First, here is a picture taken from my balcony at 5.30 am this morning down the valley. Should be good tomorrow as well as the skies are clear tonight and stars are visible. Apparently rare in these parts.
If there is no pics yet, check later as the Internet is painfully slow here tonight and It may take a while to load the pics, and there is a lot today.
I hired a little motorbike to get around on, cheap, only $6 a day and it does the job, cheaper than taxis and cheaper than the "hire a car and driver for a day" to take me around to some of the surrounding village communities, mostly Black Hmong but some Dzou, as suggested to me by the hotel tours desk.
I visited the Sapa Market, not very busy today and cruised around town a bit getting to know where is where. I also went to the nearest village called "Cat Cat" but did not see any cats. The village itself was on the valley floor so I did not go right into it, it was just a collection of huts/houses.
The market
Local Black Hmong dress
Cat Cat
My shorts lady finally came good tonight, she was supposed to back at 6pm but was a no show, I was soon going to become a big man in Asia in search of shorts (Sound familiar) as I thought I had lost my two pair of damaged but repairable shorts and without my boost in supply of two new pair. I was about to alert Interpol, the NSA and Crimestoppers about the travesty of justice I had assumed to have occurred, when she turned up about 7.30 with two pair of repaired shorts and two new models (which were about 4 sizes too big and had other tailoring errors). These have been sent back to be refined and I get them back tomorrow morning. Unless there is another no show, I will at least, have two pair of Bespoke shorts.
Now to my main topic, the lesson of the day. Little motorbikes can solve all the worlds transportation problems, they use little fuel, are incredibly efficient and can be adapted to a variety of vocational needs. As the photos forthcoming will illustrate. I did most of these whist sitting in a cafe across the road from hotel this afternoon.
Family SUV
Sports Convertable
Fuel Truck
Tradies Utility
Logging Truck
Flattop Truck
Mum's runabout
Likewise
People Mover
Utility
Bulk Liquid Carrier
4x4 for collecting school kids
Dog & Puppy
Family Saloon
Hot Hatch
Learner Driver training
No idea what this is?
Baby on Board
Delivery Truck
Another Tradies Crew Cab
Ludite
Food Delivery Vehicle
Doug,
ReplyDeleteSaPa looks interesting. It looks like you have an upcoming Tourism Week there:
http://tuoitrenews.vn/lifestyle/27520/vietnams-sa-pa-town-launches-information-booths-for-upcoming-tourism-week
Also the daily mail ran an article on the motor bikes as well with some more photo:
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/travel/travel_news/article-3043686/Crates-live-pigs-goats-chickens-toddler-high-chair-amazing-things-fit-scooter-Vietnam.html
Are you on Skype?
Regards
Graeme
Doug, it appears you have lost you edge. As I sit here my couch it dawned on me that the signs were there all along! I fear that you will never get those shorts in a hurry. Did you notice that your short lady ( would also be ironic if she was small ), couldn't even be bothered to finish combing her hair! I would suggest that she is easily distracted or has Alzheimer's. Good luck getting those shorts. I just hope that you took the advice that Chris DeBurg gave in 1982 - "don't pay the short lady, till she gets them both resized"
ReplyDeletewear a helm yourself but bugger the kids
ReplyDeleteNecessity the mother of invention. Shorts are on Asian time
ReplyDelete