiting patiently.

Bit more walking, lots more looking and watching, and while I feel okay, my legs are sore.

Too much walking?

Too much walking in thongs?

Is it muscle aches, associated with whatever this thing is, I have?

Don’t know, maybe it’s all of those things.

I decide to head over to Binh’s, partly to force myself to eat something, but mainly just for a rest.

Not surprisingly, he’s busy, but he has room for me, and I’m quickly seated with a bowl of phở bò (30 000 Dong) in front of me.

I haven’t seen or heard from Mike all morning, and while I thought I might just ‘bump into him’ walking around the market, it didn’t take me long to realise that that was highly unlikely to happen, when I saw the number of people here.

Phở done, I let Binh know that I’ll back tomorrow afternoon, and head back out into the market.

A bit more walking, and after taking a couple more photos, I notice the battery light on the camera come on.

That, coupled with some threatening looking clouds, is a sign to make a move.  I have a feeling I’m going to need, or at least want, my camera this afternoon, and as such, would like to charge it before we head off.

That’s alright, I’ve seen as much as I want to, anyway.

Back up towards the Ngan Nga, and then onto the Bac Ha Legend Home a bit after 9.30am.

Battery put on charge, a few notes taken, along with an earlier than usual rest and recovery session, which results in very little, if any, sleep.

A bit after 11.00am, and I’ve had enough.  I need to do something, and I feel like I need something to drink.

Maybe a cà phê sữa đá, or at the very least, a nước mía đá.

I don’t know, I just need something.

And maybe even something to eat.

Back down towards the Ngan Nga, passing yesterday’s café, which is too busy, and then around the corner.

Finding it incredibly difficult to find what I’m looking for, due to the fact that I don’t know what I’m looking for, I give up and head in to see my beer lady.

The easy, and disappointing, choice of a Pepsi is made (10 000 Dong), and then a couple of doors down, into my bakery from the other day, for another plain bánh mì, minus any filling at all. (5000 Dong)

Down to the Ngan Nga, and Mike is out the front.  We sit and chat for a bit, while I tuck into my healthy and nutritious ‘lunch’, before fixing up the hotel bill with Dong.

With the time fast approaching for our road trip to begin, we head back to the Bac Ha Legend to get ready.

Final pack up complete, and then out the front to meet Mr Long, our driver, and on our way just after 12.00pm.

The start of the drive is familiar, as it’s the same road we travelled along on Friday, when we went out to Lung Phin.

We stop a few times for photo opportunities, and then, a bit after 1.00pm, we pull over at a restaurant / café, overlooking the town of Cốc Pài.

With the view in front of us, a drink just must be had to allow time to take it all in, and with my earlier failure of not achieving that cà phê sữa đá, that now is the preference.

Overlooking Cốc Pài.

One is ordered, but unfortunately it appears to not be an option, so a passionfruit juice becomes the back up plan.

Mike and Mr Long then order their drinks, and a few minutes later the drinks are delivered to our table.

The passionfruit drink looks good, as too does Mr Long’s drink, which looks suspiciously like a cà phê sữa đá.

That’s because it is, and I’m a little confused as to why I was unable to achieve one.

Cue the Vietnamese lesson, which was part lesson, but also part reminder, as I did actually know some of it.

I’d been told many years ago about the alternative phrase for cà phê sữa đá, with it being a North versus South thing, but had forgotten the term, because I had always just stuck with the more well known cà phê sữa đá.

Anyway, up North it is also known as cà phê nâu đá, with the nâu bit being pronounced like ‘no’.

Drinks, photos, and Vietnamese lesson complete, we get back in the car for the drive down to Cốc Pài.

The place looks familiar, but not as familiar as I’d like it to be, as I’m pretty sure this is the town where Toan and I stopped for lunch in 2017.

I can picture the restaurant, I can remember a chicken meeting its end, and I even know it rained while we were here, but I just can’t see any landmarks that indicate where it actually was.

And that, because of my desire to want to know and remember things, annoys me.

We continue on out of town, and more familiar sights come into view; a bridge over a river, a dam wall.  It’s good, and I’m now a little happier.

On we go, and we come across the occasional waterfall on the side of the road.  Some of them are impressive, and I remember thinking back in 2017 with Toan, that if we had waterfalls like this in Australia, then they’d be tourist attractions.

While some aren’t terribly high, well, at least not the bit you can see, there are a number that are quite significant.

We come round a bend, and up ahead is another waterfall off to the left, just as the road swings round to the right.  It’s not a massive one, but it, and the road configuration, makes it instantly recognisable.

It’s the one I had to get off the bike and walk past, due to the amount of thick and slippery mud that was covering the road.

I’m now more than just a little happier.  It’s only a small thing, but it’s the recollection of something that was pretty significant at the time, and something I often look back on from time to time.

A kind of reliving an experience, a retracing of ‘footsteps’, so to speak.

It’s a nice feeling, and it’s good to see these things again.

The drive continues, as does the reminiscing as the sights are taken in.  The landscape is stunning, but it’s also the everyday stuff; with the people going about their day, the pigs on the side of the road, as well as the occasional goat, along with pretty much any other animal you can think of.

It’s nice to be able to just sit back and take it all in, helped quite significantly by the fact that I don’t have to worry about Mr Long’s driving.

While some of the other road users’ driving can be questionable, Mr Long is incredibly safe and attentive.

On we go towards Vinh Quang, and while Ban Phung is the objective, I’d really love to see Vinh Quang again.

Those first few days in and around Tu Le and Bac Ha, back in 2017, were good, but things really started to ramp up, scenery and experience wise, around Vinh Quang, and beyond.

And my recollections of Vinh Quang – my beer place, the town layout, the place we had dinner at, the breakfast place, the market, even my laundry drying skills – are far more vivid than the streets of Cốc Pài.

I suspect, however, that we will turn off before we reach Vin Quang.  I could, while sitting quietly in the back of the car, nose pressed up against the window, Google it, but that would necessitate taking my eyes off the sights outside, as well as also potentially destroying the element of surprise.

The Googling urge is easily resisted, and sure enough, my assumption / suspicion is realised, when we turn off the ‘main’ road a little later.

It initially kind of looks familiar, but it’s not, and that was more about wishful thinking, and an overactive brain.

While the ‘main’ road earlier could hardly be described as an expressway, we were making reasonably good time.  But this road is very different, with it being far windier, as well as significantly narrower.

It’s slow going, with 25 kms/ph being at the top end, and then considerably less than that, when we come across another car, or something else on the side of the road.

There’s not a lot of that, but when there is, it results in a crawl to get around.

It’s far from a scary ride, and Mr Long is doing an exceptional job, but it makes me think that at this speed, I’d rather be sitting on the back of a bike, than shut away inside a car.

The drive continues, and with the scenery ranging from really good to excellent, there’s plenty to look at.

In some areas the rice harvest is yet to begin, with the terraces filled with colours ranging from green to gold.

But there are other areas where the rice is predominately golden, and evidence of the harvest having begun, is clear to see.

Having said that, there is still plenty of rice, with the vast majority, yet to be picked.

On we go, the scenery still good; the road, in parts, not so good; before pulling up outside a homestay a bit after 3.00pm.

We’re here!

Out of the car, bag dropped, and a very short walk up a slight incline, to a couple of buildings and an undercover, but open, area.  Judging by the number of tables, it appears to be some sort of communal / eating area, no doubt attached to the homestay.

We head in and make our way across to some stools, overlooking the valley below.

Wow!

I’ve seen some views, not just over the last few days, but also over the whole journey.  Views that have made me gasp, and use words that I always tried to avoid using, when around my kids when they were younger, but this, right here in front of me, is simply stunning.

It is right up there with anything else I’ve ever seen, and quite possibly the best I’ve ever seen.

It’s just incredible, and I can do nothing else but stand there shaking my head at what is before me, just trying to take it all in.

Not sure words are required.

We spend a few minutes admiring it, while trying to get the camera to capture the image I see, before Mike drags me away to walk a little further up the hill, to get a slightly different angle.

It’s probably not really any better; hard to improve on perfection, anyway; but it’s certainly not worse.

Back down to the communal / restaurant area, and back to taking that view in, but this time with a beer.

There are places to have a beer, and then there’s this place.

Yep, pretty special.

Beer had, and Mike suggests a walk down into the valley we’re staring down upon.

I could quite happily call it a day right here, continuing to do what we’re doing right now, but I know he’s right, so we head back down to the actual homestay accommodation, where we’re shown our rooms.

They’re pretty simple, but clean enough, but in all honesty, I really wouldn’t have cared what the room looked like, when you consider what is outside the back door.

‘Check in’ complete, we start making our way down the hill, turning off at one very ordinary road that would test even the best of four wheel drive vehicles, and their drivers.

The ‘road’ soon gives way to a track that is now pretty much only suitable for two wheels, or just walking, but the scenery remains a constant.

Now, however, it’s more intimate, as we’re among the houses that looked so tiny from above.

The locals are doing their thing, as too are the water buffalo and occasional goats that we see, and my head shaking continues, as I try to take it all in, as well as wonder how I ever came to get the opportunity to be doing this.

That bit is actually easy; it’s Mike.  Quite simply, without him, I wouldn’t have ended up here.

Not for the first time, I owe him.

We keep walking, stopping often to point the camera, and with our accommodation now a very long way above us, we reach a point where it looks like we may have come to an end.

Well, at least a part where we might be starting to intrude.

The dark clouds rolling in towards us, as well as the clearly diminishing light, helps to confirm the thought that it might be best to start heading ‘home’.

We turn around, back past the goats that look a little wary at our presence, which in turn makes me look a little wary at their presence, and decide to take a chance on what looks like might be a short-cut to the track further up.

It’s not, so the decision is made not to use anymore short-cut looking tracks, and instead retrace our footsteps perfectly.

More photos, more watching of the clouds, and more fascination in every buffalo we pass, we eventually get back to that ordinary road, and then finally onto the ‘main’ road.

We come across a woman running a small and very local convenience store, and seeing as how she has a fridge, and seeing as how there is beer in that said fridge, both Mike and I come up with the same brilliant idea.

Two small plastic stools are ‘borrowed’ from our lady, and we’re quickly seated in front of the store with beer in hand, watching the locals, which is predominately inquisitive kids, going about their late afternoon.

First beer done, and seeing as Mike bought the first two, and seeing as we can’t leave until the shout has been evened up, we have a second.

I mean really, how could we not, after seeing and experiencing what we just did.

Shout equalled up, we head back to the homestay, making our way directly to our ‘lookout’ at the restaurant.

We find Mr Long out the front, and he is convinced, without too much difficulty, to join us, and once again we find ourselves back overlooking that view.

The beer, which because it’s always about the occasion / where you are / who you’re with, is quite possibly one of the best I’ve had, as I look out over the valley, willing my camera to do the whole thing justice.

With the sun going down, I’m dreading the fact that it’s all soon going to disappear, but then at the same time, the light that’s now being thrown up is, sort of, taking my mind off that.

It’s now a different kind of stunning.

With dinner fast approaching and the light fading, I head back for a very much needed shower.

The bathroom light doesn’t work, which is a minor inconvenience, but there is enough light to allow me to see the, not huge, but still rather large, spider on the wall.

Believing him to be an outdoor spider, and making the assumption that he is simply lost, I put him back outside.

As I do, the thought crosses my mind that where there’s one, there may be two, and sure enough, when I return to the bathroom, his mate is also there.

He, or maybe she, also has to go, but I am slightly concerned that this one could now be a little annoyed at me, after seeing me relocate his, or her, mate.

Second relocation complete, without incident, shower had, and then it’s back up to the viewpoint, now minus the view, for dinner.

There’s already quite a few there, mostly, if not exclusively, all local tourists, so it seems a rather popular place.

Which, when you think about it, isn’t really surprising, when you consider the view, and in particular, the view at this time of year.

Dinner is a combination of duck, beef, fish, the obligatory greens and beans, along with the usual rice, as well as, of course, the wine that you can make out of that rice.

Not surprisingly, it’s all really good, helped along with probably too much rice wine, and just a few more beers.

Dinner done, we sit and chat, while the resident dog and cat go about their thing.

The cat actually likes me, but the dog, when I go to pat it, snarls and snaps at me.  It wasn’t a biting attempt, but more just a ‘warning’, which was immediately heeded.

It’s strange, I’m much more a dog person than a cat person, and normally they like me, whereas cats are always hit and miss.

Maybe he saw me showing the cat affection…..

Another beer, and a rice wine or two, and tomorrow’s plan is discussed.  Mike is staying on, but I need to return to Bac Ha, to start making moves to meet up with a certain person next week, in Hanoi.

The thinking was that Mr Long and I would leave around 12.00pm, after Mike and I maybe did another walk down in the valley, but Mr Long is looking to be on the move by 9.00am.

That’s okay, I’m more than happy with that, as I find it hard to imagine that what I’ve seen today could be topped.

Time to pull the pin, so I head back to the room with a couple of beers I probably really don’t need.

A few notes on the bed, but then I’m interrupted when I can hear the beginnings of a thunderstorm, so I head out to my balcony with a view, to take a look.

It’s impressive, but my attention is diverted when the cat turns up, and again, it seems happy to spend time with me.

It’s a bit weird, and makes me rather concerned that I may become a cat person.

But then the dog makes an appearance, and he seems far happier with me than he was earlier, which helps put my mind at ease over any allegiances.

The cat and dog move on, and with the thunderstorm petering out, I head back to the bed for my final beer, as well as try and control a pen that is now struggling to do what I want it to do.

It’s been a great day, and while I knew I was going to see a pretty impressive market this morning, it’s kind of been pushed to the background a little, after what we’ve seen and done this afternoon.

And that’s even after a road trip, of which I’m never really a great fan of, of some three hours.

It’s strange how a day can pan out, but then again, with no real knowledge beforehand on where you’re going, or what you’re going to do, I guess that element of surprise and things unknown, can help with the whole experience.

Then again, it can probably also lead to disappointment.

Fortunately, that wasn’t the case today, and, not for the first time, it’s all the result of that one person, Mike.

Again, if not for him, this would not have happened.

11.15pm, I’m done.

A repeat performance of today’s car trip again tomorrow, which I’m okay with, but it’s the goodbye that will be, as usual, harder to handle.

I’ll worry about that in the morning, but the good news right now, and throughout most of the afternoon, is that I actually feel pretty good.

Like good to the point that it all feels like I may finally be over this thing.

Fingers crossed….

Cheers,

Scott