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.


Saturday, November 13, 2010

Day fourteen - Sunday, November 14th, 2010 - Son La to Dien Bien Phu

"The scenery from Son La and Dien Bien Phu is breathtaking. An early start gives the opportunity to visit one or two colourful markets. We drive a short distance out of town before starting to ride, with a beautiful 47 km ride through a spectacular valley with towering limestone cliffs, passing many colourfully attired BlackThai minority people, to the foot of Pha Din Pass. We drive over this scenic pass (1,400m) tothe lunch cafe. After lunch we drive for one hour through an agricultural region - sighting many water wheels, a hallmark of the Black Thai minority. The dayfinishes with a 30km descent by bike to Dien Bien Phu, which is famous as the battle site where the French colonial forces were emphatically defeated by the Viet Minh in 1954 after a prolonged siege, signaling the begining of the end of the French
Indochina empire".

BLACK THAI PEOPLE AND INVITATION TO A WEDDING RECEPTION

Breakfast at communist Hanoi Hotel is cold french fries (leftovers from last night), white bread, cold sliced hot dogs plus a greasy omelette for the adventurous. We cycle out as soon as humanly possible and within five kms are back into beautiful rolling countryside. Bingh promises today will be even better than the last two and we are not to be disappointed. It is eye candy all the way. Five meter high poinsettias line the road; we encounter a local market selling everything from a water buffalo to beautiful caged birds: parakeets, parrots, some quite rare. For a dollar a bird, Gary is inclined to buy the lot and set them free. The people here are of the Black Thai minority, so named for the black head-bun sported by all married women. Like the White Thai back at Mai Chau, their one-story houses are built on stilts and are of entirely wood construction except for the thatched or galvanized roofs. It seems the entire community, if not at the market, is working the fields on this beautiful Sunday morning. All the family is put to work harvesting, thrashing and winnowing rice and hauling the rice straw off home as animal feed and bedding.

Sunday is the official "day off" in Vietnam and the traditional day for weddings. We pass two in progress and Chris takes a photo of one happy wedding party. They invite him in to share the wedding meal but he explains, thanks to a pretty Vietnamese lady who speaks fair English, that he is supposed to be leading a group and finds himself, as usual, bringing up the rear. He wishes the bride and groom a long and happy life together and that they have many children (not sure the last is really good advice these days in such a crowded country), and is off again. And all this before 10 am! We meet the van at 57 kms and drive to a roadside restaurant in the small town of Tuao Gao. Like all meals, it is at least seven courses, all delicious and ample and many new to us. Hamburger on a stick was the first course.

The we're off again in the van, driving over the 2,000m high Pha Din Pass where the Vietminh in 1954 hauled their cannons to attack and ultimately defeat the French at the famous battle of Dien Bien Phu. We cycle the last 30 kms to the Him Lam resort hotel on the town's outskirts. Many war memorials, Viet Minh gun emplacements and war cemetaries festoon the highway. The Viet Minh lost four million soldiers in the war with the French and, as in the south, war cemetaries are everywhere. Him Lam resort is an older resort, spacious and very tranquil. It's our kind of place, with an (unused) swimming pool, (unused) ping pong tables and spacious grounds. Bonsai everywhere. It is filled this weekend with holidaying Vietnamese, a few touring Aussies, and us.

Another exceptional dinner this evening, but missed by five of our band who have fallen victim to a combination of intestinal and bronchial problems: Dan, Peter, Mike, Jean and Jim. We're looking forward to our day off tomorrow. We're apparently getting a little worn down after the last three long days with serious hill climbs, and in need of a little rest and recuperation. Total cycling distance 89 km with about 500 meters climb.

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