"A 64 km (90 min) drive to commence cycling at Lung Son. A progressively scenic day finishing with a glorious descent"
We arrived at our hotel in Ha Noi last night (The Thien Thai) around 7:00 pm and after checking in went straight down to dinner in the hotel, during which we were entertained by local artistes, including an 18 year old flotist wo played both vietnamese as well as western pieces to enormous applaus - there were 6 other tour groups staying there too. That proved to be a logistical problem this morning when all 7 tours descended upon the breakfast buffet in a feeding frenzy like fish in a pond.
After a 2-hour ride out of the city we got on our bikes, expecting a quiet rural cycle - no such luck - there are very few quiet roads in the parts except for unpaved (unsealed) roads - thus we were sharing the highway with buses, trucks, cars and all forms of two-wheeled transportation. Occasionally we were confronted with a truck coming towards us overtaking a truck that was overtaking something else, necessitating a quick "exit stage right" onto the grassy verge.
Eventually we reached the first of the two long climbs, posted as "gradual" (not), again accompanied by heavy traffic. The second in the afternoon was two or three times longer, up to the top of a pass down which the ride was rudely interrupted by a crash and roadworks. Whilst waiting to get around these obstacles we got a good glimpse of our destination in the floor of the valley below - the village of Mai Chau - through smoke from crop burning. We cycled through to the far end of the village arriving at the magnificent Mai Chau resort whose byline is "See the culture - Stay in comfort!" - Amen to that! Dinner in the bamboo restaurant followed by tradional music and dancing for those who hadn't retreated to bed in preparation for a 120 km tomorrow with a 900m climb right from the start. A couple of the group visit the local caves
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.
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
No comments:
Post a Comment