Somehow this day is lasting forever!
The train ride last night was “interesting”. Our cabin was pretty small and our beds pretty narrow. We’d booked the soft sleeper (versus the hard) and I cannot imagine what the hard would be like after having spent a night in the soft! But no complaints really....it is all just part of the adventure. Although if I’m really honest I might have to complain a little about the toilet. OMG! Why anyone would place the toilet so close to the door that you can’t open or close the door without being on top of the toilet makes absolutely no sense at all!!! On the upside we all did figure out a way to make it work. Whew!
And we really can’t complain about our bunk space as the girl who was looking after our train car had to sleep in a closet on the floor! I discovered this on my first trip to do yoga in the toilet. It was pretty dark in the hallway outside our compartment door and there at the end of the hall I could see an open door and something on the floor in front of it. As I drew closer I could see that it was a person with their head and body in the closet and the bottom of their legs sticking out beyond the doorway. It couldn’t really be all that comfortable to be sleeping on the floor but she sure seemed to be comfortably settled in for the duration. At each stop she would get up, don her train hat, and be at the ready to see passengers off the train and to welcome new riders for the journey.
We laughed so much getting settled in for the night! Seeing Lynda and Darlene get up into their upper bunks left Gail and I feeling a warped sense of guilt and relief simultaneously! We tucked two suitcases under the little table that the girls had used as their step ladder and the other two fit under the lower bunks along with all the backpacks and shoes. It was like a puzzle and we were successful at solving it! :-). In the end, Lynda was the only one of us who decided to go all the way and don p.j.’s but we all managed to catch at least a few winks of sleep over the course of the very LONG night! As we were getting settled in for the night we had more than one vendor knocking on our window trying to sell us everything from booze to junk food. We also had one vendor no the train knocking on our inside door to see if we’d like her to bring us coffee or anything in the morning. Although we’d said no to the outside vendors we decided coffee a half hour prior to arrival would be great so said yes to her.
For reasons unknown our train took an hour longer than it was scheduled to and so the coffee we were ready for at 5 a.m. didn’t arrive until 6. It was worth waiting for though as it was delicious! Once we rolled into Lao Cai we were happy to see my name on a piece of paper being held by our driver. By the time we left for SaPa we had 16 people loaded into a 15 person van. Yep....it was a tight fit for the long winding road to SaPa.
The weather wasn’t perfect but it was good enough for us to be able to catch most of the fantastic views of the terraced gardens and rice fields along the way. Magnificent! Never get tired of seeing this stuff!
Our driver brought us right to our hotel, the SaPa Memory Hotel where we were thrilled to find rooms that were even better than we’d hoped for. Again, this building is tall and skinny so each floor has just 3 rooms on it. We’d opted for 301 and 401 directly atop one another...the rooms at the front of the building with a view and pretty little balcony (well not really a balcony...just a railing that looks like a balcony). Huge rooms with a bathroom big enough to have a party in (sooo different from last night on the train!), new bathroom fixtures (including a rain shower), comfy queen sized beds, super good wifi, and complimentary coffee, tea, and water.
Soon we were off in search of some kind of breakfast. Lynda and I located some local fare where eggs were encased in a super thin rice pancake and the most delicious bowl of pho. Gail and Darlene opted for the place next door where the menu offered a few more western style options. From there we decided to take advantage of the “no rain” reality we were enjoying so a little walking tour of town as we made our way to the electric train station in the middle of the city was in order. There is a lake right in the middle of town and it is very very pretty here. The downside is that the weather forecast is not good for our visit. Today is the only day that we’re supposed to not have too much rain. Tomorrow and the next day are forecast to pour and thunderstorm so it might be an interesting couple of days!
The electric train cost just 50,000 VND (about $3) for the return trip to Fansipan gondola base. It is a stunning 15 minute trip with more views of the rice fields far below. Unfortunately by the time we reached the base of the gondola the low cloud was so thick that we couldn’t see a foot in front of us which meant the gondola option was off the table for today. That facility is so impressive that in spite of the fog we were still glad we’d come and wandered around the place. Maybe tomorrow the weather man will be wrong and we’ll wake to bright blue skies. :-)
Walking back tonight gave us another opportunity to sample some more of the delicious food that Vietnam has in abundance. Tonight will also be an early night as we’re all pretty much like the walking dead after our overnight train journey. Finding our way back to our hotel tonight was a challenge as we could hardly see the landmarks we’d set for ourselves on the way out this afternoon! Fortunately we made it back where showers and clean clothes were all any of us wanted to do.
Till next time,
Darlorlyngai
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