Perfume Pagoda (Huong Pagoda) and Victoria Express to Lao Cai
An early morning flight from Saigon to Hanoi, new guide and driver, and off to the Perfume Pagoda complex. Perhaps luck enters into it but ex-Marine and I have never not been met and greeted on every single independent tour ever taken. If you use reputable tour operators, this is a given. Guides and/or drivers have been late occasionally because of traffic but have eventually shown up. A very long day was planned culminating in an overnight train from Hanoi to Sapa (Sa Pa), almost on the China/Vietnam border, the main focus of this return to Vietnam.
The Perfume Pagoda, 50 miles south of Hanoi, is the bigest pagoda complex along with Buddhist shrines built into limestone cliffs, and took two hours by road through small Vietnamese villages. The wharf area was lined with row boats waiting to take us to Trinh Tru Temple/Pagoda along the Yen Stream (not a river). There were two kinds of boats - an iron boat that could hold 3-5 people and large wooden boats for up to 20 locals. The Yen Stream is edged by elaborate rice fields, grass, small paths, and temples. Almost all the row boats were rowed by women...strong people...and the row out was the most interesting part of the trip. Every now and then the women rowers would put on a spurt, racing their friends to break up the monotony. We passed shrimp fishermen with their nets, and other fish farms on the river.
There was a tremendous contrast in the weather between steamy, hot Saigon and cool, rainy Hanoi but we made the best of an unpleasant situation.
The Pagoda complex was very spread out and it would have taken three-hours to do the round-trip up to the main cave Pagoda. Been in Pagodas...seen Pagodas...not pleasant on a cold, rainy day...walked around the ones nearest to the base, called it quits and browsed through the food and souvenir shops.
Back in Hanoi, we had a late dinner and left for the Hanoi Train Station. By now it was seriously raining. The train to Lao Cai is called the New Victoria Express and consists of two sleepers classified into two different classes: Superior (4 berths/cabin) and Deluxe (2 berths/cabin) and one restaurant car. There are 5 superior and 2 deluxe cabins in each sleeping carriage and you must stay at the Victoria Sapa Resort in order to book space in one of these two cars. Julie had booked a Deluxe for us, with only the 2 berths. Western, Asian and fast food served in the restaurant car but at 10:00 pm, who cared. There were two toilets in each carriage and a staff for each sleeping car. Vietnam considers this train their version of the famed Orient Express and I agree. These carriages are strictly for tourists and are pulled behind the Normal Train with its hard wooden benches and no amenities. Nothing like our deluxe restored carriage with wood paneling, fresh linens and comforters.
It was a complete shock to see hoards of Westerners waiting to board this overnight express to Lao Cai, almost on the China border at the Hanoi station. Every compartment was filled with tourists when the train pulled out of the station at 10:00 pm, arriving in Lao Cai at 6:30 am.
There are other daily trains to Lao Cai. The daytime route offers only hard seats and the night trains have soft-sleepers, four-berth cabins on certain trains only.
Cozy in our little cabin with a small table, lamp and nightlights, tucked under the comforter, we went to sleep instantly...ready for Sapa (Sa Pa) the next morning, the hoped-for highlight of this Vietnam trip.
