Apr. 4, 2010
HCMC & Vung Tau
The Air Asia flight arrived at Tan Son Nhat Airport pretty much on time shortly after 9 a.m. Getting out of the airport is not difficult although the airport taxi agents inside the airport asked for US$6-20 to my destination - Giac Lam Temple. I walked out of the airport and was approached by a motorcycle guy. After negotiation, we agreed on 70,000 dong for the trip (later I found it’s quite high). It turned out the guy didn’t know where Giac Lam Temple is and after asking many people we finally got it there. I handed over a 100,000 dong bill and he only returned 20,000 dong, citing he spent more time & money to get it there.
After Giac Lam Temple, I hired another motorcycle guy to go to Phuoc An Hoiquan Temple and encountered similar problems. The guy couldn’t find the place (even after asking many people) and finally dropped me at Quan Am Temple and asked for more money. I symbolically gave him a few thousand dong more and let him go. After seeing Quan Am Temple, I checked out Tien Hau Temple nearby and walked along the streets in Cholon for a while to have some ideas of the Chinatown in HCMC. I then hired a cyclo to go to Jade of Emperor Temple at the other side of the city for 40,000 dong. Although it also took some time for the driver to get to the place, he didn’t charge me more.
After seeing the 4 temples, I had a feeling that most motorcycle and cyclo drivers don’t know those places. The temples themselves are all Chinese temples and not super impressive (it makes sense if you have time and want to know more about the Chinese community in the city).
After the temples, I walked to the city center, the finest part of HCMC, and checked out some famous buildings such as Notre Dame Cathedral and Opera House before sitting down for a quick lunch at Pho 2000 Restaurant. The restaurant was almost fully occupied thanks to Bill Clinton’s visit in 2000, although the food was not that special to me – beef noodle soup costing 35,000 dong.
After lunch, I took a city bus 26 from the nearby Ben Thanh Bus Station to the long-distance Mien Dong Bus Station (only 3,000 dong) where I took a minivan to Vung Tau for 50,000 dong (2 hours).
Vung Tau is on the sea and more laid-back then HCMC. A short climb to the Giant Jesus Statue is a good exercise. All the local transportation can be done by motorcycle guys who always approach you with relatively reasonable prices.
I finally met my friends and they drove me to their resorts between River Ray and the sea 45 minutes away. I met some other guests at the resort and had some good chatting that night.
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| Thien Hau Temple |
April 5, 2010
Hanoi
Since the more comfortable (and much more expensive) hydrofoil was canceled for some reason, I had to take a bus back to HCMC and only paid 50,000 dong (asking 70,000 dong) to take a motorcycle to the airport from Mien Dong Bus Station.
My JetStar flight at 12:45 p.m. was delayed to 7 p.m. in the evening. After begging, they finally managed to put me in the last seat of another flight around the same time (also delayed from 7 a.m.).
Upon arriving in Hanoi, it’s mid afternoon. Bus 7 from the airport only goes as far as Cau Giay where I managed to take two more buses to the city center. I walked through the Old Quarter to get my overnight train ticket to Lao Cai from ET – Pumpkin (I already paid US$25 for the ticket in advance). The initial plan of seeing the water puppet show was ruined because the time that suited me was sold out. I then decided to have a walk around the Hoan Kiem Lake. I was approached by a lady selling postal cards near the entrance to Ngoc Son Temple and it was very unpleasant experience. I later found out that my bag was opened from behind and some stuff was missing including my train ticket. I strongly suspect it was related to that lady. Luckily, ET – Pumpkin was kind enough to issue a new ticket for me without charge.
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| Ho Chi Minh Mausoleum, Hanoi |
April 6, 2010
Sapa
The overnight train arrived at Lao Cai early in the morning and I took a minivan in front of the train station to Sapa for 40,000 dong. After checking in Mountain View Hotel for US$10, the staff told me that I could join a trekking tour for US$14 starting at 9 a.m. That was just perfect for me and I decided to also have breakfast at the hotel.
The tour was guided by a 25 year old Hmong lady. As a tradition, she got married when she was a teenager and lived at her husband’s house for 5 years and is now free to be a guide. Apart from me, there is a British couple in the group. We walked about 5 hours through different villages (with different hill-tribes) in the mountains. There are many rice terraces and buffaloes along the way. The view is nice although not super dramatic.
To reward the hard walking during the day, I had a full body massage (100,000 dong) near Queen Hotel and also dinner at a restaurant serving local food on the same road – the food was quite good at a much lower price compared with numerous western food restaurants in town.
April 7, 2010
Yuanyang
Back to Lao Cai in the morning and entering Hekou on the Chinese side without much trouble, luckily enough to catch the 10:30 a.m. bus to Yuanyang (67 yuan, 4.5 hours). The new seat of Yuanyang county is at Nansha but the rice terraces are all located near the old seat called Xiejie. Fortunately my bus terminated at Xiejie.
After checking in the famous Chen Family Guesthouse just next to the bus station, I walked along the small road in front of the guesthouse to Longshuba to see the rice terraces there. It’s about 4 km away (less than 1 hour walk). Although I saw some rice terraces along the way, I didn’t pay much attention to it. When I reached the little village of Longshuba and was told those are all the rice terraces, I couldn’t believe it and was totally disappointed – especially I just came from Sapa of Vietnam. The drought throughout Yunnan province at the time might only contribute partially to my disappointment.
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| Rice Terraces in Rongshuba |
April 8, 2010
Yuanyang to Kunming
The bus from Yuanyang (Xiejie) to Kunming (128 yuan) took 8 hours to arrive at Southern Bus Station in Kunming. It’s partially on the expressway and the view is so-so.
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| On the Way from Yuanyang to Kunming |
April 11, 2010
Liuku to Bingzhongluo
The overnight sleeper bus from Kunming (220 yuan, 9 hours) arrived at Liuku too early (before 6 a.m.) and I slept on the bus for a while and went out after dawn. To rent a car to Bingzhongluo along the Nujiang Valley is not a very easy job. After talking to a few people in the local bus station area, I finally rented a small car from a Lisu guy for 700 yuan (most other people asked for around 1,000 yuan).
The trip along the Nujiang Valley is a pleasant one. We stopped at major sites on the way such as Tiger Leap, Stone Moon and the First Curve of Nu River. We also had a side trip to Zhiziluo (also known as the “Abandoned Town” named Bijiang) - it was raining and was very cold when we were there. Lunch in Fugong about half the way (A home-made bowl of beef for 14 yuan) was also impressive. Just before the First Curve of Nu River, I paid the 100 yuan entrance fee. Most part of the road along the way is paved and in very good condition and the whole ride only took 8 hours.
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| An Abandoned School in Zhiziluo |
April 12, 2010
Bingzhongluo
I must say that the area from Bingzhongluo to Qiunatong is one of the most beautiful places in China, with stunning mountains, clear-water rivers and beautiful villages. I took a minivan from Bingzhongluo to Qiunatong (10 yuan) and planned to take the same van back. After seeing the scene, I decided to walk back (about 4 hours) and enjoy the beauty slowly. It was quite worth the walk. Qiunatong is the last administrative village along the Nujiang Valley and is only 20 km from the border with Tibet by a dirt road. After the pleasant walk, I took the 5 p.m. minivan back to Gongshan (10 yuan, 1 hour) where more accommodation and food options are available.
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| Bingzhongluo |
April 13, 2010
Gongshan to Liuku
To get back to Liuku, I took the public bus for 71 yuan (7.5 hours). The driver also stopped in Fugong for lunch. On arriving in Liuku, I bought the bus ticket next morning to Tengchong for 57 yuan. The bus actually leaves from Lushui Bus Station on the west bank of Nu River about 1 km away so I stayed at a hotel nearby. In the evening, I tried the Lisu specialty food Qiyou Chichen (漆油鸡). Although slightly expensive, it's quite delicious.
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| Xiangyang Bridge in Liuku was built during the Cultural Revolution |
April 14, 2010
Heshun
Much of the road from Liuku to Tengchong along the lower part of Nu River is under construction. After Manhai Bridge (曼海大桥), it joins the main road and the last part passes through Mt. Gaoligongshan. The whole trip took 7.5 hours.
Since it was not dusk yet, I decided to check out Heshun Village just 5 km from Tengchong (minibus 2 yuan). It’s quite touristy and the authorities charge 80 yuan to enter 8 “sights” including the famous Heshun Library. I didn’t buy it. Walking along the alleys of the village is still quite pleasant though. I also had the famous Dajiujia (大救驾) food at a restaurant for 8 yuan. Back to Tengchong a taxi did the job for 10 yuan.
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| Heshun Village |
April 15, 2010
Tengchong
Tengchong’s major sites are all around the town but not in the same direction. I first caught a bus that passes Volcano Park for 5 yuan (30 minutes). There are 3 small dead volcano mountains with easy climb in the park. The whole area is quite touristy and the entry fee of 40 yuan doesn’t seem to be worth it. Another site “Joint Pillar” 12 km away (included in the ticket of Volcano Park but nobody seemed to check the tickets, taxi 30 yuan from Volcano Park) is kind of interesting, at least it’s a nice walk in the forest. A nearby side “Black Fish River” is not as interesting but from there I met another tourist and could share his taxi to Beihai.
Beihai Wetland is perhaps the most interesting site around Tengchong. Walking on the wetland is the thing to experience there. The ticket is 40 yuan but we were told by the locals that they don’t allow tourists to really walk on the wetland. The locals charged 40 yuan each to take us to the wetland bypassing the official entrance and we did walk on the wetland – quite a lot of fun.
The last site I visited is the so-called Rehai (Sea of Heat, or hot springs). The entrance fee is 60 yuan (for taking the bath the fee is a steep 268 yuan). The area composes a dozen of hot springs with different man-made stories. I also had my feet soaked in the hot springs for 28 yuan.
A ride from Rehai back to Tengchong by minivan costs only 5 yuan. It passes the long-distance bus station where I had my overnight sleeper bus to Kunming (202 yuan, 11 hours).
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| Beihai Wetland |
Overview
HCMC is not a bad place to visit while the nearby Vung Tau is more laid-back. Hanoi gave me bad impression by the unpleasant incidents I encountered, though I believe most people are probably nice. Sapa is a nice place to have some trekking – if you have time.
For the second-tire sites in Yunnan I visited this time, Yuanyang is quite disappointing (the rice terraces in Sapa are much better and the best I have seen so far are those in the Philippines). Nujiang Valley is recommended – the road is pretty good now and the area is quite beautiful, especially around Bingzhongluo where you pay the 100 yuan entrance fee to get in. There are some dams along the branches of the Nu River already. I found the Lisu and Nu minorities are among the friendliest people in Yunnan. Tengchong is quite touristy now with lots of package tours – after the airport was put in use. The only place I found interesting in Tengchong is Beihai. Throughout the province, accommodation costs are quite reasonable. In most places for 40-50 yuan you can get a “standard” room with private bathroom and hot water.
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