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Socialist Republic of Vietnam/Hanoi Camping and Backpacking 2008
We went on a 3-day trip from Hanoi to Sapa, which is a beautiful village in the mountains in the very north of vietnam.
Our stops were:
1. Son La - to cut it short: not much to see there
2. Dien Bien Phu - quite a few interesting mueseums and insights for people that like war stories. In Dien Bien Phu was the famous showdown of the vietnamese war against french colonialisation. A1 Hill was kind of interesting. Since I am more into nature and landscapes than into wars, Dien Bien wasn't that exciting either.
3. Sapa - the road to get there was impressive. Beautiful views to the surrounding mountains and scary roads wind up the steep mountains. The ride from Dien Bien to Sapa is definitely worthwhile!
By the way: Foreigners are not allowed to rent cars (yet). Thus we went with a vietnamese speaking driver. The travel agent also talked us into booking a guide so we went on the trip with a driver and a guide. The guide really helps because once you leave the big cities, people don't understand and speak english anymore.
Overall - the trip took us 3 days and planning the trip again, I would probably skip this part.
The Lao Cai Airport (35km from Sapa) will probably be finished in 2010. Until then: There is a decent night train going from Hanoi to Sapa and back. That's the way to go if you want to visit Sapa.
Hanoi - first impressions >
Our stops were:
1. Son La - to cut it short: not much to see there
2. Dien Bien Phu - quite a few interesting mueseums and insights for people that like war stories. In Dien Bien Phu was the famous showdown of the vietnamese war against french colonialisation. A1 Hill was kind of interesting. Since I am more into nature and landscapes than into wars, Dien Bien wasn't that exciting either.
3. Sapa - the road to get there was impressive. Beautiful views to the surrounding mountains and scary roads wind up the steep mountains. The ride from Dien Bien to Sapa is definitely worthwhile!
By the way: Foreigners are not allowed to rent cars (yet). Thus we went with a vietnamese speaking driver. The travel agent also talked us into booking a guide so we went on the trip with a driver and a guide. The guide really helps because once you leave the big cities, people don't understand and speak english anymore.
Overall - the trip took us 3 days and planning the trip again, I would probably skip this part.
The Lao Cai Airport (35km from Sapa) will probably be finished in 2010. Until then: There is a decent night train going from Hanoi to Sapa and back. That's the way to go if you want to visit Sapa.
