2/20 images from yesterday's bike ride

2/19 Bike trip to Bihn Lu valley

Unloading the bikes

Start of the bike ride

Heading down!

Oops!

Getting warmer

Bathroom break

Lady in rice paddy

Betel nut juice on her teeth

Happy kids!

Inside the home we visited - grandma

Planting rice

In the valley

Left foggy Sa Pa and drove around an hour to Tram Ton Pass (The highest spot in Indo-China). Almost as soon as we left the Sa Pa Valley we were out in the sunshine. The bike ride was described as stunning views of the Hoang Lien Valley before a “free-wheeling 26km glide to Bihn Lu Junction”. We may have set the record for the slowest trip ever! Way too many photo ops, and slow and steady members of the group the cause. Once we got to the lowest part in the valley I would say the temperatures were probably in the 80’s. 55 degrees in Sa Pa and many layers of clothes, most shed as we descended. I was able to get down to bicycle shorts and a tee shirt but Connie was stuck with a long sleeve shirt (plus another undershirt and long tights) – all in black.

The ride down the mountain was exhilarating and really pretty easy. I was watching my watch and I hit a maximum speed of just under 30 mph when I thought I was chasing Rich and Richie. Turns out they were behind me, something I realized after I had gone pretty hard for about 15 minutes. I waited for the rest of the group while I shed my jacket and rain pants on a nice level spot. Along the way we saw a truck that had tipped over at 3a.m. Apparently the driver fell asleep!

Once in the valley the roads got much worse, a combination of dirt and gravel for about 10 km. Stopped for lunch (really good) and after a short rest got off-road to visit some more ethnic villages. Here’s when the REALLY cool stuff started! We headed up a water buffalo trail and passed a Zay family who invited us to visit their home. We waited outside until they got there and they sat us all down for some tea. Apparently, we were the first group of foreigners ever to be invited in – one of the ladies said how nice it was and thought it would bring them good fortune. We asked them some questions about their way of life and whatever we could think of to pass the time. While in the house we took many images of the local kids and they were giggling their heads off when they saw them. We told Dong (tour guide) that we would send him the images and he would bring them to the family on another one of his bike tours. As we were leaving a elderly lady and her teenaged boy were waiting outside. They had heard that a doctor was in our group and Dr. Blood (Richie Steingart) did a examination of her ear. He thought she had an infection and gave her some Tylenol for the pain but didn’t have antibiotics to dispense. Dong told her to see a doctor and to take the pills to alleviate the pain in her ear.

Bobi Steingart had brought a whole bunch of little yellow finger puppets which she distributed to a bunch of kids in the village. You can’t imagine what a kick they got out of it! More and more kids kept running over and they seemed giddy. It really doesn’t take much to make their day!

Got to the end of the bike ride and into the support van and started generally towards Sa Pa on more local roads. We passed 4 young teenaged xxxx tribe members along the road and they didn’t want us to take any pictures. Later, we saw a whole group of them heading up a trail off the main road. Dong explained that it was “engagement day” that only happens after the New Year (just happened). So, it’s the start of the planting season and the New Year and this is an auspicious time to become engaged. So one of them was heading to become engaged and was supported by all the others. They had incredible garments – Dong says they take up to two years to sew! Of course we snared a few images on the sly. I’ll post when I get form one of the other cameras.

We then happened upon a group of women planting young rice plants in rice paddies. We took quite a few images and passed some more finger puppets to the delight of everyone (us includes).

Finally back to the hotel where we’re ready for some dinner. Another really good day!

Sa Pa fog

Picking up the bikes

H'Mong ahead on the road

Rice paddy terraces

Dong, Gayle and Connie (and a pig)

Water buffalo and vegetable garden

Dong explaining a burial crypt

Entering the festival village

View from our balcony this morning

Same view a minute later!

Yesterday we started in the town of Lao Cai (altitude 1600 meters- 5,249 feet) and drove to Sa Pa (altitude 3142 meters - 10,308 feet). As we approached Sa Pa we went into an intense fog bank that never really lifted. As we biked lower into the valley we eventually left the fog. That valley was essentially the same altitude as Lao Cai. When we got back to Sa Pa at the end of the day we were back in it. When we walked to dinner last night you could barely see the people set up at the market to sell their wares. Water was actually dripping off the tarps over some of the stalls. I just checked the weather and it's still 99% humidity up here.

Today we will drive an hour to Tran Tom Pass (Heavens's Gate) that is very close to the Chinese border. As described "provides great views of the Hoang Lien Valley". Right, as it's even higher than Sa Pa. A 26 kilometer (1.5 hour glide) down hill to Bihn Lu Junction follows. We will visit villages of many hill tribes. After lunch we visit anothe Thai village to explore "The Fairy Cave" before we're transported back to Sa Pa.

I just looked out and saw that the fog had lifted and grabbed the camera. 2 images, within a minute of each other. Fog's back again. I'll post a few images in the fog from yesterday so you can see what it was like biking down to the festival.

2/18 Sapa - Bike trip to H'Mong Long Pang festival

Ready for breakfast pho after we got off train in Lao Cai. Handspun leader Dong standing on the left,

Connie with her new H'Mong friends.

Rice field terraces

Bridge along the trail

Flower people

By the time I got to Woodstock.........

Buy from me, buy from me!

What a face

Walking to the festival

Kitchen in ethnic Thai community. Curing hams above the fire.

View from our hotel balcony The fog parted just long enough to take this image.

We've done some pretty cool things in our travels but today might be the best thing ever!

They pounded on our door on the train at 5:45 and we were in a local restaurant by 6:15 to eat more pho (for breakfast yet). Connie saiys to mention the really good Vietnamese coffee. Kinda like espresso with condensed sweet milk. We met our guide, a Vietnamese guy named Dong who works for Handspan the group organizing our excursions while in Sa Pa. He had a van ready and we had a 1 hour trip to our hotel in Sa Pa.

3 couples were able to check into rooms and we changed into clothes for our bike trip. When we got up to Sa Pa we were blanketed in a thick fog that really never dissapated all day. We got our bikes and started a descent into the Muang Ho valley. The first portion was from Sa Pa on a "regular" concrete road. Then we moved on to what I called "The Rocky Road". Seriously rocky and muddy which disintegrated into the "I can't ride my bike any more" on this road for stages. It was worth the struggles on the bikes! This is the first day of the planting season in ethnic Vietnamese communities. People from several ethnic groups converged to where we were headed for a celebration. It looked like Woodstock! The community we visited was called Ban Ho but there were more people there than you can imagine - all in their individual ethnic garb.

We ate lunch in amongst a swarm of H'Mong women all saying "Buy from me, buy from me". The lunch was served up in a local's house and Dong assisted with the cooking. Dsih after dish kept coming to the table. More than you can imagine and all fantastic. We slipped and slid back to the van where the bikes were loaded into the vans. We stopped and saw a Black H'Momg home to see how they live.

Next, visited a community of ethnic Thai people who settled in Vietnam 500 years ago. Quite the difference in their homes. Much more sophisticated, pretty neat and tidy with modern plumbing and satelite dishes. We downed a shot of rice wine (Happy Water" to toast the new year.

Returned to the hotel after 9 hours of adventure for a much needed, warm shower!!!!!!
Our shoes and waterproof pants are just full of mud. I guess we'll just wear them again tomorrow.

Nice dinner, lots of food and $10 per couple - with a glass of wine.

02/18 Sa Pa

Arrived at Victoria hotel after overnight train trip. In room changing into bike gear for trip down the mountain. More later.......

2/17 Hanoi

Rich and Gayle in their sleeper car

Wating at the train station.

I think they're all playing GO.

Here's the old city wall and gate.

At the Laotian Embassy

Lunch at Bun Bo Nam Bo.

At the Peace Monument

For Mike, just because!

We spent mosy of the day criss-crossing Hanoi trying to do two things at the same time. First, Luis and Chio needed to get their visas for entry into Laos later in the trip. I found the address for the Lao embassy which was only about 1/2 mile from our hotel. We got there and found out that there are two locations and the one where you get the visas was NOT where we were. We raced over to that address and just missed (by 2 minutes) their lunch break! Now we had 2 hours before the embassy reopened.

We started to do the guided Frommer's old town walk. Along that way we ate lunch at Bun Bo Nam Bo - highly recommended (rightfully so). They only serve a single dish, Bun Bo and you put the number of fingers to request that number of bowls. It's a dish of fresh rice noodles, garlic, bean sprouts, peanuts, basil and beef. Delicious!

Now we back-tracked back to the Laotian Embassy and having paid a expidition fee told to come back in 2 hours. We went BACK to try and pick up the rest of the Frommer's guided tour specifically to see "the only remaining gate of the city's once-formidable fortifications". It was ok, but quite the effort was made to see it! We then headed BACK to the embassy and collected the visas.

Back to the hotel, met up with the Redikers and Steingarts (newly back from Halong Bay) had some appitizers and coffee and then a light dinner.

Transferred to the train station for our overnight trip to Sa Pa. I probably won't have access to the internet until tomorrow night. So, here's a few images from another walk in Ha Noi. By the way, while at the train station Rich and Gayle's kids started texting to see if they were all right. Apparently a boat on Halong Bay sank and 15 people died - the same time that our four friends were on THEIR boat on Halong Bay. Pretty sacry, but luckily our friends are safe and sound and with us on the train to Sa Pa.