Sapa - 800km and a great ride!

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Hi all,

I made it! The hard part of the trip and most beautifull is behind me already. I'm in Sapa enjoying a day of rest after another couple testing days. This place is like being in zoo but instead of animals it is minority groups that are the attraction. There are loads of tourists here and if I want I could eat burgers and pasta here... strange!

Let me talk you through the last few days of riding through the most remote parts of Vietnam.

14 Dec, Lai Chau to Tam Duong (aka Lai Chau). We knew the day was going to be long and hard. The guide book (Lonely Planet, Cycling Vietnam, Cambodia and Loas) turned out to be very outdated once again (thank god): the road was nicely paved! The bid they did not tell us about was that the first 80km was constant up and down, so not flat at all! We were following this river and every time I got the thrill of going down, I knew I had to go up again.... This was endless and exhausting. With so many days of cycling in my legs it was like dragging concrete up the hill and back down again. The scenery was nice but a bit lost on us because I knew that after 80km there was an enormous mountain to climb (15km uphill, steep). Still, I'm turning into this machine and by the time we got to mountain I was ready to take it on and mastered it without to many problems. All day the area had been remote and the people were much more apprehensive about us cycling through their village. It felt very real and at times a bit unconfortable. Also there was something off with the road signs, we seemed to be heading towards Lai Chau (the place we started off from in the morning). Seeing the sign WELCOME TO LAI CHAU after the decent from the mountain was the weirdest thing... Did we go in a circle? We asked random people on the street if we had arrived in Tam Duong and they give us a variety of answers. Turns out that they renamed the town because the OLD Lai Chau (the one we left in the morning) will be under water in 2010 so they renamed Tam Duong to Lai Chau (NEW). I was just glad it was the right place because it was already 4pm and getting dark. We had dinner, made some new friends with the local VIP who was in charge of promoting the NEW Lai Chau. He just told us the book was old and get with the programme.

15 dec, Tam Duong - Sapa
This day was going to be the big one! There was 70km to cover and 2 mountains, the second one is the highest bit of road in Vietnam (the Tram Ton Pass at 2000m). We set off around 8 and were ready for it. The first mountain was fine, got the legs warmed up and prepared us for what was to come. After taking in a lot of food and drink it was time for the big one 30km climb. Quickly we left the terraced fields and ride paddies behind us and climbed into this lonely mountain. There was little trafic and soon there was not a hut or person within view. A very lonely feeling, a very quiet feeling and a very beautifull mountain. I divided the climb into 3 sections and breaked at 10, 20 and just after the top. I loved it and hated it at the same time. It was hard (no better way to decribe it). The temperatures started to drop and the top was in the clouds. Upon reaching the top it was too cold to stop and wait for Steve so I carried on. What a difference: on the other side of the pass it was freezing with tempertures close to 0C, it was misty (you could see only 15meters ahead) and the road turned into mud and rocks. It was such a let down, after all that hard work I ended in hell! Completely frozen, my bike needing repairing (quite a few nuts have come lose) and extremely tiered I got to Sapa. My first thought was to get the hell out of there as quickly as possible.... But with the promise of a hot shower and an electric blanket at Cat Cat Hotel I decided to make up my mind after a nights rest.

So today is hanging around in Sapa day. I fixed my bike this morning, arranged for the night train tomorrow (back to Hanoi) and giving my legs a break. Still very cold so I am ready to head South. I'll let you know my plans when I make them (there has been severe flooding in central Vietnam so I might have to readjust (go from freezing to soaking wet... not having much luck with the weather. But regardless, these first 2 weeks have been great. I would recommend the North by North West route to anybody (just keep in mind that you do need to be fit to manage it). Well, off to look at the minory people (it was much nicer to see these people in their real environment then here in Sapa). But at least here they don't run away when they see a camera... Don't know if that is a good thing...

See you soon, Fi

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Comments

[Fianne]

onder de indruk
Ha Fi, ik krijg kleine flashbacks naar mijn eigen fietsvakantie en ben zwaar onder de indruk van je prestaties. Ben overigens ook erug benieuwd naar je benen.

[sasja]

goed gedaan, meissie! Ik hoop dat je het wat warmer zal krijgen. Veel succes met de rest van je plannen! Hugs sasja