Orient Express to Sapa

Our quick stop in Hanoi was just that....quick. We will have to put a longer visit on out list, what an interesting city. The funny thing is that each street has shop after shop of exactly the same item. Noah needed sneakers for trekking in Sapa, so without thinking I asked where I could get him a pair. Of course, on shoe street...so, we took backpack street to kitchenware street, to fan street, to show street! Mission accomplished, Noah has shoes for trekking in Sapa.

We left for the train station at 9:15pm to board our 8:00pm train to Sapa. Stop, no need to reread this, you indeed read it correctly the first time. As we entered our DELUXE cabin, all 5' x 6' of it that included 4 bunk beds, a small board, sorry, "table" coming out of the wall, and a flat screen TV (which we were told would not work, only for show evidently), the four of us just laughed and laughed. The "beds" were like boards of plywood. I was booked in a cabin with 3 strangers which at this point in life is just not happening, so Jesse and Maya generously agreed to share a small bunk and we all squeezed into one cabin. The bathrooms we learned would not be unlocked until the train got going to prevent the waste from sitting on the tracks......need I say more? Vietnam, gotta love it. OK, I will say more...the trains are not smooth at all and attempting to use the restrooms on the moving train present quite the challenge.

The train made stops along the way, at which point people would so nicely just knock on the cabin window in the middle of the night, Why you may ask? I wish I had an answer for you, but I can only surmise that they wanted to wave hello, or perhaps and more likely, they were just jerks. I slept well, please make your own conclusions as to how that was possible (cough cough, Lunesta)! Slept well until 5:00am that is when Martha somehow had it in her head that we would arrive in Sapa at 5:30am. So, at 5:00am we were all up, dressed packed and ready to disembark the train which arrived in Sapa at 6:30am! We love Martha in spite of her "little" error and spent the hour and a half just laughing at our surroundings and situation. The kids have all had very good attitudes about all the could be annoying situations that arise when traveling in Vietnam.

Sapa is situated at 5000 feet elevation, which made for a harrowing 45 minute ride to our hotel, the Sapa Eden. Fortunately, the views are absolutely breathtaking making the ride most worth it. The hotel is nice and the views amazing. We had a 9:30am tour booked however the kids were just exhausted so the hotel graciously booked us a private tour at noon. When the time came, kids were just not in any mind frame to hike, or be carried, from the TV or video games in the comfort of their beds. We agreed to allow them to stay behind and Martha and I left for our trek.

Our Trek lead us a few miles down a road made of large stones and rock. It is rainy season so all was wet and slippery. We were followed by a group of 8 Hmong women wanting us to buy their home made products. They make very colorful bags, clothing, pillow cases etc...by hand. As anywhere when people follow and hound you to buy it was fairly annoying, but they were cheerful and friendly. We bough a few things when out of danger of another group taking over where they left off. We went through two villages where the black Hmong, and Red Dzoa Hill tribe village minority groups reside. Very interesting and I promise to post pictures as soon as I can find a computer with a card reader. (I did not drag a laptop along with me this trip).

It is early Thursday morning. By last night night we were so exhausted that all of us were asleep by 8:15pm. This of course allowed my to be awake at 5:00am. I am glad that I have some uninterrupted down time to myself to blog a bit and get caught up. Plan is for another Trek to Cat Cat village today, opting out for the kids is off the table! Tonight we will be back on the lovely Orient Express Train back to Hanoi, then catch our flight back to Saigon. Getting close to the expedition beginning. Hope to post pictures over the weekend.

In Hanoi

After a short 12 hour stay in Saigon,with little sleep,we flew up to Hanoi last night. We have been dealing with who appeared to be a lovely woman from Hanoi to arrange  our travels in the north. We assessed her correctly by e-mail conversations. Ms. Cham had her equally as delightful husband meet us at the airport and transfer us to the Rising Dragon 3 hotel in the old quarter of Hanoi. The hotel is a small boutique style hotel with a delightful staff and clean good sized rooms. We headed out to the night market, blocks and blocks of crap for sale, and far to many people. It was great! Went to a Vietnamese style place for dinner, food delicious and prices even better. Wish five of us could eat at home, ordering multiple dishes of soups, fried rice, tofu, stir fried noodles with beef, 3 soda's,and two over sized beers for $25.00 (yes,that was including a generous tip)! Food was so well flavored, we may want to go back Tuesday upon return to Hanoi.....then again, perhaps we will try to find another culinary treat!

I will post pictures soon, just have not had the time. We leave in an hour for Ha Long Bay cruise, doubt we will have Internet form the South China Sea. Can't  wait to jump in the kayak and explore the sea caves, and very hopeful our squid fishing will result in a catch!

Stay tuned, more to come. Oh yes, kids are having fun as well!

On our way

I am sitting in Hong Kong reviewing the last 24 hours since leaving the house. On the way to Martha and Maya`s,  Jesse was plugged into her multiple electronics and ear buds totally tuned out to her surrondings..until Patty, who was talking about building team mentioned  "nails", at which point Jesse jumped up yelling "NAILS", as if she were be recieving mani and pedi vs using nails on her builing team to add a cafateria to the school. Gotta love our Jesse! Flight boarding to Saigon, more travel tails to follow.

About our expedition

HERE'S THE STORY:

The Vietnam Aid Expedition held every two years provides direct assistance to the children we serve in Vietnam. This is a good will, volunteer trip. Over 150 volunteers have traveled with us to Vietnam in the past 10 years and each of them has been deeply moved by the children they meet. This “volunteer vacation” is rewarding for everyone involved. These are the goal and needs for this AE2012 trip.

Building Team
$10,000 for a cafeteria!  We want to provide each of our 300 children one hot, nutritious meal every day.  We'll provide all the labor necessary to complete this open air cafeteria just steps away from their classrooms!
$1500/home
Shelter from rain, wind and sun is a basic human need. The Building Team will finish building two homes in four days for families in our community that used to live in the garbage dump. This new home will give these families shelter, self-respect and the hope of a better life.

Medical Team $20/patient
To be a part of a more concerted effort to address child health problems and malnutrition for the children and families living on the garbage dump, a team of doctors, nurses and medical volunteers from Catalyst Foundation will provide basic medical and dental exams. The cost of $20 per patient covers a full series of Hepatitis B vaccination and fluoride treatments. We are expecting 2000 patients in four days.

School Team
$55/bike (100 bikes)
$1000 for backpacks
The children attending Vinh Quang school will need new backpacks full of school supplies for the new school year and bikes for our new students. The school team will also be organizing games and activities with our students every day.

In Kind Donations
T-shirts/Shorts/Flip-flops - all sizes!
Arts & Crafts Supplies
Small toys - yo-yos, marbles, jacks, matchbox cars, etc.
Stickers, stickers, stickers
Small first aid kits
Crayons, Coloring books
Board games

Before begining our work, we will have the chance to do some traveling. Stay tuned for our adventures....