Blocked in China ~ Blog Update

It turns out Blogger is indeed blocked in China so for those of you who didn't see the small print at the bottom of our last Vietnam post, we switched over to:

http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/6847

We will continue blogging on Crazy Guy on a Bike for the remainder of our trip for some continuity. We might some day try to join the two blogs but today is not that day!

We arrived in Ulaan Baatar this morning and we're so excited about Mongolian adventures ahead of us but it's hard to believe that this is the final stage of our biking journey (for now at least).

VIETNAM: The Good, the Bad and the Quirky

We returned to Hanoi yesterday after an incredible 4 days biking to Ninh Binh and Halong Bay. The area was beautiful with limestone karst formations scattered through rice paddies and waterways. The town of Hai Phong was also a nice reprise from the busy highway with interesting architecture and similarities to some of Hanoi’s characteristics. We just picked up our Chinese visas and are set to cycle north to China so that we can cross the border on Friday. We thought we would sum up the past month in Vietnam with some of our good, bad and quirky experiences.


Highlights (the Good)

-Finding back roads that hugged the coastline. We took any chance we could to get off Highway 1. We often found ourselves in what we described as “movie set” villages – villages that seemed like they could be out of a Vietnamese movie set. “Cue family of 4 on motorbike. Cue woman carrying an enormous load over her shoulders. Cue busy market scene.”
-Food. We especially loved the food in Hoi An (where we were able to take a cooking course).
-A drop in temperature. Our first week was almost unbearably hot but the temperature dropped as soon as we crossed over the Hai Van Pass. The pass pretty much creates a difference in climate from the north to the south.
-Speed. Smoother road conditions have led to greater daily distances.
-Kieran’s roadside beard trim with old school hand shearers. The man possibly tore out more hair than he trimmed.
- Getting an insight into the agricultural lifestyle of the Vietnamese. We now understand all the processes our food goes through before arriving at our plate. As a tip: Make sure to rinse your rice before cooking and eating.
-Learning about Vietnam’s history. Being on a bicycle allows for a lot of thinking time and in a country such as Vietnam, there’s lots to think about. Riding through such varied areas allows you to take a ‘pulse’ of the land and its people. For instance, we biked through towns with extremely friendly people and we biked through towns where we were “shooed” away from restaurants. It was interesting to be able to compare ideas as to why incidents like this happened (a bad day or a historical explanation). This was particularly noticeable around the DMZ.
-Memorable interactions with locals. The young girls who helped us out at the train station at Dong Hoi absolutely made our day. We also loved some of our ‘get to know you’ interactions with locals that included sign language and drawings to communicate. Also, we met the most charming staff at our hotel in Hanoi. It was, coincidentally, called Charming Hotel. The rooms aren’t the biggest in the world but the location is central and the staff really are some of the friendliest we’ve met in Vietnam, plus the facilities are all you could ask for (including a lift, very appreciated after a long tiring days’ ride).

Challenges (the Bad)

-Traffic, honking, traffic, honking, traffic (see Road Rules 101 below)
-Learning that we needed to ask the price for a meal/drink/anything (such as air in a tire) prior to ordering so that we could make the choice as to whether the price was fair and acceptable. We learned to ask early on after a few occasions when we were provided with bills that surprised/shocked us.
-Finding out that the Chinese embassy’s rules changed in January this year and we were not able to get our visas in Hanoi. We were able to get them through a tour agency but it took far longer than we had anticipated and we needed to change our route plans in Vietnam and China.
-Getting our cameras out in time to take photos of bikes loaded with items such as pigs, ducks, dogs, chickens (anything from a dinner menu), glass, mirrors, families, etc…


The Quirky

-Receiving candy in lieu of change (at grocery stores if our bill comes 247,600 dong and we give 250,000, we get 2,000 and a piece of candy as change)
-Bikes of burden (anything and everything loaded onto bicycles, motorbikes and rickshaws)

-Riding down roads that seem to represent about 10 different decades (machinery/transportation, etc…)
-Kindergarten-sized plastic furniture at cafes, local eateries, street-side beer stalls
-“Extras” at mealtime. We initially thought it was a really nice touch when we received wet napkins at our table before ordering and eating our food. We then realized that we were charged for using the napkins. This was also the case if peanuts were placed in front of us before our meal arrived (hard to resist after a long riding day, especially when you assume they’re free). We eventually learned to say no thank you if anything other than a menu was placed in front of us.
-Dealing with touts. It’s tempting to put this into the challenges section but fortunately Kieran learned a ‘special’ way to deal with touts that made our experiences more memorable. In any touristy area (Hoi An, Hue, Hanoi, Halong), touts were rampant. If in Hoi An, someone came up and asked Kieran “a suit for you, a dress for madame?,” Heather would reply “no thank you” and keep on walking but Kieran eventually embraced the experience with replies such as (pointing to some heinous curtain-like material) “Can you make me a suit out of this? Would it look nice on me?” In Halong Bay, as we walked along the street that faces directly onto Halong Bay and we were approached by touts selling boat trips, Kieran would ask them “Where IS Halong Bay? What kind of boats do you have? Is it possible to get one of those ‘swan-type’ boats that we can pedal? One with wings?” Heather, being the type to embarrass easily would usually wander far enough away to not be associated with Kieran, yet close enough to be able to hear what was going on. Kieran is still laughing at each and every one of these encounters as they were all very fun and usually the locals had a laugh too!

*Vietnam Road Rules 101
This is a quick lesson for those who care to understand the road rules in Vietnam based on our cycling experiences. We had a few occasions when we felt frustrated with the rules (or lack thereof) of the road but it actually did get easier as we moved north once we started to understand that there was some organization to the chaos. Once we learned to accept the differences in road rule perceptions, it made everything easier (but we still stick to our single file, blind spot and mirror checking, safety-vest wearing cycling as far over on the shoulder as possible, thank you very much).
1. All traffic has the right of way.
2. The loudest horn has the right of way. If you have a loud horn, honk it with all your might.
3. The road shoulder is multi-directional for traffic (mostly smaller traffic – bikes and motorbikes).
4. When school lets out, school children on bikes trump all traffic and take the right of way (including points 1 and 2).
5. If you’re riding to or from school, this is a social activity so try to ride 4 or 5 abreast and take up as much of the road as is necessary.
6. Road shoulders are also multipurpose. You must keep an eye out for agricultural practices. Riding through rice drying on the road shoulder is considered fair and adds to the flavour of the rice.
7. When merging onto a highway, regardless of your speed or mechanism of transport, you should give way to no one and whatever you do, don’t look to see if anyone is coming. Everyone Tha see you and give way to you.
8. U-turns in the middle of highways are acceptable.
9. When crossing the street, it’s best not to look at traffic coming towards you. Most importantly, walk at a slow and steady pace.
10. If the road has 2 lanes painted this generally means you should expect to have 5+ lanes of traffic.
11. Looking behind will cause confusion. It is best to look ahead and honk loudly at all foreign cyclists laughing, smiling and waving as you pass.
12. If you are on a motorbike and see foreign cyclists and you would like to practice your English, slow down so that you are riding next to them and have a chat, regardless of traffic in either direction.

Cheek aside, while Vietnam has been the most challenging country we have cycled in so far, we have learned a tremendous amount, adjusted to different conditions, and have experienced some of our best riding days. That said, if we had friends looking to cycle tour for the first time in Asia, we would likely not recommend Vietnam as a good starting point based on the challenges.

This is our last post before we head into China. As far as we are aware, Blogger is blocked in China. We have added a China Picasa album in the links section of our blog (it’s empty now) that we will add to assuming we have access to Picasa. We will also provide some updates at:
http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/6847

Honk Honk to Hanoi

The sound of myriad traffic horns has echoed across the pavement as we have ridden north along Vietnam’s Highway 1 from Quy Nhon. After more than two weeks of riding in Vietnam, the continuous sound of horns has become like the humming of cicadas in the rainforest of Thailand. They are there all the time but they’re a bit more like background noise to us now.

To avoid honking, we have made every effort to cycle on back roads whenever possible. While they are a little less maintained than the highways, they’ve provided much more relaxed riding conditions and have allowed us to experience coastal Vietnam much closer. Fishing villages, directions lost in translation, seemingly endless fields of rice paddies, salt farms, and beautiful coastal scenery are just a few of the highlights.

It is difficult for either of us to decide which part of the coastal riding we have enjoyed the most. Whether it be the “movie set” looking fishing villages and riding to road ends where older ladies (who look like they’ve had back-breaking work for most of their lives) have tried to prompt us to take small boats across to the other side, or riding over the beautiful Hai Van Pass and along the coast, we continue to have days saying to each other “this is the best day so far.”

Along the way, we were able to take a few days to explore and enjoy Hoi An and Hue. We’ve also been able to eat amazing food along the way and we were able to take a terrific cooking class in Hoi An. We feel we’ve made the most of the central coast and feel ready to move further north. It seems the combination of strengthening legs, favourable winds and better road conditions have provided us with longer riding days and allowed us to get further on days we’ve decided to go for distance.

A special highlight to mention includes the enthusiastic help we received by some lovely Vietnamese girls in Dong Hoi. After deciding we needed to catch a train to Hanoi earlier than planned (to acquire our Chinese visas), we were searching for the train station when we met two sisters, Hem and Xiu. They gave us directions and then led us there on their motorbike. As if that weren’t enough, they stayed with us at the train station and helped us work out how to travel separated from our bikes (it was impossible for the bikes to come on the same train with us). They led us to the freight office where we were able to arrange to have them put on a freight train (that would arrive the day after us) and then they helped us get our own tickets. It sounds easier to have done now that we are writing this, but at the time we had no idea how to go about this process and on our own we may not have felt comfortable parting with our bikes. Hem and Xiu provided us with such a heartwarming, long lasting memory of their helpful character.

The train journey from Dong Hoi was not too long but another great memory as we traveled on seats designed for the build of a Vietnamese person. We also had the privilege of watching a Jean Claude Van Damme movie, complete with a Vietnamese teenage female voice doing most of the dubbing (of Jean Claude and other characters).

We are now in Hanoi exploring the local area and waiting for our Chinese visas, bicycle maintenance, the arrival of 2 packages (which we are so hopeful make it here) and taking advantage of supermarkets to restock supplies. We’re also looking forward to catching up with an old work friend of Heather’s. This was going to be the first encounter with a familiar face for either of us on the trip until today when we very randomly ran into another old friend of Heather’s who is in Hanoi for a week on business and happened to walk into a coffee shop that we were in because it was on the same street (far away from where we’re staying) where we heard we could buy oats. Go figure…it always amazes us what a small world it is!

On Friday, we’ll cycle south to Ninh Binh and then east to explore the Halong Bay area before returning to Hanoi to pick up our visas and then we’ll cycle up to the Chinese border. It’s hard to believe that country #4 is just over a week away. Some days we feel like we’ve been away forever and other days it seems like time is passing way too quickly.

Vietnamese Moonshine, Highlands and Sea

After a few beautiful days biking in the highlands from the Laos border, we arrived at the seaside town of Quy Nhon yesterday afternoon. We passed the 2,000 km mark yesterday and we thought it would be a good idea to take a few days off by the sea. Yesterday was the hottest day we’ve biked in so far – 40 degrees! It was a pretty painful morning heat-wise and we took plenty of shade and drink breaks but by mid-afternoon we were happily starting to feel the effect of sea breezes and knowing that we would see the ocean soon enough was motivation to keep pedalling.

Vietnam has been an interesting place to bike so far. Many locals have been very engaging and keen to invite us in for chats even though we have no common language. Using made-up sign language and drawings, we’re usually able to exchange some basic information. They’re usually most interested to find out where we’re from, if we’re married (the best way we were asked this was when a man drew pictures of hearts and pointed at us to ask), if we have children, where we’re going/where we’ve been and how old we are. Usually either before or after we’ve established this (and often before any interaction), they want to get us to drink. Beer, rice whiskey (most common), you name it, they want us to drink it. In Laos we were often waved over to groups who were drinking Lao Lao (whiskey) and we always gave a friendly wave and pretended not to understand that they were trying to get us to come over because we always knew that if we stopped, that would be it for the day. Here they catch us by surprise. We might be stopping for water, an ice tea, a meal or any other necessity and soon enough someone comes over with a shot glass. It’s practically impossible to say no to one. On one 0ccasion, a somewhat drunk local man was particularly enamoured with Kieran and wrote him a note (which we can’t wait to get translated).



We’re planning on taking a language lesson while in Quy Nhon to acquire some basics. The blank stares and unknown food orders are okay, but it’s time to learn some Vietnamese. Just about each time we’ve ordered food at a restaurant, we’ve received something different than we anticipated (it’s usually quite tasty though).

After a rest, we’ll start to face some headwinds as we bike north. We’re starting to realize that 100km + days are the exception, not the norm. With the heat, unknown road conditions (often rough and bumpy) and headwind, days over 100km will be difficult and rare.

For now, we’re looking forward to more time by the ocean, enjoying some fine Vietnamese cuisine and enjoying the ride up to Hoi An.

We’ve started a Vietnam photo album (at right).

The Reward!!

It is difficult to sum up all that happens in the course of a few days or weeks, however describing our past few days in the Bolaven Plateau as a “reward” is by far the most simple way to describe what our final few days in Laos have been like. Riding through the cooler climate alone was great, but to see life of the people on the plateau in the late afternoons and everyone out actively doing something was such a highlight for us. As we have experienced throughout all of Laos, there were still the calls of hello/sabai dee/thank you/good morning (at all times of day) and kids running out to the street to wave at us.

Spending the afternoon swimming in the waterfalls at Tad Lo and enjoying the high rolling hills, flat plains and coffee plantations on the ride to Paksong were made even more rewarding with the long ride downhill to Sekong and Attapeu.

Good food, interesting people, rich and strong Laos coffee, cool climate, and an interesting experience at a small festive carnival in Paksong made the past 4 days in and around the Bolaven Plateau our favourite part of Laos. It was such a great way to leave such a diverse country.

We thought we would sum up our time in Laos with some highlights and challenges:

Highlights
* Friendly welcomes from children – in trees, at schools, on roads, on bikes, underneath houses.
* The welcome temperature drop (of about 10-15 degrees), scenery, people and coffee on the Bolaven Plateau.
* Places: Nam Kading National Park, Don Khon in the 4,000 Islands, Bolaven Plateau, parts of the road that kept us cycling right along the Mekong.
* Seeing rural Laos and riding in remote areas that had a great local feel and allowed us to feel that we truly got to know Laos.
* Laos traffic jams (buffaloes, cows, pigs and goats)
* Meeting other touring cyclists and gaining tips and route information from them. On this trip, we met a Canadian/American couple in their 50s/60s. The woman hadn’t been on a bike in 30 years when she agreed to set out on this trip. They’ve been cycling for a year and a half now. We met a very friendly young Japanese man who had been cycling in Asia for about a year and was reaching the point where as he put it, he was starting to drive himself crazy. We met a couple from England cycling throughout Asia on a tandem bike. We also met a Frenchman who left France 2.5 years ago on his bike, biked through Europe, Africa, and across to Asia. The best part about meeting these tourers are the tips we’ve received from them such as the tip to use socks on our water bottles to keep the water cool(ish).


Challenges
* The heat: throughout most of our time in Laos, our bodies resembled leaky faucets.
* Health difficulties associated with heat and food
* Smoke: cycling during the dry burning season.
* Witnessing the wildlife trade in action (we saw a tiny little Loris at a bus stop a few days ago).

All of the above highlights far outweighed the challenges. Our eyes are now set on Vietnam and we look forward to the experiences ahead although we are both a little anxious about not having any language skills to help get by so we are studying our guide book to learn some basics. We’ll update the blog again once we’ve biked through the central highlands and are on the coast. Sabai dee!