Sabaidee Laos

Vietnam border control

Yesterday I said good bye to Vietnam and headed for Laos. It's more like a see you soon Vietnam, as I'll be exploring the Mekong Delta in the south with a friend over the holidays. But for now I'm off to Laos.

The day before the border crossing, I spent the night in the last Vietnam town, Dien Bien Phu.   I sighted some other westerners, a sign that I was close to something or some place worthy of tourism.  That place, is Laos.  For cyclists it is known as paradise; a variety of terrain, great tarmac, little traffic, cheap,and friendly people. I was looking forward to exploring and determining this for myself.

After eating a few of my favorite little banana wrapped surprises for breakfast I set off for the order 37 kilometers from Down Bien Phi.  As I expected, it was a continual climb out of Vietnam. Few cars passed me on the road, interesting there isn't more tourism and travel between the two countries.

Welcome to Laos

I arrived at the Vietnam border control which was absolutely empty. I got my stamp and told the customs officer several times "No thanks, I don't need to exchange money!" He even pulled out a wad of cash in Lao currency to make sure I had understood him correctly.  I crossed the border and continued to climb for 2 km before reaching the Lao border control. At first glance it looked awfully calm for a border control, and sure enough it was. The officers had just gone on their lunch break. It was11:30 and they wouldn't be back until 1 pm. What luck I had! There was only one establishment up at the crossing, a restaurant, so I had lunch to make the time pass by more quickly.

At 1 pm I was back at the border control. It's a good thing I don't judges country by their corrupt government officials, or else I wouldn't give Laotians the time of day. First, I forked over money for a visa, then some more for the processing fee, a minute later I picked up my passport two windows down and handed over more money for another “fee” a stamp?!?!  What's cushy job working for the Laotian government, first you get a nice government salary plus any of the money you scam off the tourists. I wonder if they do like waitresses on the states where they pool together the money then split it over a beer cheering to our innocence. I knew I was getting charged for a ton of ridiculous fees, but what can you do?  In all, between their lunch break and the visa process I started pedaling at 2pm.  I had 70 kilometers to go to the town where I wanted to stay, the only one with guest houses after the border.

I've got the road to myself- Let's hope it stays like this....

People had told me Laos was a cycling paradise and it didn’t take me long to figure out why.  With beautiful fresh tarmac and little traffic, I was in paradise.  In my first 60 kilometers in Laos, maybe 2 dozen cars passed me and the same amount of motor scooters and not one of them honked? I take that back... A Vietnam bus did go by in the opposite direction and of course laid on their horn.

How could it be? What a change from Vietnam!  I thought I had been in some rural areas in Vietnam but in my first 30 km in Laos I was shocked at the primitive life I observed.  Lots of little kids running around, most without any clothes, others completely filthy playing along the side of the roads waving and shouting Sabaidee, not Hello, it was great!  Men and women in their underwear or with a sarong wrapped around them taking baths in the street with the public water hose.  The houses are small, very small, many are on stilts, and all are made from bamboo and other plant/wood combinations.  A few new developments are made from concrete, but very few.  The people seem more reserve and respect my space as a cyclist. I stopped for a drink at a local store and they didn't all sit and stare.  Most signs for attractions or city buildings are in Lao and English, which makes it a little easier to get your bearings in a town.

Most of these villages don't even show up on the map, you can see why

I rolled into town right at dusk, found a guest house, and informed myself about the ferry down the River Nam Ou.  There was no internet in town except at one café, where they told me it wasn’t working today.  Life seems very simple and laid back here.

Soon they will have bike racks on the top of these boats, don't underestimate the Laotians!

Today I hoped on a ferry, on purpose, that traveled down the Nam Ou for a good 5 hours.  I wanted to see the view from the river as it was suppose to be an exceptional ride.  There isn’t a road that follows this river, yet there are little villages scattered on the bank every so often.  There were 7 tourists on the boat and we split the price of the boat between us all.  We were under the impression that we were the only ones who were going to be on the boat.  But when my bike went on top of the boat when their was plenty of free space inside, I knew this boat was going to get crowded.  We waited for about an hour and a half for our driver to depart and took a few other local passengers.  However, after about a half hour, we made our first stop and a handful of other local passengers got on and a few departed.  We did this continually the entire way down the river. At one point our boat turned into the local school boat that took kids home at the end of their school day.  I couldn’t believe the amount of stuff we were able to fit on the boat.  It was probably only a meter and a half wide, with short wooden benches (not super comfortable after about an hour and half (makes me appreciate my Brooks bike saddle).  The sides were high enough to keep out the water, which was definitely needed considering there were a fair amount of rapids. 

I'm sure I would have climbed those mountains had I been pedaling....

I was so thankful that I decided to do the boat ride.  You might think it is cheating, but biking every last millimeter of the world is not my objective on this trip.  I’m always excited to see different scenery and from the middle of a roaring river, the scenery was definitely unique!  The river bank was sandy, the water was greenish blue, one of the cleanest I’ve seen in all of Asia. Kids were swimming in the water and bathing themselves, I dipped my feet more than once, but it still didn’t look inviting enough for a swim.  Halfway down the river huge mountains began to appear and I was thankful that I was sitting in the boat rather than climbing them!  Like Halong Bay, the mountains shoots straight out of the water, but these were a continuous chain rather than scattered rocks.  Some were Karst like and others were covered in lush green vegetation.  It was a fascinating sight, enough to keep me entertained for a good 5 hours, that and I borrowed a Lonely Planet from a Dutch couple and read up on places to visit along my route. 

The view from my guest house

Just shy of 5pm we pulled up to the “dock” a long flight of concrete stairs up to the village.  Luckily I had help with my bike and bags.  Laos is more “tranquilo” than Vietnam, but the locals are quite clever,….they are smart about catering to tourists.  In China and Vietnam, I hardly ever saw a menu translated in English, here, everything seems to be in English, and the prices are still cheap, but higher than Vietnam for food.  From what I can tell, Laos is the “hot spot” for SE Asia tourism, but since it is so laid back, it doesn’t seem like it has sold itself to the tourism industry,…not yet at least.  Lots of tourists in this small river village, Nong Khiaw.  For some reason they all stay on one side of the river, so I ventured over to the other side to stretch my legs and explore. I found the local market, some food stands, and joined a game of pick-up volleyball.  Might sound crazy, but I do miss other sports.  I’m dying to go for a run, which will have to wait until I reach a beach, because I didn’t bring my running shoes. 

Joined a game of volleyball with the locals

Tomorrow I head to Luang Prabang, which I’ve also heard is quite popular among tourists.  I’m looking forward to doing laundry, being hosted and having some conversation in English.  I might  have to go to a western café or supermarket because I’m craving dark chocolate.  I can’t seem to find any chocolate here. There are plenty of other sweets, but I’d kill for a Lindt chocolate bar, 70% cocoa or a fresh batch of my delicious brownies I always made back in Barcelona.  That and some red wine and cheese are on my list of cravings....Don’t ask me where these cravings come from, but it’s the first time on my trip I’ve started to notice them.  Maybe some Lao banana pancakes and coffee and condensed milk will do the trick tomorrow for breakfast before I head out.  I already scouted out my local restaurant on the outskirts of town.  Boy life is good!

Classic "Melissa" Tales

So I think I've hit a bit of bad luck,...Maybe you could say I’m on a bad streak….only I can’t seem to get too flustered or upset and I still have a smile on my face.

It all started a week ago when I lost my great merino wool sports bra off the back of my bike.  It was drying, but I hadn’t secured it properly.  If I had my choice, I would have much rather lost a shirt than a sports bra.  Do you know how hard a sports bra is to come by here in Vietnam?  It took me a week to find something that would work, far from what any westerner would consider a sports bra, but I think it will do the trick!

My underwear was that is advertised "50 countries, 2 years, 1 pair of underwear" What they didn't say was don't put it on a space heater to dry!  Should have known better....

Two nights in Sapa, I had more undergarment problems.  I underestimated the power of my space heater.  I wanted to make sure my underwear was completely dry before packing up, so I put it on the space heater for a few minutes….Five minutes later they had melted in several different places. You better believe I'm still wearing them!  My sewing kit is all prepred in case the last thread breaks, beats underwear shopping in Vietnam!

Where is my road?

Yesterday I had a horrendous day with my route on Google maps.  The route looked so straight forward, but nothing about the actual terrain was properly represented on the map. I followed my Google map directions and all of a sudden the road went down a big hill and right into a lake!  How could this be?  I pulled out my GPS and looked again at the map.  There was no lake, nor river to be seen, but my little blue dot was still on a road and it told me to continue straight.  I couldn’t believe there wasn’t even a tiny blue dot on my map to represent this lake, nothing, just the road QL 279. 

No lake there, just road 279

Luckily there was a dock with several long tail boats waiting for people like me who came down this road and had the same unexpected surprise.  Right away a boat driver preyed on me and picked up my bike and put it on the boat.  He said it was a 20 kilometer ride and took an hour.  At this point I didn’t feel like back tracking, so I gave in and took the ferry.  The boat driver probably thought I was crazy because I laughed to myself the entire ride.  I had passed on the boat ride at Ba Be park, but now I was getting my own private tour of a lake and it was gorgeous!  The hour ride was more like 20 minutes and about 5 kilometers. He left me off on the other side.  To my surprise there was a small paved road that went up from the lake.  I pulled out my GPS and it still showed me pedaling down a road, which I was about to do! 

My beautiful lake tour on a private boat

Trying out all forms of trasport with the bike

However, 5 kilometers later the road turned to a red dirt path, with all sorts of construction.  I was the only person on the road besides the construction workers.  Google was a little anxious putting this road on the map. The road wasn’t flat by any means, so it made it even more challenging.  I’ve been in similar situations on my trip, I can handle a bit of adventure and unpredrictability.  However, this morning, I was set on making it to the small town of Ta Hoa, about 30 kilometers away for my breakfast stop.  At this point, I was 15 kilometers into my ride with no town of any means in sight and my stomach was growling ferociously.  I had eaten all my emergency food and was gulping down the water, hoping it would satisfy the hunger.  Thirty kilometers came after a good 3 hours and a lot of hard work and the town I was so intent on finding was nothing more than ten little houses clustered together.  One was a typical roadside store that had some soft drinks and chips, so I called that breakfast!  The village ladies sat and starred as I plowed through two bags of chips. non-stop.

I want to see the feature on Google maps that rates the road quality, please!!!

Although my Google maps eventually located me correctly, I was in a completely remote area of Northwestern Vietnam with some of the most difficult terrain I had encountered yet.  I’ve done a lot of climbing lately, but this route topped it off.  Of course the views that came along with it were spectacular, so I couldn’t really complain. I found myself in a National Park that didn’t show up in any guide book.  There were huge rocks like the kind in Halong bay, only they shot up from the ground rather than the water.  In the background there were again green alpine mountains, and the road took me over the mountains and through every single valley that was populated with a small village of about 10 houses, many beautifully built on stilts.  I also followed another enormous lake with gorgeous mountains alongside.  The heat was oppressive, around 28C, but no humidity to speak of, it was more dry on this side of Sapa. I was in total awe of the scenery which lasted like this for about 70 kilometers.  I didn’t encounter a single town with a restaurant, which makes for a long day riding your bike.  

Gorgeous scenry once again

Typical village houses

At kilometer 75 I found a hotel and a decent size town, but since it was only 3pm, I decided to take my chances and continue riding.  Are you surprised?  Wrong choice!  The road went off into a valley and then straight up a pass climbing for about 20 kilometers. On the kilometer marks there was a town advertised 35 kilometers away and I thought if I could just keep a steady pace, I would arrive before dark, and find a hotel.  The scenery was amazing, but unfortunately my mind was preoccupied with arriving.   

Another lake that didn't even show up on the map

I pedaled in the total darkness completely exhausted, until I arrived at the town, but there was no hotel.  I asked someone for a Nha Nghi and they said 7.  I asked another person to double check, and he also said 7.  Seven kilometers with my head lamp on a small rural road was doable, so I kept riding.  Of course the road was in awful condition, full of pot holes and big rocks, a challenge to see with a head lamp.  I had to ride slowly and tried to find the smoothest terrain.  At 6:30 pm I arrived at what seemed like civilization, my latest day so far, and hardest as well, 2,100 meters of climbing.  I took the first hotel I came across, actually, my classiest place I’ve stayed so far in Vietnam.

The adventure that takes the cake though occurred the day I left Sapa.  The whole time I was in Sapa, I had the Tram Ton Pass on my mind.  I was also pretty obsessed with trying to stay warm. I had underestimated the cold and spent two days FREEEZING cold! I wore every single clothing item in my panners basically because I shipped on all my proper winter gear to New Zealand, thinking the climate in SE Asia would be mild!  This morning, I was so focused on keeping warm and heading out for the climb that I left my mind (and passport) somewhere else,…off in “la la land”. 

Fanispan coming out of the cloud on the descent

I had a nice ride, although I wasn’t as impressed with the pass as I thought.  Nothing compares to the roads and scenery in the Ha Giang province.  However, I was pleasantly surprised with the nice warm weather on the other side of the mountain.  Just as the Lonely Planet described, the pass takes you from Sapa, the coldest area in Vietnam, to Lao Cai, the hottest.  I was delighted to have the heat back and shocked with the dry climate I’d found west of Sapa.  The mountains also changed shape.  I’m now surrounded by Alpine like mountains covered in a new shade a green, one that is much more “lush” with a hint of yellow.  The most spectacular sight of all was the mountain, Fanispan, the tallest peak in Vietnam that loomed in the background as I descended The Tram Ton Pass.

I arrived at my destination rather early, I had plenty of time to go underwear shopping!  I went to give the hotel my passport, when I realized that I had left it at my last hotel.  In Vietnam, you can’t pay upon arrival like I did at the hotels in China.  They all want to keep your passport and give it back in the morning when you pay.  Well, this morning, the lady forgot to give it back, and I was so preoccupied with the cold weather and the climb, that I forgot about it myself.  Typical Melissa,….too many things on my mind.  At that very moment, panic set it.  I didn’t know what to do…Take a bus to Sapa, call the hotel and see if they could mail it or put it on the next bus?….Ride back tomorrow?  I was at a bit of a loss and not having a phone number of my hotel or a Google listing made the matter even more complicated. 

I realized the only way for me to get my passport back was to go and pick it up myself. 

Sapa was only 100 kilometers away, I could rent a motor scooter and be there the same evening.  I translated my idea on Google and asked the guys at the hotel where I could rent a motorbike.  They said such a service didn’t exist in town, so my next question was “Do you have a friend who could take me back to Sapa on motor scooter?”  In less than 3 minutes, there was guy waiting for me at the hotel.  I quickly showered, left my stuff, and hoped on!  He was going to charge me 20 euro to take me there, I probably could have even bargained down the price, but I was ready to pay much more than that!  I had no other option to retrieve my passport.

My motor scooter driver told me it would take about 3 hours each way.  It was only 100km but we were going over the highest pass in Vietnam, not once, but two more times!!  I had gone up about 1,300 meters in elevation today and it was going to be a slow journey, even with a motorized two-wheeler!  We left at 4pm.  I had on 5 layers and just before we started climbing my driver gave me another jacket.  Even then, I was still cold. At 10 am that morning, the temperature at the top was 6C.  Now I was going to hit the same pass at 6pm and 9pm on a road without any lights. 

All I could do was sit on the back of the bike, hold on, and hope that the hotel still had my passport.  I completely confided in my driver, he seemed cautious, using his blinker, horn (of course), and lights when it got dark. The pass went more quickly than I thought, stopping once for gas, and pulled into Sapa at 7pm.  I ran in to the hotel to get my passport and the receptionist apologized.  She served us some tea, and we were off again for Than Nyugen.  We were lucky there were no cars on the road except for a few trucks and a couple of water buffalo every now and again.  It made the ride much faster.

At 9:45 we were back in town and I was dropped off at the hotel.  I had a quick cup of tea with my driver, thanked him vigorously, and went to my room to warm up.  I was so clod from the motor scooter, it took until the next morning to finally feel warm again.  What an adventure!  I should have taken a photo of myself on the moto, I know, but at the time I wanted to forget about it and pretend like it never happened, so a photo was the last thing on my mind. 

I now have a little post-it note on the top of my handlebar bag that I read before I depart in the morning.  It reads…“Melissa do you have your passport, phone, camera, and chargers, stay focused!”  Of course looking at the positive side of the experience, it makes for a great story.  I consider myself extremely lucky for being able to retrieve my passport so easily, it could have been much more difficult and expensive.  You could also think of this mishap in a positive way in the sense that I’ve become so comfortable with the new lifestyle that I have that my guard is down, aka, I start to space out more and more…

Tomorrow might be my last day in Vietnam until I cross over again from Cambodia in the south.  100 kilometers brings me to the Laos border and depending on the terrain I might cross over tonight.  I can’t believe the amount of climbing I’ve done here in the North.  Every day the scenery changes as I ride down into a different valley.  No one ever talks about the other side of the mountain beyond Sapa, but if you ask me, after the Ha Giang province, it is the most beautiful scenery up north.  Sapa has terraced land and good hiking, but on the other side of the mountains the temperatures raise about 10 to 15C, there are no tourists, and the scenery is even more spectacular.  The places I’ve been riding don’t necessarily have things for tourist to do except ohh and awe at the landscape, and for the average tourist, that might get rather dull, but riding a bike it is more than enough to keep me pedaling!  

After 100 Days on the Road, I Share With You 10 Little Secrets About Me

After 100 days on the road, the smile just keeps getting bigger!

I’ve been on the road riding for 100 days today!  That’s a lot of time on my own, and let me tell you, I’ve gotten to know myself pretty well.  Here are some of the little things that I’ve discovered about myself, or little quarks that I have to own up to!

Sometimes I struggle to get going in the morning. Good thing I wear a helmet.  As my nephew says, "My hair had a party last night!"

1.  It’s a struggle to make it on the road before 8, or even 8:30.  Before I started the Loong Way Home, my alarm went off at 5:50 am and in ten minutes tops I had my swim suit on under my work clothes, and I was out the door to the pool to swim 3,000 meters at 6:15, before heading up to school.  On the days I didn’t swim, I was out on the streets of Barcelona, running a 10 kilometer circuit with the streets to myself.  Now, my alarm goes off in the morning at 6:30 and I sit in bed for a good 10 minutes reading the emails that came in during the night from back home.  I eventually get out of bed, get dressed, tidy up, and organize my bags (a ritual in itself). If it's a fast day, I’m ready to ride by 8, 9 am if I'm feeling sluggish.  I try to eat breakfast 20 kilometers into the morning, or else it could easily become 10am before I start pedaling. 

2. I take really loong hot water showers (in hotels only).  Again, before this trip, I was a quick shower person, in and out, dressed and ready to go in 10 minutes.  Now, after ten minutes, I’m only half way through my shower.  I can stand under the hot water until my skin starts to shrivel and become prune like.  I know,...this is awful for the environment and a huge waste of water, but you can’t imagine how nice a warm shower is at the end of the day!  It is a simple amenity but a huge incentive after 100 kilometers of pedaling. I love being clean at the end of the day.  In Vietnam, I have to be a bit more cautious, as the hot water usually runs out after about 10 minutes.  Don’t worry, I don’t do this when I’m at other people’s homes, just hotels!

Fruit stands are everywhere, some are very specialized.  Four different types of mandarins and orangges.

3.  I crave an ungodly amount of fruit.  I don’t know why it is, but my body craves fruit, especially in the morning.  But not just an apple, or banana,….We are talking a kilo of mandarins, an entire pineapple, or bunches of grapes.  In fact, I’m capable of eating a kilo of mandarins in 10 minutes tops!  In order to control this, I buy half a kilo, so I don’t look so absurd.  I’ve been lucky to hit mandarin season just about everywhere I’ve been on my trip, starting in Croatia.  They run anywhere from 60 cents to 1,50 euro.  At that price they are hard to give up.  Of course I love trying out new fruits, especially over here in Aisa.  There are many whose English name remains a mystery!

4. My competitive spirit kicks in on short uphill climbs with trucks approaching.  Okay, I admit, I’m a bit competitive, even when bike touring.  I usually find myself racing huge trucks up hills?  When I hear a truck approaching from behind as I start a climb, it motivates me to kick it into gear and start pedaling harder and faster up the hill.  I don’t want to breathe in all the exhaust of the truck (although I do wear a mask), I can’t stand the noise when they pass, and it also makes the ride more entertaining!  If I can beat the truck up the hill, then I can cruise down without having to worrying if it is going to brake and it is much more pleasant.  I’d be lying if I told you the trucks were oblivious to the competition….when they eventually catch up, they honk and wave, some even salute me which I find so funny!  

Lots of stuff drying today. This was the last time i saw my sports bra on the back of my bike, sniff......

5. I ride off every morning with my underwear drying off my rear pannier.  It’s a great way to always have two clean pair of underwear at the end of the day.  Every morning, before I depart, I wash my underwear and it dries in a couple of hours, blowing in the wind off the back of my bike.  Sometimes, I tuck it in so that it’s more discrete, like in Turkey, but to tell you the truth, I’ve seen tour cyclists with clothes pins and clothes attached to every free part of their frame possible, drying as they ride.   The other day, my clothes still hadn’t dried from the previous night and so I strapped them down to my back pannier.  Well, wouldn’t you know at one of the stops, I forgot to strap my sports bra down tightly and it flew off without me noticing.  I would have loved to see the look on the guys face who found it.  You can’t imagine how hard it is to find a sports bra in Vietnam; they just don’t exist.  Every time I make the bra gesture or show them mine, they bring me over to the section of really fancy bras.  How I wish it would had been my shirt that flew off, it would have been easier to replace!

6. I stay in Nha Nghis, otherwise know as hourly hotels here in Vietnam.  When I first I arrived to Vietnam, I was so thankful to learn the word Nha Nghi.  It is so much easier to recognize than the Chinese word for hotel.  They are quite basic hotels, a hard mattress, clean sheets and towels, and they always provide toiletries.  I’ve paid anywhere from 4 to 8 euro.  Almost every town has a Nha Nghi, which makes planning your daily route on a bike much easier.  In Hanoi, someone clued me in that they are typically knows as hourly hotels, but to tell you the truth, I’ve only experienced this once in all the Nha Nghis that I’ve been to (and had to wear ear plugs for part of the night).  If I were to use them on a hourly basis, the rates are as low as a euro an hour, what a deal! 

7. Anything over a euro fifty seems expensive!  It’s funny how you get used to cheap prices.  Here in Vietnam, the typical price for food items or a meal is between 10,000 and 50,000 VND (30 cents to a euro and a half)  Anything I want to buy that is more expensive than a euro and a half, well, I think about it….is it really worth it?  If this were spain, I’d say, “Wow, only a euro and a half, what a deal!”  The prices here are dirt cheap, a bowl of noodle soup for a euro, any soft drink 30 cents, a half liter of beer, 60 cents, it’s incredible.  If a hotel hits 8 euro for the night, that is expensive and I have high expectations for my room!  I live like a queen on 8 to 10 euro a day here!

8. I have worn a long sleeve shirt on my bike for a total of (maybe) an hour.  It’s winter here in N. Vietnam, and up until Sapa (the coldest location in Vietnam), the average temperature was 20 to 22 degrees Celsius.  I had seen it reach 28, and on the top of a few passes in the Ha Giang province, the temperatures dropped to 10.  However, pedaling my bike, I’m always hot!  The locals have taken out their down jackets for the winter along with their gloves and hats, and I’m in short sleeves and shorts.  In fact they usually point to my arms and make a face of feeling cold and I shake my head and make a pedaling gesture.  I have attempted to start my ride with my long sleeve shirt in the morning, but after 10 minutes, I warm right up and I have to take it off.  I can’t stand feeling hot! 

Notice the pink and purple flowers that match my two t-shirt colors-hey, it's the least I can do.....

9.  I really wear my facemask so that I can freely talk to myself and laugh without looking too ridiculous!  Okay, I probably still look ridiculous anyway, but at least this way, I don’t offend anyone!  What a great invention- yes for pollution too!  After 10 days the inside of the mask is looking really grey and dirty, makes me wonder how my lungs look…

One of my typical breakfasts: Soup annd rice crepes to dunk in the soup.  Throw in a little spice and lime and yummy!

10.  I’ve only been to three western restaurants since I set foot in Asia and all were with people who hosted me.   I have to admit, I don’t visit a lot of cities that have the option to go out to a western restaurant, but if I did, I’m not really tempted to eat there.  Why would I go for a pizza or hamburger in N. Vietnam, when I can eat delicious spring rolls, warm tasty soup, stir fry noodles, and rice prepared in a variety of forms!  Yum! I do love the Asian diet, except for the meat, which has become unappealing after seeing and hearing slaughtering out on the road.  A Vietnamese butcher consists of a wooden table with an umbrella covering and a bunch of meat hunks out all day on display.  No ice, no covers, and if the person is really keen on caring for their meat, they have constructed some sort of fly swatter contraption to keep little pests away.  Thanks, I’ll pass!

It's 3pm, some of that meat has been out since 8am.

Fate

I’m a firm believer that things always happen for a (good) reason.  In fact I’d say it’s one of my guiding principles on this trip! Consider my experience finding a hotel today.  I had a very easy day planned. I was looking forward to arriving at my destination early and doing a bit of route planning and a blog post.  I was going to ride to the base of the Tram Ton Pass, 75 kilometers from my point of origin in order to be prepared to ride the pass the following day and end up in Sa pa, northern Vietnam.

I had done some research on the pass, but it was really difficult to determine where exactly it was and what the road conditions were like.  I hate doing out and back routes, and therefore I planned the next few days so that I could make a loop from Lao Cai to Sapa as I went over the pass.

China is just on the other side of the river

I rolled into Lao Cai at about 2:30 pm.  China was a stone’s throw away, literally with the Song Hong river separating the two countries.   Lao Cai just seemed like a big city to me and so I kept riding up the road, even closer to the base of the pass, however, there were still no road signs to be seen for the pass.  I could see there was a small town about 10 kilometers ahead and I thought for sure they’d have a hotel.  Sure enough there were three, but none of the three had wifi.  I was really keen on getting some work done, so I thought rather than ride on further, I would head back to Lao Cai.  I was bummed I had to back track, but I had spotted a few stands with fresh pinapple and bananas, and it made for a good excuse to go back. Just as I left the city, there were a few hotels (Nha Nghis), and I could stay there and still avoid all the chaos. 

Promise imy hotel wasn't as tacky as the sign makes it look!

Wouldn’t you know to my bad luck, these Nha Nghis didn’t have wifi either?  So I pedaled back to the city and stopped at the first one I saw.  Rude as it was, the first question out of my mouth was not, do you have any rooms available (and this is all done with a few hand signals by the way…) it was simply the word….Wifi?!?!  They said yes and I was relieved, I was done pedaling!  I unpacked my things and gave them my passport.  For some odd reason, I also asked them about the Tram Ton Pass.  I drew a little map showing them the route I wanted to take to get to Sa Pa, thinking that they would be able to advise me.  They guy kept saying I had to go to Sa Pa first, and I kept insisting that I didn’t want to go up and down the same way.  Finally he called a friend, and passed over the phone to me.  The man on the other end spoke English and I told him about my planned route to climb the pass.  He told me that you could only go up and down the pass in one direction. 

Wow!!! How grateful was I, that he clued me in on this small detail.  I had looked at various websites and they did mention leaving Sa Pa to climb, but I assumed that what goes up on one side of the mountain must come down on another?  I couldn’t believe how lucky I was to have been given this crucial information. Imagine heading out and starting to climb 1,900m only to realize that the road didn’t go through and that I would have to go all the way around and start from Sa pa.  Yes, it meant that I would have to go up and down the same road to experience the Tram Ton Pass, but if that was my only option, I would do it! 

Usually the motor scooters are parked inside, not outside

When I finally got all my gear in my room, I checked the network connection.  My good luck streak hadn’t lasted long because there was no wireless network available from my room.  When I went down to the desk and had them help me connect, their router wasn’t working either and so once again, I was without wireless.  I know, I probably should have stayed, after all, they helped me figure out my route for the following day, but I didn’t…shame on me.  I carted my stuff down, loaded up my bike, and headed for another hotel.  At this point a big, noisy, and chaotic big city was the last place I wanted to be.  I could tell I wasn’t in the hotel part of town and it took me a good 2 kilometers or so to get my bearings.  I found the road to Sa Pa, stopped,  and asked a restaurant for a Nha Nghi.  They pointed me in the direction and I found one just down the road, although it looked a bit sketchy.  You see, these Nha Nghis have historically been hourly hotels, so depending on the city and the clientele, well,….you can imagine what you find.  I’ve really only had to wear ear plugs once in my 2 weeks here in Vietnam. At The Nha Hghi where I ended up, there were two very nice older women working.  When I asked them about wifi, they nodded and so I tested the connection.  Perfect.  At this point I didn’t care if it was indeed more of an hourly place, I was exhausted and wanted a rest.  My 75 kilometer route had turned out to be 95 and it was just about dark.

Simple room with clean sheets....don't you love the mosquito net canopy?

My drying system, works like a charm wherever I go.

They showed me to my room, which was clean, spacious, and actually quite nice. I even had a fan to help dry my clothes. I was thankful to be settled for the evening.  I took a shower and started to wash my clothes when one of the little old ladies came in, without knocking and was showing me a finger on her hand.  Here I am thinking…..yes, I’m just one person, I’m here for one night,….didn’t we already go over this?......We had agreed on 200 vnd, a mere 7 euro, but she wanted me to get out my calculator again on my phone and typed in 160.  Then she had me follow her to a different room, with just one bed, rather than two.  Now I understood.  Seeing that I was just one person, which I thought was quite obvious from the time I rolled up alone, she wanted me to switch rooms and save me a bit of money.  Wow!?!  Somebody was actually trying to help me out and not take advantage of the fact that I’m a tourist.  That, or she desperately needed the room she had originally given me.  Who knows, but, yes, I ended up switching rooms!

The all-in-one bathroom, with hot water, of course

I’m settled, ate my fresh pineapple, my clothes are clean, drying with the fan on full speed, my bike is in a locked garage, and I have a decent wireless connection.  Life is good!  Not to mention, my room is much more peaceful as it is in the back of the hotel and not above the street.  This is the first hotel where the owner has hugged me a hug after getting me all settled.  I like this place!  I tell you, it’s high class here in Lao Cai for 6 euro a night!   

She just got voted the nicest owner of any hotel I've been to so far (except for the one in Turkey where I was treated like royalty).

Sa pa is about 35 kilometers away, and from there I go directly up for about 15 or 20 kilometers to the Tram Ton Pass.  At 1,900 meters, it is the tallest mountain pass in Vietnam.  Do I dare mention that I’m currently at -10 meters?  After all the climbing I did earlier on in the week, I feel prepared.  I look forward to Sunday as it will be my day off to visit the Bac Ha H’mong market (by bus, from Sa Pa).  Funny how everything works out at the end of the day!  There was a reason why I wasn’t suppose to stay up the road in the other town at the “base of the climb” and there was also a reason why I needed to stop at the other hotel in Lao Cai that didn’t have internet,…and now there is definitely a reason why I need to go have a beer!  Cheers to Lao Cai and the Tram Ton Pass!!

My hard earned meal at hte end of the day plus Bia Ha Noi, no complaints here!

One Road You Must Travel

If I die tomorrow, I’m completely satisfied, for I’ve just had the most amazing day of cycling in my entire life!  And if there is one thing you have to do before you die, I insist that you hop on two wheels, (motorized or not) and cycle from Meo Vac to Dang Van, Vietnam, or vice versa! 

I knew I was headed to a remote mountain area, traveled by few tourists.  Everyone said that the stretch of road from Dong Van to Meo Vac was spectacular.  It is only 22 kilometers long, but counting the vertical ascent, it feels like much more!  Last night the guys at my hotel were so shocked I was going to head up there on a bike.  They couldn’t fathom how it was actually possible.  I could have been scared off by their commentary, but if you don’t know exactly what you are in for,….well, it’s a lot easier to just dive head in to a situation, at least for me.  And that is exactly what I did.

Yummy! Soy milk and rice pockets, can't get enough of them!

I woke up early, 6am and not a single motor scooter was to be heard outside.  I quickly packed and went to the market to load up on my new favorite rice pockets filled with sweet red bean and sesame paste, a few banana leaf pouch surprises, and some fruit.  I took plenty with me, not knowing what to find along the route, nor how long I might be out on the road.  I had calculated about 70 kilometers for the day.

I headed out, following the road down into a valley.  I had mountains towering over me on both sides.  Local village people were already out working; women carrying heavy loaded baskets, kids playing by the road, a normal day for these people, completely desensitized to the gorgeous scenery around them.  The day started favorably for me since the road went downhill.  I knew I had 22 kilometers and anything that goes down, just makes them pass by even faster.

The deeper into the valley I cycled, the more remote my surroundings, and soon I was all alone on the road as it started to climb.  There was a river down below, which is normally what a road follows.  However, here in Northern Vietnam, the roads don’t surprise me anymore, they cut right into a mountain and go alongside a chain for kilometers on end.  I know they built a lot of tunnels during the Vietnam War, but there are none to be seen on the roads in this region.  As a result, the roads snake, twist, and turn, and the scenery is amazing! There is always something different to be seen around the corner and between the ups and downs, the temperature ranges between 10 and 26 degrees Celsius. There are green terraced cone shaped mountains with rounded tops all around in the distance, hovering.  There isn’t a single bit of land that isn’t used, regardless it’s steepness, every inch has been farmed.  A few motorcycles and cars passed me, but local village people who have gathered their crop and are heading back home mostly use the roads.  You can see trails in the far off distance going up the sides of mountains, and others headed down to the river.  Houses speckle the land in every direction.  It’s incredible that the local tribes have inhabited this terrain, they don’t seem to be bothered by the steepness, nor does it stop them from their daily lives.

I could get a pretty good feel for what was in store for me on the first section as it was easy to see the road in the far off distance.  Usually this can be pretty demoralizing, seeing where you are going and knowing that it only continues upward.  However, I had an early start, and my legs were fresh (well, sort of) but I was so entertained by the scenery, I hardly knew I was going up!  I also made frequent stops, for pictures of course, and finally started using the tripod on my camera so that I would appear from time to time!  Halfway up there was a viewpoint, guarded by police.  I thought they might ask for the special permit that I was forced to get in the previous town.  This road is so close to China, it is considered to be a special “Frontier Area”.  They didn’t ask for anything and seemed quite entertained to see me and were more than happy to take a few photos for me.  I continued on climbing and in a few kilometers, a mini bus passed me in the opposite direction and honked.  Western tourists inside were cheering me on with lots of thumbs up!  The first tourists I had seen o the road in awhile, although occasionally a motorcycle will pass with a guide and a tourist.

Around the last bend of the ascent, the road separated from the river and the scenery started to change again.  Now I was right in the middle of smaller lush green cones that popped up everywhere. Off to the side of the road, I saw another minibus, parked, and empty, and I suspected these tourists were on a hike.  I love hiking, but legs were plenty satisfied with the climbing I was doing on the bike.  However, 200 meters ahead, a Vietnamese-French tour guide saw me and started shouting out to his clients to look at the cyclist.  It’s like the guy paid me to show up at the very moment, what entertainment! He was guiding 4 French women, and all of a sudden my French came back to me and we were having a great conversation alongside the road.  Their guide was hilarious, as he immediately started patting my legs and arms, ohhing and awing and took pictures like the paparazzi!  He gave me some travel tips for a few road options and once again I was on my way. 

I had reached the top and was headed down to the small village of Dong Van, where I treated myself to a nice warm coffee.  I love my Vietnamese coffee!  The glass is filled with about two or three tablespoons of strong black coffee that drips from a minute filter on top. They put condensed milk in it and it becomes a thick sweetened syrup.  The lady at the café made the mistake of leaving the can of condensed milk with me at the table, and I downed spoonfuls when she wasn’t looking, what a treat!

After my short pit stop I was on my way. I knew I had another 45 kilometers to go before I hit a town with any hotels.  Since I had just been on the most beautiful road of my life, I was on such a high, I forgot that I had more climbing to do.  30 brutal kilometers awaited me, and this time the road didn’t follow a river, it dipped up and down into every little valley and town possible.  Being the optimist that I am, every time it would dip, I would be hopeful and think, “that’s it, done”….but of course then it would start to climb again! The scenery continued to be breathtaking and I took a ton of photos, which gave me some nice little breaks, but my legs weren’t as fresh now and I was starting to feel my arms!  People think I have legs of steel, and maybe I do, but hopefully some will start to transfer to my bum and arms, they are taking a beating!

Cone-shaped mountains with a rounded top, and terraced crops among them

I’ve pretty much figured out the Vietnamese schedule and it just so happened that the 30 kilometer climb was right at the time kids walk home from school for lunch.  They have a long break in the middle of the day it seems, and they are all out on the road come 11:30 to about 12:30 (some have a long walk home).  They were so excited to see me they shouted and cheered as I rode by and in fact, a couple of cluster of kids followed me for a good 2 kilometers uphill.  I was pedaling about 5 kilometers and hour and the kids were walking fast next to me. The sweat on their forehead had dampened their hair, but they were determined to follow along with me until the road started going down.  The kids I see in the villages along the side of the road amaze me.  Kids in western cultures are pampered compared to the kids I see alongside the road here in Northern Vietnam.  They are all helping out their parents or playing with the most ordinary objects: bamboo, leaves, wood, string.  You never hear them cry or throw tantrums, if anything they are giggling with their friends or siblings.  They entertain themselves while mom and dad are working.  They can be covered in dirt, running around with no pants, or helping their parents, and just as happy as can be!

 

After today, I’m reminded why climbing can be so addicting.  The scenery is such a reward, it makes it all worth it.  There is a lot of suffering along the way and you have to have the right mindset to do them, especially with an extra 30+ kilograms.  Usually I spend a lot of time looking down at the road, when I climb, a natural position for your head, but today, my eyes were set on my surroundings.  I was in total awe on what awaited me on every twist and turn in the road.  Tomorrow I think the road flattens out a bit, so I’m going to try to be my ambitious self again, but I have a feeling I’m going to be up here in the mountains another week or so just trying to make my way to Northern Laos, where similar terrain awaits!  By the time I get to the Mekong River, I’m gonna fly on the flat!

Melissa Has Met Her Match up North

What a sense of accomplishment to see where you've come from!

I love to climb, it’s what I do best on the bike.  In fact I feel so comfortable going uphill, I’m usually carrying on a conversation with one of the guys from the club.  Thomspon Bike Tour clients tell me they can hear me coming on the climbs as I chat with the clients I accompany.  I don’t go fast, but I can keep a steady pace going uphill, without too much suffering, especially if I’ve got good company!

When someone warns me that a road goes up, I usually don’t think much of it.  Before this trip, I didn’t own a Garmin and I had no idea how to quantify positive altitude change. Statistics s like 10%, 2,000m elevation gain, don’t really mean much to me.  In my mind, it all goes up, and you have to get to the top- so I just pedal.  I basically have one speed climbing and if I start to get tired, I get out of the saddle to change things up. I’ve climbed in the Pyrenees, Alps, Picos de Europa, and the Dolomites, and I thought I had experienced some of the most brutal climbs, but my last few days in Northern Vietnam give “altitude gain” a whole new meaning.  

Unbelievable views from up top

I’m day 4 into my adventure up north and I’m destroyed…..shattered, beat!  I don’t really know which adjective to use, but I’ve definitely met my match up here.  It takes a lot to tire me out pedaling, but now I surrender, these roads are killer.  And so you might ask, why I keep going?  It’s the scenery, it is stunning.  My pictures don’t to the landscapes justice.  I look around and I’m completely surrounded in a rain forest.  There are peaks so tall and lush, they never make it out of the clouds.  Plants are enormous, and trees shoot up tall, with roots that surface and look like rope wound in knots.  I’m an alpine mountain lover, which is why I’m in shock that I find this type of vegetation appealing.  I’ve gotten completely off the beaten path and I’m loving it!

I hit up Guim at The Hanoi Bike Collective for some route suggestions in Vietnam.  Most tour cyclist enter Laos and head for Laos as soon as possible, where the tarmac is new and the traffic next to null.  Everyone tells you to avoid Vietnam because the dense traffic.  Guim advised me to go up north, not to the toursity areas of Sapa, necessarily, but to the Ha Giang region, a place undiscovered by most tourists and cyclists.  He warned me that the climbs were killer and although the entire circuit might only be 1,200 kilometers, it would take a good 2 to 3 weeks.  I of course overlooked this comment, and wondered just how tough the climbing could really be, and foresaw myself doing the route in about 10 days.

I’ll tell you, as I sit here and write this post, my upper arms ache from all the pulling on my handle bars and the firm grip I have to have on the descents.  Biking has become a full body workout! I’ve run marathons, done half Ironmans and a full, gran fondos, and ultra-marathons, but the riding up here is some of the some of the most difficult I’ve done in my life! Today hit 1,000 meters of positive elevation gain and only done a mere 40 km.  I immediately had to rethink my destination for the day as a result.  The Vietnamese don’t believe in switch backs, the roads go straight up.  I don’t know why they even bother to put up signs showing a 10% grade, because basically every 200 meters, you have one!  A 6% grade starts feeling flat, I see 16% frequently on my Garmin and I’ve made it up to 18%.  I know these numbers probably don’t make any sense to those not in the sport, but have a look at this graph, it says it all! 

My speed says it all

It’s probably the element of surprise that makes it so challenging.  You don’t know how long a climb is going to last, the exact elevation gain or the gradient,…..you just pedal and pedal and try to keep going.  Luckily the scenery is completely new and always exciting.  The sounds of horns have almost completely dissipated and are replaced by the sounds of kids screaming “Hello” in every direction possible.

One of the three lakes in Ba Be National Park

Day one, leaving Hanoi, I was pretty much on the main thruways all 100 kilometers, nothing different than my others days on the road in Vietnam.  Day two continued on the main thruway with frequent honking, trucks passing, and motor scooters whizzing by.  However, after about 50 kilometers, I was on a road that headed towards the Ba Be National Park and it became very evident it was not a popular destination.  It brought me through towns where once again I had to time my lunch stop, or else the restaurants turned me away.  On the evening of day 2, I rolled into the Ba Be National Park right at dusk, found a small family run Nha Hghi, and got cleaned up for dinner, which they thankfully served right there are the hotel.  I was pleased with the day: I had finally arrived to a more remote area with gorgeous rain forests and the sounds of nature all around.

Flat terrain along the river in Ba Be National Park

On day three I started with a self-guided tour of the National Park, that was luckily flat, because the climbing that awaited me afterwards was unbelievable.  I left the park and headed up north on a road that was maybe about 3 meters wide with huge piles of gravel every 300 meters.  Road work was underway and I don’t know how or why this road even showed up on my GPS! I had no choice other than to climb and head north. Although I wasn’t officially in a National Park, I was in a rain forest for sure, and climbing to what felt like the canopy layer, above the clouds line. Everywhere I look out there are mountains, terraced lands, and jungle vegetation everywhere.  Every inch of land is used thanks to the terracing.  Humidity is so dense; I can’t distinguish it from the sweat dripping of my face.   The few motos that pass me are so surprised to see a cyclist, they always turned their head to look back, probably to see my priceless facial expressions as I was climbing.

I lucked out with this roadside market

Here, most of the roads don’t have restaurants or cafes.  I’m lucky if I find a little house that has a “store” attached with a counter full of snack items. In fact, there aren’t hotels, which make for another great story as to where I ended up the third night into my adventure up north. Let’s just say it was somewhat reminiscent of the hotel in Macedonia that was closed, but my friend, the old man in the blue pajamas, was replaced by an energetic young Vietnamese women who plopped herself down next to me, looking over my shoulder as I did my journaling for the evening.  I didn’t have the energy to try to keep up a conversation with gestures, I was too shattered and in bed by 8pm!

Making friends wherever I go

There are few people in the area, and the ones around make their life alongside the road.  The village people are busy farming, herding their animals, fixing motor bikes, cutting down trees…you name it, there is always something to be done! The only exception is when it rains.  Today, it started to pour and I took cover under a little shack.  A man in the house next door saw me and invited me in, so, of course, I entered.  To my surprise it was filled with about 10 guys who were all sitting around drinking strong liquor and tea, I opted for the tea or else I would have never left!  The first question out of their mouth or should I say with hand gestures, was if I had kids.  This questions makes me laugh because what in the world would I be doing cycling around the world if I had kids at home waiting for me!?!?!   So, yes, I laugh, and shake my finger “No Way!” which is when they ask if I’m married. For this question, I also say, no, and make a pedaling gesture: my faithful and only partner for the next year! I tried to ask them where all the women were, but that turned into a photo session with our mobiles.  I know they were hoping it would continue to rain so I had to stay, but luckily for me, it cleared and I continued to pedal on my way to Bao Lac, where I’m currently staying, my fourth night up north.  This town is so big there were 2 restaurants and an actual hotel, advertised in English.

It pays to climb

At this point, I’ve had to regroup mentally and change the way I plan my daily route.  All the other days, I could ride strong fairly easily and count on pedaling 100 kilometers.  After the last two days, I understood why it just might very well take me 3 weeks to go 1,200 kilometers!  The climbing is tough, the roads aren’t in the best of conditions, and there is the surprise element as well. I don’t really know what is in store for me in order to quantify and compare this terrain.  All I know is that the more I climb the more beautiful the scenery, so it pays off to keep going up!