Motormouth From Ipoh – Asian Food & Travel Blog

After the ‘grandiose‘ celebration of a birthday at Baguette & Chocolat Cafe (hehe), we retreated to our hibernation grounds (aka Summit Hotel), and catched a good night’s rest, fully unaware of the ordeal that will be thrown at us the very next morning.

Waking up early in the morning, (in reality, not so early after all as Vietnam’s an hour behind Malaysian time) we had a quick breakfast at the cafe in our hotel (I had beef noodles aka Pho Bo this time around, but pic lying somewhere) then proceeded for the usual head count at the lobby. Once again, the compound of Summit Hotel was crowded with “guides” from the minorities, though I’ve trouble differentiating them from their backgrounds even after countless lectures. Read the rest of this entry »

A recap of what transpired over the 1st day; We spent most of our day walking around Hanoi’s Old Quarters, and Hoan Kiem Lake, not to mention downing some rather delicious grubs along the way. Then in the evening, we took the train from Hanoi to Lao Cai, a VERY dusty small town before transported to Sa Pa district, in the highlands, reminiscence of our very own Cameron Highlands. The distance from Hanoi to Sa Pa is about 350km (!!!), hence it’s highly recommended that you choose the SOFT-SLEEPER train to travel in, and overnight on the train. The journey took about 9 hours, and you wouldn’t wanna risk a backache or twisted neck once alighting from the train. Read the rest of this entry »