Leonie Dukes

9 & 10 June Sapa township itself is a lovely town set around a lake, slowly being strangled by tourists.  There is new construction everywhere, constant harrassment by local women and children wanting to sell things, and not really much to do.   It is best to spend as much

7&8 June I took the overnight train to Sapa, where I had arranged two days of trekking and a homestay in a nearby minority village.  There was a lot of walking, some quite hilly and slippery due to mud, and I was glad that the last section was on the

7 June 2017 I took a local bus to visit the Museum of Ethnology which is a bit out of the city.  Hanoi’s bus service is very good – everything is well marked, services are frequent and the fare is pronted on the side of the bus which makes it

5 June – afternoon Even though I am in Vietnam, I ended up having dinner in a Chinese restaurant- I was powerless to resist the lure of air conditioning (plus a nice lake view).  I have not been very hungry due to the heat, somewhat derailing my plan to try

I finished yesterday having been accosted by a fruit seller, who pretty much forced me to pose for a photo holding her baskets and then buy some fruit.  These women have our door to door sales people well and truly beaten! After that I went to a water puppet show.

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