RTG Hanoi Daily Dispatch - for website 2 - Flipbook - Page 41
27 January to
23 February 2024
Day 22 Sa Pa Rest Day
having just left Điện Biên Phủ, with its grim
reminders of the war against the French, it was
slightly odd to wake up today in the hotel de la
Coupole “with its enchanting mix of haute couture
and hill tribe style... where we bring you a nostalgia
of the French Indochine era”.
18 February 2024
nonetheless, it was an excellent place to spend a rest day
with its central location, superb restaurants and cafes and,
perhaps as important as anything else, a great car park
which was put to good use this morning, with all manner of
tinkering and fettling going on. Peter and louise morton’s
rover was having its suspension overhauled by andy
inskip. russ smith saw to graham and marina goodwin’s
Porsche which needed a repair to its carburettor after
the crew spotted a fuel leak during their regular spanner
checks. michael merkle and Jamie turner were having a
precautionary look at the mercedes’ prop shaft seal after
seeing what had happened to the same part on hans-martin
and mahnaz schneeberger’s car two days ago.
once the toolboxes had been put away there was the
opportunity to show the cars off to the townsfolk and
tourists with a display in the main square. the tet holiday
is coming to an end and this seemed a nice way to round
it off.
sa Pa is in the hoàng liên sơn range of mountains and
sits at a cool 1,500m. it is surrounded by some even more
impressive peaks, including Fansipan. getting to the top
of “the tottering giant rock” would have been quite a trek
but, for those crews who decided to make the trip, a train
and a cable car delivered them right to the summit for
some breathtaking views. as the evening drew on we saw
there were plenty of places to eat and to take in the unique
flavour of this little-known region.
Photos: gerardbrown.co.uk
Nigel and Sally Woof, 1961 Volvo PV544
www.rallytheglobe.com
