Riding through the remote north.

Leaving in the clouds

I have left SaPa…. And it’s about time too as I was going quite mad.  Oh, I liked the place but with so much else of the country to discover the fact that I was stuck there for over a week was really eating me.  I was meant to leave Friday… but the weather forecast was gloomy (as it turned out it was one of the nicest days spent in Sapa) so I didn’t go.  Saturday I was packed with a full tank of fuel in Oscar… but I woke to heavy rain.  This morning?  SaPa was in the clouds and things for the time being were dry.  I was on my noble steed by 7:30 with the plan to make Muong Lay by mid-afternoon, a 5 ½ hour ride.  I set off into the clouds with high hopes.… an hour later and the heavens opened on the roughest patch of the Tram Ton pass.  Roads turned into rivers and what was once dry dirt was now half a foot deep mud.  The bike stalled crossing a stream that was gushing across the road.  I got off the bike with the water halfway up my knee I pushed Oscar through and thankfully he started up first go.  I pressed on.

I didn’t pull over to take photos of the muddy roads.  I was eager to keep going and get on to something dry. Eventually the rain subsided and as the kilometres passed the road began to dry.  I passed so many towns that weren’t on the map.  I don’t know what’s going on there.  Either the maps only recognize large towns or they all sprang up over night.  Infact, some of those towns weren’t that small at all!    

As I approached Muong Lay I hit a snag. There had been a landslide the week prior and the road I was meant to ride on had slid down the mountain and into the river that runs parallel below.  I back tracked and found some small boats that were ferrying passengers (off buses) up the river and to what I assumed to be the other side of the landslide.  I negotiated a fee and for $7 Oscar was lifted up onto a small dinghy and we floated down the river to the designated drop off, then Oscar was lifted off the dinghy, ridden up the hill and then lifted (thanks to 5 Viet chaps) over the guardrail.

For mum.



I should note the comically large backpack is a result of a buying frenzy in Sapa followed by boxing it all up to post home... and then missing the post office.



After 7 hours  I reached Muong Lay*  ...and clearly they don’t care too much for the place.  The roads weren’t sealed and like a lot of roads I’d already ridden through they were streets of mud.  I’m not talking about big puddles with some dry patches mind.  I’m talking about half a foot deep across the entire street.  Footpath to footpath.  It was nearly comical watching all the bikes and cars slip and slide down those streets.  I decided not to stay there and instead ride on to the Laos border point Dien Bien Phu.  I mean, it’s only 3 hours right?   

The roads improved remarkably after Muong Lay with only a short stint of roadworks that claimed the poor scooter in front of me that slipped on to it side and sent its two ‘occupants’ into the mud.  Despite the rear tyre on Oscar looking a bit bald we got through upright despite slipping and sliding for the whole duration.  It’s sounds fun… but it’s more fun in a car.

Chasing the last of the sunlight I came into the valley where Dien Bien Phu City resides at around 6pm.  At 6:30 I had navigated into town and found some accommodation.  Close to 4 hours on the dot.



Coming into Dien Bien Phu



I just got back from a street stall downstairs… Pho Ga (chicken soup) with the oddest cuts of chicken I’ve ever seen.  I need to increase my vocabulary so I can ask for more than soup.

Todays tally.

Dogs narrowly avoided: 12

Horses narrowly avoided: 1 (since when is a road a suitable place to send your horse for feeding? !)

Dogs seen procreating: 4 (two to tango)

Buffalo’s ridden around at speed: 32

Goats narrowly avoided: 2

Buses narrowly avoided: 1

Live Cobra’s seen slithering across the road: 1 (slowed down for a better look and it raised its head and flattened it’s neck.  Eek!)

Presumed average daily speed: 40 kp/h

Top speed: 85 kp/h (VERY briefly)

Times that I nearly wet my pants at a close call: 2 (excluding the cobra)

Un-named villages past: lost count!

Kids seen playing half naked on the dusty roadside: Too many. 

In some regard I considered Vietnam to be a rather developed country but the poor… really are poor.  This isn’t Kansas anymore and it makes you appreciate the benefits of a rich western homeland.

*This town is due to be flooded (dam project) in 2012