So I think this is now our sixth day in Shangrila and we're feeling fully recovered from our bout of giardia and ready to get back on the road.. G was having a hard time recovering and refused to take any meds until we managed to get enough for both of us, so we checked out the local pharmacy and later the hospital to see if we could get more metronidazol. After getting in contact with an American doctor, we managed to get more than enough meds. Luckily G managed to recover without needing any. We were actually thinking of leaving a couple of days earlier but it's been snowing and the roads were quite icy. We really enjoyed the Tibetan culture and people in this area and visited the Songzanlin monastery where you get basically ... read more

63 km 10.6km/hr 5:57:20 Lots of climbing again today reaching altitudes over 3000m but rewarded with some fun downhills and incredible views of pine forests and snow-capped peaks! We got a late start again today as brekkie took a long time. We got as far as a town called Annan and realized that we should consider finding a camping spot so we bought a little food and cont'd a couple of km of steep uphill out of town until we found a decent spot. By the time we finished setting up camp it was almost dark so we cooked up some REALLY spicy ramen and had some hot chocolate and chips before tucking in.... read more

Distance 103 km, Average 14km/hr, Actual Riding Time 7:22:36 So once again after a late start, saying our final goodbyes to Norm and Nikki and buying a couple of delicious vegetable stuffed dumplings for the road we were ready for our long journey towards Shangri-la. The weather was a bit cool but was helpful for the long initial climb up. It was a bit of a struggle for me (G)since I was still fighting a cold but thankfully the climb wasn't too steep. Once we reached the top of the pass, it started to snow a little and the road became wet and slick but we really enjoyed our very long downhill. At the bottom of the pass the snow stopped and sun glowed as we biked along the Yangzte River. It was really a beautiful ... read more

So for cyclists: Viet TriYen Binh 88.5km 15.4km/hr 5:44:38 generally rough road mostly flat. hotels avail. Yen BinhPho Rang 101km 13.5km/hr 7:29:57 road improving gradual climbing hotels avail. Pho RangLao Cai 90km 14km/hr 6:30:00 we took alternate route which was very nice-good road up and down. Lots of hotels. Sent our Vietnam map home so will update later with more info. on this route Lao Cai-Sapa 37km 7.1 km/hr 5:16:30 good road flattish for the first 7km or so (from train station) then it's ALL uphill: elevation gain of 1000m (6001600m) We had a great time heading up towards Sapa which is a mountain town near the Chinese border. The area is noted for the various hill tribe people in the area : among them the Black H'mong, Red Dzao, and Flower H'mong as well as ... read more

Hi folks! Yes, we are alive and well! Sorry about the lack of updates. We're in Shangri-la(Zhongdian),China in Yunnan province right now. We are resting here and healing up from a bout of travel sickness(giardia). We'll give you a brief update with some pics etc(maybe to follow-keep checking) of how we got here along with some info. for cyclists on distances,road conditions etc. We had typed up an update for our first day after leaving Hanoi so we'll include that above first and then follow with the rest.... read more