November | 2011 | Teresa Van Haalen Ventures

Friends, thanks for staying with us during our travels, and all your wonderful comments that helped us know loved ones were out there. Really, these blogs for me have been like sitting around a dining room table telling stories. I’ll share a few final photos of Sapa, and of Hanoi, since we spent 3 days there wandering, eating, shopping and going to shows and museums.

The day we left Sapa (with thighs burning from 3 days of hiking up and down 2,000′ elevation drops and gains), we hiked up to a 1,000 foot peak overlooking Sapa town, and on our way up, caught a performance by some of the indigenous Black H’Mong performers (musicians, dancers & singers) to accent the day. Posted below, Sapa view and H’Mong flute player.

When we returned to Hanoi, we walked the very busy streets for most of 3 days. Hanoi is a city that has few stop lights, no stop signs, and as many motor scooters as there are people. Mostly, you walk in the street (interesting given the traffic!), because sidewalks are totally taken with parked motor bikes and street vendors selling breakfast, lunch, and dinner to their countrymen. I’d love to know what the secret is there, because I see people constantly eating, and no one seems overweight. In fact, the Viet Nam women are positively lithe. The strategy for crossing the street is to pick the largest gap between motorbikes, take a bold step out into the street, and let the ones coming next know your intentions by walking self-assuredly into the thick of it! Scooters mostly try to go behind you once they figure you are really going to go for it. Several times, I locked elbows with complete strangers, figuring they wouldn’t bowl us all down at once! I will never take walking the Taylor Street Bridge trail for granted again!

I’m posting a photo John took the first day in Hanoi of the “sheet metal street”, where a guy was soldering something that resembled a gate. I’m also posting a photo I took as we walked around Hoan Kiem Lake in central Hanoi, where many couples who are getting married choose to have their wedding photos taken. I couldn’t resist the quintessential image of the beautiful Asian girl (I’m sure her wedding photographer didn’t mind!).

We are spending our last night in the fully appointed, posh Movenpick Hotel Saigon near the airport, and leaving for Hong Kong tomorrow at 11:30 am. See you all soon (except Bill and Pam Heward, who we saw at the Hanoi Airport this morning, for heavens sake, and will not be back until the end of November). It will be good to be back, albeit 40 degrees. Guess I’d better get down to the hotel swimming pool while I still can!