INTRODUCTION


In the fall of 2009 the Cross Canada Cycle Touring Society (CCCTS) announced a planned tour of Vietnam for sixteen participants to take place in November 2010, conducted by Pedaltours of Auckland, NZ. The response was overwhelming in that 48 members signed up! Thus there will be three groups touring. This blog is a rendering of the experiences of the first group who will travel between November 1st and 21st, 2010.

Vietnam is a fabulous experience. We stay at mostly 3* and 4* hotels and beachfront resorts and cycle away from the highway.

Our tour starts in Ho Chi Minh city (formerly Saigon) leading on to the beach resort of Nha Trang, historic Hoi An, and the imperial city of Hue. Thereafter we fly north to Hanoi and spend the next ten days exploring the scenic far North, including Dien Bien Phu. The Northwest is "the roof" of Vietnam, where the Hoang Lien Mountains (Tonkinese Alps) soar to over 3,000 metres (9,900 feet) and some of Vietnam's most spectacular scenery is to be found. This is definitely "the road less travelled"! Much of the area is sparsely populated and the mountains are still home to many ethnic minorities; the Montagnard women still favour elaborate costumes of brightly coloured skirts, tops and hats - each ethnic group favouring its own colour variation and design.

Sapa is an atmospheric former hill station with magnificent views of rice terraces and mountains; the temperature can drop to zero in mid-winter (January, when group three will be travelling).

We will travel by train, boat and bike as we follow the rugged Northwest route right to the border with China at Lao Cai; on several days venturing away from the civilised tourist meccas, cycling through traditional villages and staying in small towns with modest lodgings (Oh, Oh!)

So come prepared for the unexpected, for breathtaking scenery and bring a sense of adventure (and toilet paper!)

Thanks to the folks at Pedaltours for the text above and at the start of each days posts - NB There is no knowing at the start just how often we can update this blog since we don't know the availability of Wi-Fi, but by pre-posting the days activities all you armchair travellers will at least have an idea of what we are hopefully up to. Cheers.


Sunday, October 24, 2010

Day Five - Friday, November 5th, 2010. A "(bum) rest day" in Nha Trang

"On today's menu is a boat-trip to the islands, where we can visit a fishing village where we will be rowed ashore in Vietnamese "Round Boats". There will be a stop at the Oceanographic Institute as well as Tri Nguyen Aquarium, with lunch at a lovely bamboo restaurant on an offshore island, plus time to swim and snorkel"

In fact all of this nearly didn't happen again on account of the recent storms - the fishing fleet has been harbour-bound for days now, but, fortunately it looks like the storms are over and a threatened typhoon has not come our way. We didn't get to visit the Oceanographic Institute or have lunch in a bamboo restaurant on an island, but we did visit the aquarium which was special by dint of its displays of local fish. Then we walked across the island on which the aquarium is located, through the nearby fishing village where we embarked on a bunch of fishing dories (slightly larger than a Welsh corracle) to be transported out to a boat that took us about half an hour to the snorkeling area where several of us explored the waters, which were still pretty murky from the storms.
En route a couple of masseurs lightened the wallets of the group with neck, back and full spine massages or bodyhair removal. George declined the offer of hair removal from his nose and ears which, she said, would "make him a new man"!
We returned to town for lunch in a Bamboo restaurant - our best meal yet, a seven course meal stretched out over two hours - and the rest of the day off to catch up on things - like blogging!
Photos TBA later
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1 comment:

  1. Doug SlyNovember 6, 2010 at 3:36 PM

    Emergency message: John Pringle or Kumiko Nitsui to call Vancouver or London asap.

    ReplyDelete

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