Sapa-Lao Cai-Hanoi: Minibus, Train, Taxi & Cubbyhole

We took a minibus to catch the 8 pm train in Lao Cai. Although The Boyfriend did not enjoy the ride from Lao Cai to Sapa, I didn’t have too many problems except feeling a few bumps. Unfortunately, the return trip was not as smooth. The bus was going up and down, around mountains, lurching forward then breaking; it was horrible. I am not the type who gets nauseous (unlike The Little Sister who used to get car sick as a child). It seems this ride made up for all those times I never felt sick.

When we arrived in Lao Cai, an hour before departure, the people from our minibus decided to go into a restaurant before the train departed. Smoking has not yet been banned inside buildings here in Vietnam. In my condition, I couldn’t bear to be in a restaurant with numerous smokers, so I sat outside with The Boyfriend.

The Boyfriend was approached by a Viet Kieu who asked if he spoke English and indicated he came from BC. Supposedly, the simple bond of being Canadian is quite strong abroad. After speaking to him, we found out he was born in Quang Ngai (my parents’ hometown), where his father used to be the chief of police. Five minutes later, we’re sitting with him, his wife and friends at a table outside and The Boyfriend is having rice alcohol shots (37% alcohol, yikes!). I pled car sickness and had a tiny sip, which was sufficient.

We then went on to catch our train. In our cabin was a young Vietnamese man. Now, not too sound judgmental, but this guy looked like a SNORER! While The Boyfriend and I played cribbage, our new roommate fell asleep while reading his newspaper. We were definitely not wrong about the snoring… When we decided to go to bed, I turned off the lamp – our roommate’s individual light was still on. Two minutes after I turn off the communal lamp, our roommate awakes, turns it back ON and starts to read again. How rude!

We finally arrived in Hanoi at 4:00 am. After the previous taxi fiasco, my first question is “Meter?”. “Yes, meter”, I am assured. We’re then pretty sure he takes the longer drive home because it still cost over 40,000D. You just can’t win with these cab drivers.

When we arrive at the hotel, it’s 4:30 am now and the owner wakes up to greet us. Before we left, he was 80% sure of having an available room that night. He actually did have a room for the night, but it would only be available at 8 am. However, he did offer us a “platform”, he called it, where we could lie down until a room was ready. It was literally a cubbyhole – you couldn’t stand in it and the width barely accommodated our bodies. Now the hotel was not in the wrong. It was actually generous of them to let us come in and stay there at 4:30 am – we didn’t actually pay for this. I was out by 7 am, surfing the free internet and we had a nice room by 9 am. I will try to avoid cubby holes from now on though.

Taxi and Train Rides to Sapa – Feb 18

Sapa requires an 8 hour train ride from Hanoi. Therefore, after a good dinner at 69 Bar Restaurant, we hailed a taxi to the train station. I always have a mini panic about whether the taxi meter will start and usually make a fuss about the meter. I have learnt in Saigon that the meter automatically starts when the car runs and I don’t have to worry about it. Obviously, the moment you let your guard down, you know what happens…

The driver seemed nice enough and chatted me up in Vietnamese. After the short ride to the station, the meter read 19,000D (16,000D = $1USD) and I handed him 25,000D. He made a fuss and I tried to explain that it was the tip. I realized, he actually wanted 50,000D!! He then told me he had said 50,000D from the get-go and I had agreed. Something about the meter not working. We argued and I ended up giving him the money. I realize 50,000D is only $3 USD but I still regret it now. I should have stood my ground. Dammit!

At the train station, it just seemed like there were a lot of people waiting with no clear indication of where to go. We finally figured out our platform and found our sleeper cars. It consisted of two sets of bunk beds with complementary water. Not bad!

Our bunk beds on the sleeper car.

About half an hour before departure, I had to use the toilets (obviously, I didn’t need to at the restaurant earlier). So I find the toilets, locked and am told that they are only unlocked once we depart. The Boyfriend’s experience in India was that there is no receptacle so they may not want us to use it before we leave. Lovely… I finally get to use the squat toilet and his explanation is correct. I abstain from drinking the rest of the ride.

I’ve never slept on a sleeper train and was a bit apprehensive because I’m a difficult sleeper. After putting earplugs in to block noise off, your body still feels all the motions of the train. In the middle of the night, it stopped abruptly, water bottles and my glasses being thrown on the ground. I did get to sleep though, frequently interrupted, but it was relatively comfortable.