NW Vietnam, and Hanoi

Well this is it...I'm leaving on a Jet Plane tomorrow for San Francisco. My last two weeks in Vietnam have been awesome but I'm definitely ready to get home....but before any of that I would like to update on what I've been up to the past few weeks.

I rolled into Dien Bien Phu near the northern Laos border and took a rest day to check out the War Museum. The town is known as the last stand for the colonial French and after they were defeated in 1954 France withdrew from it's colonies in Indochina. Martin Windrow claimed Dien Bien Phu was "the first time that a non-European colonial independence movement had evolved through all the stages from guerrilla bands to a conventionally organized and equipped army able to defeat a modern Western occupier in pitched battle."

The Vietnamese used bicycles during the war to transport food and supplies to the soldiers. After riding around with a loaded bike for 3 months I felt like I could relate with this guy...that is until I read the card that said they carried up to 300 kilos. That's a hell of a lot of weight for a bike and I'm still wondering if that's a typo.

After looking at maps and photos in the museum it was cool to know that I was riding the same stretches of road they had used during the war. I tried to imagine how crazy it must have been 55 years ago.

I seemed to have a love-hate relationship with Vietnamese during my time here. Some moments like this one were just incredible. These kids rode with me for about 15km through the mountains on my first day leaving Dien Bien Phu. It was awesome to have some companions on the road after being solo for so long...we didn't need to say anything but only smile when we came to a climb or fun downhill descent...yeah, amazing cultural experience...On the other hand I've had more people to try to rip me off (even for bananas) than any country I've visited on the trip...but for the most part the highs far outweigh the lows...you just learn to be on gaurd.

My pictures on the road in NW Vietnam never seemed to turn out as well as Laos...there always seemed to be a little more haze. This one wasn't too bad though on my second day riding along a river valley.

Can you tell the difference between Laos Ian above and Vietnam Ian below...

That's right...I finally got rid of the beard I had since Cambodia (but I didn't let the street barber touch my hair). You'll also notice that I learned to put a piece of banana between the butter milk cookies for a roadside snack...INCREDIBLE!!!...oh, yeah and I also ditched my helmet (who needs that discomfort anyway)

My first two days leaving Dien Bien Phu I felt amazing. I managed over 100kms both days through mountain roads and surprised myself with how good of shape I was in. However, the end of my second day was a tough 20km climb with 10 degree slopes after I had already gone over 80km. Views like this (which the picture doesn't really justify) inspired me to keep on climbing.

Made in Vietnam the Choco Pies were my reward after a long day...Delicious marshmellow chocolate cakes (only about $2 for a dozen)

Another reason I loved the Vietnamese was that they just showed more interest in me and my bike than any other country. These 12 or so guys watched me get ready on what would be my last day of riding.

The goal of my whole trip was to reach the Mountain town of Sapa. There were times early in my trip I debated in my head whether to try to climb this road or take another route to Hanoi...It turned out it really wasn't as a hard as I thought it would be but I had almost 3 months of conditioning. On the way up I didn't want the ride to end...I knew this was pretty much the end of the cycling and started thinking about all the places me and the Philippine Stud (that's what I started calling my bike...call me crazy but you get lonely on the road and I liked thinking of my bike as a horse) had been. This is a picture looking back at the mountain road to Sapa.

Me, the Philippine Stud, a Choco Pie in my mouth, and a helmet on my head (just kidding about not needing the helmet. Safety first kids) at Tram Ton pass (1900m elv, highest road pass in Vietnam)...We had made it. I became quite attached to that bike but had been planning to sell it from the beginning. In Sapa I got a good deal for it and said my goodbyes...It was hard :(

After arriving in Sapa I decided I would attempt to climb mount Fansipan (3143 m, 10,300ft). I met an Austrian couple Stephan and Gadriela who were also looking to climb the mountain and we teamed up to get a good rate on a guide/porter.

It was a two day climb so our first night we stayed in a small shack at 2800m and our guide Chu fixed us an amazing dinner and then made us some chopsticks from the bamboo outside...sweet...It was a challenging hike but for me the hardest part was the sleeping the night in shack. As you can imagine I didn't have my warmest clothes after packing light for hot weather the past couple months...basically I froze my ass off.

Then next day made the long night all worth it. We got extremely lucky with very clear skies and views as we made our way to the top. All the pictures I had seen of the summit had people shrouded in clouds...

Like I said we got lucky. Here I am at the top of Fansipan, the highest point in Indochina (Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam).

My man Chu taking a rest at the top

Back in Sapa I spent time roaming the streets and visiting with Hmong Hilltribe women like these. I got to see lots of different Hilltribes on the road but the thing I liked about Sapa was that these women were able to speak pretty good english since it's a touristy town and they make their living selling products. I had heard from other travellers they were pushy but I found them quite friendly (maybe because I bought stuff from them) and willing and able to have a conversation.

After a day in Sapa to recover from the hike I took the night train from nearby Lai Cai to Hanoi. I've been here for the past 4 days and have spent my time walking the streets, visiting museums, eating some good local food, and yes, even shopping for special people back home.

Here's a pic from Hoa Lo prison museum that housed Vietnamese when the French were in power and American pilots, including John McCain, during the American-Vietnam war.

This was a good time...Guys are always asking if you want a motorbike or cyclo ride around the city. After not being able to bike for a few days I was eager to pedal and asked this cyclo driver if I could give him a ride. He accepted...I cruised around for 5 minutes...then he felt like I should pay him so I gave 2000 Dong

I visited the Museum of Ethnology which was really good and helped me get a grasp on various hilltribes I had seen before and their way of life. This is a shot of some water puppets at the museum and later that night I watched a performance in the city.

American Plane at the war museum...

Chaotic traffic jam at night...

For some reason I've really enjoyed Hanoi and I don't really like big cities. I realize I've been fairly brief with my description of things (as usual)...but I've got to go pack my bags because tomorrow I'm going to America! See you soon.

Laos

It was a full 30 days in Laos (the "s" is french and silent) and I had my highest of highs and lowest of low moments of the trip thus far. In no way do I have time to explain everything I did or saw but I've posted a few pics of some memorable moments...others will be best explained over a beer when I get back to the states...only 2 more weeks until I fly back!

My first day in Laos I crossed over from Thailand at Tha Khaek. I planned on visiting some caves in the nearby Limestone Karsts but what I didn't know was that it had been raining heavy throughout the country causing some flooding. It was impossible to visit the caves but I took a ride through the hills which was quite beautiful with the Karsts reflecting off the water.

My first two days of riding I was impressed that the road was always elevated above the flooding. However, on my third day I ran into about 7 sections of flooded road that I had to cross by either boat (like the picture above), tractor, or ferry...it was trully adventurous but also took forever having wait around to cross for sometimes 20 or 30 minutes...guess it's good I developed some patience living in the Philippines for 2 years.

The same day I made the most crossings of flooded road I had planned to stay overnight at an elephant tower where you can sometimes get lucky and witness wild elephants come to eat at a salt lick...I was about 3 hours late (not to mention exhausted) by the time I reached the village of Ban Na where my hired guides led me through the forest to the tower. Swimming in the pool shown above (view from tower) was quite refreshing after my long day.

My guides Paul and My chilling in the tower. Later that night at about 2:30 AM my guide Paul grabed my foot and whispered, "Elephants"...We could just make out the shadows of 3 swimming and lounging in the same pool we had swam in earlier that afternoon...Awesome

I stayed in the capital Vientiane for a few days and took in some of the sites and got a little work done on the bike...but I was eager to cycle again as I had heard from friends and other cyclists that the road from Vientiane to Luang Prabang would be a highlight for sure...As I approached the mountains I started getting excited.

Arriving in beautiful Vang Vieng

Other than the cycling I think my favorite activity of my trip thus far has been rock climbing in Vang Vieng. I had done some indoor climbing on walls before but never the real thing on a real rock...it seemed a lot different to me and I loved it. I think it might be something I'd like to get into when I get back to CO. I managed to do 4 climbs for only $18 by jumping on with a group of 5 other travellers...great deal and good times.

View from the elevated spot we were climbing

Making my way up one of four routes we got to climb...I really enjoyed this

When in Rome...Among other things, Vang Vieng is kind of known for tubing and stopping at bars along this river for a shot of lao lao whiskey or a beer lao. I heard some backpackers will do this 5 or 6 days straight. I was happy to meet a fellow American, Ben from New Mexico, to share a few beers with on the river.

At some of the bars they have swings and ziplines that are just pure fun...here I am taking my first go at the zip line.

I ended up staying an extra couple days in Vang Vieng in order to meet up with a PCV buddy Sherry who was also traveling throughout SE Asia. We did some caving and had some great conversations. We found it interesting how our Peace Corps experience seemed to shape our views on traveling.

After leaving Vang Vieng the cycling just got better and better...I was finally getting to some mountains and I loved slowly climbing my way up hill for 20 km to race back down...views like this on my way up always had me in awe.

I owe my buddy Lloyd a beer for recommending this place I stayed at my first night after Vang Vieng. The pool below comes from a hot spring and I stayed in the second bungalow from the right...the view from my deck of the surrounding mountains was incredible.

Sunrise at the hot springs.

Luang Prabang was a cool little town. I arrived two days before the Dragon Boat races and spent an afternoon watching them practice with a few locals.

I took a day trip ride to Kuang Xi waterfalls 30km south of town. It was impressive. I put it in my top 3 waterfalls of all time...but had some issues with some leeches when me and an Australian climbed to the top...good times

While in Luang Prabang I signed up to do a 2 day hiking/1 day kayaking trip in the surrounding mountain areas. I was in a group with 6 other travelers and we got the opportunity to stay overnight and learn about the Hmong and Khomu hilltribe people. All meals included traditional Lao food and I couldn't get enough of the sticky rice. Unfortunately I didn't get pics of our first night which included a "spin the bottle" type of game with a chicken head and taking shots of Khomu whiskey from a pot with bamboo straws...yeah, I'm kind of upset I left the camera in the hut but below are some shots I did take.

Hiking in with our guide Kong leading the way

This made my day...Micro-hydro turbines providing electricity for one of the villages we passed. I'm such an Enginerd but that's just cool.

The first Khomu village we stayed out had some guys playing this awesome game which is a cross between volleyball and soccer...I'm pretty sure I had seen this played once in the Philippines but I got to participate here which was fun...I was really only good at heading the ball since I'm so tall...basically I sucked compared to these guys...

This guy had an unstoppable spike kick...you can't stop that man


The next day we fought off leeches on the path but were rewarded with views like this

Our last day of the trip we got to do a little kayaking...since we had an odd number of people I got my own boat...it started filling up with water at first but once I rowed it back to shore, emptied it, and my guide Kami plugged the hole in the back with a piece of plastic and a stick (see back of kayak in pic below) I was good to go.

Ellen and Laurie on the Nam Ou river

Paddling along these Limestone Karsts was awesome...especially laying down on your back and looking up at the wall and overhangs as we slowly passed by.

Along the kayak trip our group stopped at the Pak Ou caves along the Mekong River that contain several buddha images inside.

I had some issues with my rear hub on the way to Luang Prabang, which made me miss a day of incredible riding (fortunately I got the bike fixed later). I was happy I got a lift to the town but sad I had to witness two amazing 20 km+ sections of downhill road through beautiful mountains in the back of a van. This made me appreciate the fact I get to experience so much more from my bike. After getting back from the trekking/kayaking trip I decided to throw my bike on a seungthaew and do the 75 km I had missed a few days before.

Views like this made me happy I went back for that ride

Here's a shot of the road ascending into the clouds from Pak Mong to Oudom Xay...It's hard to describe the feeling of being on a road like this with no other traffic other than the occasional motorbike or truck...it's just fun!

On this day I found myself passing through a whole lot of mud at landsides and depressions in the road...this pic was from my first troubled section of road. By the end of the day I had three shades of mud up to my mid calf...good times

This trio stopped me at the Provincial Border of Oudom Xay and Luang Prabang...the guy in blue informed me that all vehicles had to get sprayed down including bicycles...I wasn't too excited about this considering whatever they were spraying required a mask and suit. I also was expecting some high powered pressure that might damage my bike. I tried pleading to let me pass but they weren't having it. Finally I relented and was pleasantly surprised with the very light spritzing they performed and I was back on my way...although I'm still not quite certain what they sprayed or for what purpose.

This is a typical scene of some village girls I saw while eating some lunch (nothing but beef and noodle soup on the road but it fills the hungry stomach)

A nice view on the final descent to Oudom Xay

Well that was a lot of the high moments...some of the lows include issues with my bike...actually a lot of issues with my bike. There have been quite a few times I thought I would have to give up the cycling and continue on as a backpacker taking the buses or planes. Fortunately I've been able to fix things myself or find someone with tools and knowledge for bigger problems. My last two days before crossing into Vietnam had me facing the roughest road of my journey. I met two German's who had come down the same road and it had quite literally ended their cycling until they could get some work done on their bikes (they were completely covered in mud). From the sound of their problems I suspected they had gotten some water in their rear hub (same problem I had earlier crossing the floods). As I set out the next morning I was determined to protect my bike from the same disaster. Between the two days I carried my fully loaded bike more times then I could count through mud and streams. Since the road wasn't paved there were no trucks but only motorbikes on the road (later I found out a big truck was stuck in the road for a few days that was blocking all other traffic). For the first time of my trip there would be nothing that could bail me out if something went wrong...I would be walking a long ways if it did. After climbing a rocky steep portion to the top of a mountain I reached the Vietnam Border and the road went from gravel to beautiful pavement. I had an incredible 25 km descent followed by a flat 10 to Dien Bien Phu. I am excited about my last 2 weeks in Vietnam. I've only got about 350km of cycling left (on pavement) until I reach the mountain town of Sapa and I'm feeling optimistic my bike will hold up until then. If not, I consider myself extremely lucky with what I've already experienced and how far the bike has taken me (just over 3500 km) and like I said before, only 2 weeks and then I fly back to America!

Look forward to seeing you all soon!

ian