This is an updated map of where we have ridden. I'd like to note that I am still behind and have not managed to write about everyplace we have been to quite yet. Points without blue lines connecting them are portions that we took the bus for.
View Vietnam and Laos bike route in a larger map
Tuesday, April 20, 2010
Nong Khiaw and the Lao New Year
From Udomaxy we hit the road towards a small town called Nong Khiaw on the Nam Ou river a little over 115k away. To beat the heat we made an early departure from Udomaxy, rolling out of town just before 5:30am. As somebody who has never been an early riser I have amazed even myself with my capacity to drag myself out of bed that early in the morning. I guess when the choice is getting up early, or biking in the middle of the day through tropical heat, it's not hard to figure out why I don't mind. The early start helped us slay the first big hills of the day during the cool morning hours and left us with a nice 22k downhill into our lunch stop at Pak Mong a little before noon. As we rode into Pak Mong we got our first experience of they celebrate the New Year here in Laos. The entire country morphs into a battle ground for an epic three day, nationwide, water fight.
As we rolled in to Pak Mong the water fight began, although since we never really fought back it wasn't much of a fight. A group of kids manning the entrance to town spotted us coming a couple hundred meters down the road and excitedly ran to their water sources and filled up whatever they had available, pots, pans, bowls, buckets; pretty much anything that held water. Just as we passed their was a chorus of Sabaidee's followed by a sudden downpour of water as all of their water receptacles were emptied out onto us. A shop owner hosing down his front steps joined in on the fun, letting a stream loose upon us from across the street. I will say the mid-afternoon drenching went a long way to cool me off as the temperatures began to really crank up. Sitting in Pak Mong eating lunch and avoiding the heat we saw a procession of cars, trucks, and motorcycles that had passed through the same watery gauntlet as we had with the same results, a thorough drenching. Watching people dripping with water ride by on their motorcycles was an entertaining way to spend the afternoon.
Upon leaving Pak Mong after a long lunch, we learned that our first drenching was merely a prelude of what was to come. The final 26k from Pak Mong to Nong Khiaw was when we really got blasted. We only passed three or four town, but everybody in those towns was ready. The entrance and exit to each town was manned by a brigade of children with varying means of dispensing water onto those who happened to pass by. As we approached each posse of kids there would be a flurry of movement as they prepared for our arrival, followed by the unleashing of a torrent of water upon us as we passed. After only two towns I was dripping, and remained in a various states of being drenched courtesy of the various water brigades we passed. It was a great experience to have the locals take such great pleasure including us in their celebrations.
Besides the entertainment provided by the water posses, the ride itself was beautiful. Riding away from Pak Mong we entered into a bucolic landscape of vibrant green rice paddies backed by rolling hills of jungle. As we continued toward our destination, the flat landscape dotted with paddies slowly grew into towering walls of limestone until we arrived at Nong Khiaw, nestled along the Nam Ou river which cuts a narrow valley through the limestone cliffs and mountains that loom over it. To take in the poetic scenery, we scored a riverside bungalow that came equipped with a porch and hammocks to soak up the views. There have been plenty of relaxing moments on this trip, but laying in a hammock overlooking the Nam Ou river is right up there at the top.
As we rolled in to Pak Mong the water fight began, although since we never really fought back it wasn't much of a fight. A group of kids manning the entrance to town spotted us coming a couple hundred meters down the road and excitedly ran to their water sources and filled up whatever they had available, pots, pans, bowls, buckets; pretty much anything that held water. Just as we passed their was a chorus of Sabaidee's followed by a sudden downpour of water as all of their water receptacles were emptied out onto us. A shop owner hosing down his front steps joined in on the fun, letting a stream loose upon us from across the street. I will say the mid-afternoon drenching went a long way to cool me off as the temperatures began to really crank up. Sitting in Pak Mong eating lunch and avoiding the heat we saw a procession of cars, trucks, and motorcycles that had passed through the same watery gauntlet as we had with the same results, a thorough drenching. Watching people dripping with water ride by on their motorcycles was an entertaining way to spend the afternoon.
Upon leaving Pak Mong after a long lunch, we learned that our first drenching was merely a prelude of what was to come. The final 26k from Pak Mong to Nong Khiaw was when we really got blasted. We only passed three or four town, but everybody in those towns was ready. The entrance and exit to each town was manned by a brigade of children with varying means of dispensing water onto those who happened to pass by. As we approached each posse of kids there would be a flurry of movement as they prepared for our arrival, followed by the unleashing of a torrent of water upon us as we passed. After only two towns I was dripping, and remained in a various states of being drenched courtesy of the various water brigades we passed. It was a great experience to have the locals take such great pleasure including us in their celebrations.
Besides the entertainment provided by the water posses, the ride itself was beautiful. Riding away from Pak Mong we entered into a bucolic landscape of vibrant green rice paddies backed by rolling hills of jungle. As we continued toward our destination, the flat landscape dotted with paddies slowly grew into towering walls of limestone until we arrived at Nong Khiaw, nestled along the Nam Ou river which cuts a narrow valley through the limestone cliffs and mountains that loom over it. To take in the poetic scenery, we scored a riverside bungalow that came equipped with a porch and hammocks to soak up the views. There have been plenty of relaxing moments on this trip, but laying in a hammock overlooking the Nam Ou river is right up there at the top.
Riding in Laos
I love, absolutely love, riding my bike in Laos. On our first ride out of Muang Khoa we didn't see a single vehicle for the first half-hour, we owned the road for the better part of our 5 1/2 hour ride into Udomaxy. Laos is empty roads and super-friendly people. It's impossible to pass through a village without having hordes of little kids run out to the road with big toothy smiles and hands waving energetically, letting out a chorus of Sabiadee's (hello in Lao) as we roll by. You just feel the warmth of the local people every time you ride through a village. Every once in a while the kids line up on the side of the road and hold out their hands for high-fives as we pass, like running out onto a field for the big game. I can't say enough about how absolutely awesome it is to ride here.
Besides loving the roads in Laos, the ride to Udomaxy was pretty quick, 100k in about 5 1/2 hours and access to an ATM. From Udomaxy we ditched the bikes for a few days for an adventurous bus ride up to the mountain town of Phongsaly. First, if you're going to take a bus in Laos you better show up early. A late arrival at the station results in either an awful seat crammed on the back of the bus, or more likely, a seat on a bag of rice somewhere in the aisle. Unless it's a foreigner trying to ride the bus, I don't think they ever deny refuse a paying customer, since I imagine it is the only way for some villagers to make it into town. What this means for those on the bus is that everything becomes a seat: stools, sacks of rice, the floor all of it is fair game. For the claustrophobic there are usually plenty of spots available on the top of the bus or hanging off the back. If there is an open space to wedge a body into, than that space will be occupied.
Our ride to and from Phongsaly consisted of a combined 13 hours on some of the bumpiest, dustiest, and windy roads we have travelled on. For shorts stretches of the ride we passed through beautiful groves of old growth jungle, explosions of green draping hillsides. The town itself wasn't all that great with most of the surrounding mountains obscured by smoke. Despite the epic trip to reach the town we stayed only a day before making the return trip to Udomaxy. Maybe the views were disappointing but the bus ride each way at least made it a bit of an adventure.
Besides loving the roads in Laos, the ride to Udomaxy was pretty quick, 100k in about 5 1/2 hours and access to an ATM. From Udomaxy we ditched the bikes for a few days for an adventurous bus ride up to the mountain town of Phongsaly. First, if you're going to take a bus in Laos you better show up early. A late arrival at the station results in either an awful seat crammed on the back of the bus, or more likely, a seat on a bag of rice somewhere in the aisle. Unless it's a foreigner trying to ride the bus, I don't think they ever deny refuse a paying customer, since I imagine it is the only way for some villagers to make it into town. What this means for those on the bus is that everything becomes a seat: stools, sacks of rice, the floor all of it is fair game. For the claustrophobic there are usually plenty of spots available on the top of the bus or hanging off the back. If there is an open space to wedge a body into, than that space will be occupied.
Our ride to and from Phongsaly consisted of a combined 13 hours on some of the bumpiest, dustiest, and windy roads we have travelled on. For shorts stretches of the ride we passed through beautiful groves of old growth jungle, explosions of green draping hillsides. The town itself wasn't all that great with most of the surrounding mountains obscured by smoke. Despite the epic trip to reach the town we stayed only a day before making the return trip to Udomaxy. Maybe the views were disappointing but the bus ride each way at least made it a bit of an adventure.
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Vietnam to Laos
The path from Sapa to Laos consisted of a few days of riding our bikes and a few days of throwing them up on buses to avoid some particularly nasty roads. Despite our best effort to avoid the truly heinous stretches of road, we still ended up with a wonderfully muddy 25k ride into a small town called Muang Lay that required a quick hosing down of the bikes and riders before they allowed us to continue on the bus. From Muang Lay to Dien Bien Phu and then onward across the border into Lao consisted of many hours of sitting on a bus on windy and/or rocky roads... uncomfortable...but it did manage to save our bodies and bikes from close to a hundred miles of fist sized gravel on hilly roads in tropical heat. One moment of note was our early morning entertainment on the bus ride out of Dien Bien Phu, which consisted of a DVD of a lingerie fashion show set to raging techno music. If you're not stoked about your upcoming 6 hour bus ride, nothing lifts your spirits like techno and underwear at 6 in the morning. Aside from that the bus ride was uneventful but bearable, as always my 6'5" frame doesn't quite fit into buses meant for people half my size.
After a few too many hours on the bus for my taste we rolled into Muang Khoa and our first destination in Laos. Our enthusiasim was quickly dampened by the fact that we had spent close to all of our money paying for our Visas into Laos, and sadly there was no ATM in Muang Khoa for us to restock at. What this meant was scrounging up and exchanging what few dollars we had and making a bee line the next morning for Udomaxy and its ATM's about 100k down the road. In the end it wasn't that big of an ordeal, but I definitely had a few moments of panic considering what would happen if we couldn't get money in Udomaxy and trying to figure out what I might have to sell to get us to an ATM.
After a few too many hours on the bus for my taste we rolled into Muang Khoa and our first destination in Laos. Our enthusiasim was quickly dampened by the fact that we had spent close to all of our money paying for our Visas into Laos, and sadly there was no ATM in Muang Khoa for us to restock at. What this meant was scrounging up and exchanging what few dollars we had and making a bee line the next morning for Udomaxy and its ATM's about 100k down the road. In the end it wasn't that big of an ordeal, but I definitely had a few moments of panic considering what would happen if we couldn't get money in Udomaxy and trying to figure out what I might have to sell to get us to an ATM.
Monday, April 5, 2010
Sapa
An end to our vacation within a vacation. Out of Hanoi and back on the bikes, while only managing to get ripped off one more time as we left town. Apparently to get our bikes on the train, our only option was to buy out an entire deluxe sleeper cabin, at the low cost of $96, plus an additional $5 at the station to allow our unseemly bikes into the passenger section of the train. We were even told to bribe the conductor, but at that point she had taken so much of our money that she magnanimously denied our disrespectful offering. At least in the end, all of the money we spent did result in our arrival at Lao Cai with our bikes, about 38k from our final destination in Sapa.
The ride to Sapa...unrelenting. 27k at a 10% grade with a fully loaded bike, and minimal exercise over the previous two weeks, resulted in three hours of panting and pain. From Lao Cai we shot straight up into the mist and the mountains one painful pedal stroke at a time. But as soon as the pedals started churning I felt the freedom of the bike, welcoming the curious glances and cheerful waves as we passed by on our overladen steeds. Their were two kids that were so excited to see me they ran behind my bike and helped push me up the hill at least for a little while. As they started to tire, I began pedaling for all of us since they were no longer pushing, but rather hanging onto my rack as I continued up the hill. Entertaining...yes... but also really tiring when you're not in the greatest shape. After a massive push on the pedals I did finally break away and continue to huff and puff my way up to Sapa. As we neared our destination the clouds began to break and the surrounding mountains began to materialize out of the mist. Jagged ridgelines with densely vegetated peaks thrust up into the sky. Hmong women traversing the streets in brightly patterned headwraps, dresses, and traditional leggings, absently wrapping thread around their hands or selling their goods to the nearby tourist.
Our first day in Sapa we climbed another 15 k, despite the protests from my tired legs, to Silver falls, a beautiful torrent of water cascading down a series of steps as it journeyed toward the valley below. Higher still was Golden stream love waterfall, a single drop spraying water into a deep black pool rimmed in golden shallows that wind down into the forest below. The day finished with a long downhill ride slicing through sheets of rain, our endless days of biking under cloudless sunny skies are long gone.
Following consecutive days of riding, mostly uphill, we switched it up and went for a hike down to a local village about 2k out of town, nestled on the slopes beneath Sapa. Due to its proximity to Sapa and its hordes of tourists, it was hard to tell what part of the village maintained a traditional lifestyle, because as far as I could see it was set up to accomodate foreigners.
Another 2k down the road we came upon Sin Chai village which is probably what Cat Cat looked like before it converted to a tourist economy. Small children and livestock wandered the streets, men and women were at work on the terraced hillsides tilling the land, with some women carrying the newest family member strapped snugly to their back. The villagers who were not in the fields occupied the front porches of their homes, weaving on a loom, or maintaining the ever present activity of stringing out long pieces of thread and wrapping them around their hand. Women would cluster around a doorstep in the morning before the market opened, children strapped to their backs in a sea of pinks and greens, chatting away with one another, but always absently pulling out and straightening lengths of thread and wrapping them around the layer steadily growing on their hands.
We wandered past the village and further along into the rice paddies cut into the hillsides. Young and old, tools in hand, working the soil beneath their feet. Water buffaloes ankle deep in a muddy step dragging the till through the saturated earth. All around us the hills were alive with activity, people hard at work maintaining their crops and their livelihood.
The last few days in Sapa passed with a few nice rides and hikes into the surrounding hills. Although there was one day that was mostly shot due to a cloud that rolled into Sapa early in the morning and sat there the whole day, reducing the visibility to about 50 meters. In a place as beautiful as Sapa losing a day to the clouds was definitely a bit of a bummer, and to add to the overall dreariness of the day the power was out for the better part of it.
Losing a day to the clouds hurt, but the next few days riding and hiking under sunny skies helped ease the pain. Our last big excursion took us to the top of Mt. Hamong which rose up from the ridgeline behind Sapa. From the summit the views were spectacular. The terraced paddies cut into the floor and walls of the valley looked as if somebody was trying create a topographic map of the landscape, with continuous even steps up the mountains 1 meter at a time. A beautiful hike to bring our time in Sapa to an end.
The ride to Sapa...unrelenting. 27k at a 10% grade with a fully loaded bike, and minimal exercise over the previous two weeks, resulted in three hours of panting and pain. From Lao Cai we shot straight up into the mist and the mountains one painful pedal stroke at a time. But as soon as the pedals started churning I felt the freedom of the bike, welcoming the curious glances and cheerful waves as we passed by on our overladen steeds. Their were two kids that were so excited to see me they ran behind my bike and helped push me up the hill at least for a little while. As they started to tire, I began pedaling for all of us since they were no longer pushing, but rather hanging onto my rack as I continued up the hill. Entertaining...yes... but also really tiring when you're not in the greatest shape. After a massive push on the pedals I did finally break away and continue to huff and puff my way up to Sapa. As we neared our destination the clouds began to break and the surrounding mountains began to materialize out of the mist. Jagged ridgelines with densely vegetated peaks thrust up into the sky. Hmong women traversing the streets in brightly patterned headwraps, dresses, and traditional leggings, absently wrapping thread around their hands or selling their goods to the nearby tourist.
Our first day in Sapa we climbed another 15 k, despite the protests from my tired legs, to Silver falls, a beautiful torrent of water cascading down a series of steps as it journeyed toward the valley below. Higher still was Golden stream love waterfall, a single drop spraying water into a deep black pool rimmed in golden shallows that wind down into the forest below. The day finished with a long downhill ride slicing through sheets of rain, our endless days of biking under cloudless sunny skies are long gone.
Following consecutive days of riding, mostly uphill, we switched it up and went for a hike down to a local village about 2k out of town, nestled on the slopes beneath Sapa. Due to its proximity to Sapa and its hordes of tourists, it was hard to tell what part of the village maintained a traditional lifestyle, because as far as I could see it was set up to accomodate foreigners.
Another 2k down the road we came upon Sin Chai village which is probably what Cat Cat looked like before it converted to a tourist economy. Small children and livestock wandered the streets, men and women were at work on the terraced hillsides tilling the land, with some women carrying the newest family member strapped snugly to their back. The villagers who were not in the fields occupied the front porches of their homes, weaving on a loom, or maintaining the ever present activity of stringing out long pieces of thread and wrapping them around their hand. Women would cluster around a doorstep in the morning before the market opened, children strapped to their backs in a sea of pinks and greens, chatting away with one another, but always absently pulling out and straightening lengths of thread and wrapping them around the layer steadily growing on their hands.
We wandered past the village and further along into the rice paddies cut into the hillsides. Young and old, tools in hand, working the soil beneath their feet. Water buffaloes ankle deep in a muddy step dragging the till through the saturated earth. All around us the hills were alive with activity, people hard at work maintaining their crops and their livelihood.
The last few days in Sapa passed with a few nice rides and hikes into the surrounding hills. Although there was one day that was mostly shot due to a cloud that rolled into Sapa early in the morning and sat there the whole day, reducing the visibility to about 50 meters. In a place as beautiful as Sapa losing a day to the clouds was definitely a bit of a bummer, and to add to the overall dreariness of the day the power was out for the better part of it.
Losing a day to the clouds hurt, but the next few days riding and hiking under sunny skies helped ease the pain. Our last big excursion took us to the top of Mt. Hamong which rose up from the ridgeline behind Sapa. From the summit the views were spectacular. The terraced paddies cut into the floor and walls of the valley looked as if somebody was trying create a topographic map of the landscape, with continuous even steps up the mountains 1 meter at a time. A beautiful hike to bring our time in Sapa to an end.
A vacation from the bikes
So...I spent almost a month in Vietnam (last month mind you) and I am just now managing to sit down and write about it. I'm lazy. The first two weeks were a vacation within a vacation, no time on the bike and a lot of time on various beaches in southern Vietnam.
The first few days in Hanoi we spent recovering from our red-eye flight from Bangalore, and the general joys of international travel with bicycles in tow, while waiting for the arrival of Paris' mom from the states. From Hanoi we took off to Hoi An, the clothing capital of Vietnam, down on the southern coast. As a result of my time there, I am now the proud owner of a bright orange tailor made suit, with a purple shirt and lilac vest to accompany it. Some may question the purchase, but I say money well spent.
After a week in Hoi An it was back to Hanoi for one night, and then north for a one night cruise amidst the limestone karsts on Halong Bay. An early morning (at least for me) and a long van ride, led us to the tranquil and stunning beauty of Halong Bay. The harbor entrace is a jigsaw puzzle of tourist buses and private cars, constantly shifting to accomodate the evergrowing number of pieces. We all streamed out of our respective vans and made our way through the maze of vehicles to the sea of white faces, appropriately gathering beneath the large "Tourist Harbor Entrance" sign. It felt a bit like a field trip from middle school, all the different groups bunched up around the entrance waiting for a guide to tell them where to go or what to do. Not necessarily a scene of beauty, but a moment to remember.
Halong bay extended beyond what I ever imagined from the pictures. The limestone karsts stretched endlessly into the mist that enshrouded our ship the first day of the cruise. Gray cliffs, draped in green, jutting out of the turquoise water. Rounded ridges and spines of limestone scattered about the bay, creating a seemingly impenetrable maze of islands. We took all of this in from the plush recliners scattered about the roof of our junk boat, relaxing and taking in the dreamscape, as our boat glided through the water and tiny ripples lapped up against the hull.
Included in the cruise was a tour through one of the floating villages of fisherman that live out on the bay amongst the towering karsts. We toured through the village on what appeared to be a floating bowl, rowed around with four people in it by somebody half my size. The village was set in a bay of placid turquoise water surrounded by three hundred foot cliffs of limestone. As we bobbed through the village in our floating bowl watching the villagers go about their daily tasks of organizing fishing equipment and living their lives, it was impossible not to feel an overwhelming sense of calm seep into your body. We finished up the cruise the following day with a visit to a labyrinth of caverns worn in to the limestone karsts, which were cast in artificial neon light, giving the whole excursion a club like atmosphere...odd but beautiful all the same. Hopefully my pictures do a better job to capture the experience than my words.
A peaceful glide back to the dock and a two hour bus ride later we were back in Hanoi, and getting ready to catch a train to Lao Cai and hop back on the bikes for the 35 climb into the northern highlands of Vietnam.
The first few days in Hanoi we spent recovering from our red-eye flight from Bangalore, and the general joys of international travel with bicycles in tow, while waiting for the arrival of Paris' mom from the states. From Hanoi we took off to Hoi An, the clothing capital of Vietnam, down on the southern coast. As a result of my time there, I am now the proud owner of a bright orange tailor made suit, with a purple shirt and lilac vest to accompany it. Some may question the purchase, but I say money well spent.
After a week in Hoi An it was back to Hanoi for one night, and then north for a one night cruise amidst the limestone karsts on Halong Bay. An early morning (at least for me) and a long van ride, led us to the tranquil and stunning beauty of Halong Bay. The harbor entrace is a jigsaw puzzle of tourist buses and private cars, constantly shifting to accomodate the evergrowing number of pieces. We all streamed out of our respective vans and made our way through the maze of vehicles to the sea of white faces, appropriately gathering beneath the large "Tourist Harbor Entrance" sign. It felt a bit like a field trip from middle school, all the different groups bunched up around the entrance waiting for a guide to tell them where to go or what to do. Not necessarily a scene of beauty, but a moment to remember.
Halong bay extended beyond what I ever imagined from the pictures. The limestone karsts stretched endlessly into the mist that enshrouded our ship the first day of the cruise. Gray cliffs, draped in green, jutting out of the turquoise water. Rounded ridges and spines of limestone scattered about the bay, creating a seemingly impenetrable maze of islands. We took all of this in from the plush recliners scattered about the roof of our junk boat, relaxing and taking in the dreamscape, as our boat glided through the water and tiny ripples lapped up against the hull.
Included in the cruise was a tour through one of the floating villages of fisherman that live out on the bay amongst the towering karsts. We toured through the village on what appeared to be a floating bowl, rowed around with four people in it by somebody half my size. The village was set in a bay of placid turquoise water surrounded by three hundred foot cliffs of limestone. As we bobbed through the village in our floating bowl watching the villagers go about their daily tasks of organizing fishing equipment and living their lives, it was impossible not to feel an overwhelming sense of calm seep into your body. We finished up the cruise the following day with a visit to a labyrinth of caverns worn in to the limestone karsts, which were cast in artificial neon light, giving the whole excursion a club like atmosphere...odd but beautiful all the same. Hopefully my pictures do a better job to capture the experience than my words.
A peaceful glide back to the dock and a two hour bus ride later we were back in Hanoi, and getting ready to catch a train to Lao Cai and hop back on the bikes for the 35 climb into the northern highlands of Vietnam.
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