Sapa - Lao Cai - Hanoi by local bus and local train (LC4)

The alarm was set for 6 AM this morning. Last check of the room at 6:40 and 15 minutes later we were at the main square in front of the church looking for the regular bus going to Lao Cai. We knew it was supposed to leave there - that's all. This morning we were lucky. Only 5 of us on the bus, the bus left 5 minutes after we arrived at the square and headed down the mountain road towards Lao Cai and the train. According to the train schedule there is one local train in the morning to Hanoi, that's it.
Most trains leave in the evening as sleeper services with very early morning arrivals in Hanoi. We wanted to have a look at the countryside from the train which is why we were going for the morning train. Some 15 kilometres down the road and our bus blew a tire. A loud bang and we came to a stop. Not the worst place, but we were stuck there. The bus driver and his assistant managed to get the spare wheel out of its compartment but the only tool they had on the bus was a small hammer - so we waited. And waited some more. Lots of traffic on the road but nobody to pick us up. We stayed with the bus and the other passengers and after an hour we were picked up. It was now a bit hit or miss whether we would make it for the train. Some 45 minutes to departure and we still had at least 25 kilometres to go. Doing the maths some 20 minutes later it was clear we weren't going to make it for the 9:15 departure. Our only hope was for the train to be a bit delayed. We were dropped off by the bus at 9:15 in front of the station and ran to the platform only to realise that the train today left at 10:10. Lots of time.

Tickets bought we headed for a cafe next to the station for a bit of breakfast and some water, before we boarded the train at 10:10 and slowly headed towards Hanoi. Lots of fields and rice paddies on the way, and lots of noisy Vietnamese in our train carriage making it a bit of challenge to do the 10 hour train ride. Looking at Google maps once in a while we realised that the train would pass right through the Old Quarter possibly stopping at the station there. It didn't stop though. Instead it went all the way to the main station, and we walked with our backpacks to the hotel - about 20 minutes through dark Hanoi. Once we had checked in, we left the hotel for some dinner having spotted a nice place on the way. Once we got there we were told the kitchen had closed. New place - and Italian lasagne for dinner. A long day of travelling and we've had our dose of Vietnam today. Ready for more Vietnam tomorrow.

All packed and ready to go

One last view from the balcony

Leaving some old friends behind

Fansipan in the horizon

Roots at the market

Yes, its dead

Waiting

Still dead

Finally at the station

Ready for some Pho for breakfast

LC4 - our train to Hanoi

Half way stop

Mystery food and snacks

At our "hostel" in Hanoi

Dinner with a view

Pathein umbrella factory and the bus to Ngwe saung

One of the reasons to stop in Pathein is to visit one of the local factories that are making the classic Myanmar umbrellas - the colourful ones with various decorations painted on them. That was our plan this morning. We had the directions for one of the places and since we'd been driving around with James yesterday we also knew that walking there wouldn't be a problem. Maybe 15-20 minutes of walking.

So we set out and walked there, found that factory which turned out to be a big shed and a back yard of a garden in the residential area where some 10 people were working with fabric, paint and bamboo doing beautiful umbrellas. A guy approached us and talked us through the manufacturing process and we were allowed to walk around and take pictures. All very quiet and not anything like factory-like.

Then we backtracked our way towards the hotel and on the way back we came across the cafe from yesterday and had breakfast there. It was such a nice place and best of all it was in a quiet neighbourhood.

On the way back to the hotel we also looked for the bus station and the bus to Ngwe saung - with no luck. We had more luck finding a bakery that served what looked like Danish "rom-kugler" - chocolate sprinkled coco flavoured Danish pastry. Not here! Seriously! This is Pathein. Mikkel bought a couple of "rom-kugler" for testing and it turned out that this was just was it looked like. "Rom-kugler" in Myanmar.

Back at the hotel they helped us locate the bus station. We had been close but we only made it down one back alley. The bus station was at a back alley of that back alley. They called the bus company and booked us on the 12 AM bus. Suddenly we were in a hurry, packing our stuff, walking to the bus and then we left at 12 for Ngwe saung and the beach.

The drive there was pretty short and easy, a few hills before the beach but after two hours we were there, had a couple of guys on scooters taking us to our bungalow at Forest Home Resort. Imagine 10 small bungalows on the top of a ridge, no tree but dry soil and a few bushes. So much for forest but our bungalow was nice with a patio and the added advantage on the hill was having a nice view of the ocean, the sunset and the fresh ocean breeze.

We walked to the beach and after looking around for a while we had dinner before heading home and taking a slow evening. This is a nice place definitely.

Getting a good introduction to umbrella production

Ready for more work

All sizes and colours 

Breakfast at new style cafe

Romkugler !!!

Ready to go

Watermelon shopping done

Our new home

And the nice view from the patio