We're back in Vietnam and what a different world it is compared to Laos! I know it's not really a fair comparison as Laos is a very poor country of only 7 million people compared to the rapidly developing Vietnam with roughly 90 million people. Nevertheless, in Laos, most children rode their bikes to school, the drivers were in no hurry, the food was pretty boring and practically no one spoke English. In Vietnam, most children ride scooters to school (still some bikes), the drivers go faster and honk incessantly, the food is really good (although sometimes challenging for a vegetarian) and more people speak some English although it can still be challenging to communicate even basic things. The Vietnamese also appear to be much more aggressive, industrious and extroverted compared to the Laotians. All in all, we're happy to be back here as there's just more happening and we find the Vietnamese easier to connect with.
Since my last post, we've returned to the mountains but fortunately the climbs and road gradients were nothing like what we experienced earlier in the trip in Pu Luong scenic reserve or in northern Laos. The road builders up there liked to run the roads straight up every mountain (many Mnong villages are at the top of the mountain) which made for exhausting bike touring! Before returning to Vietnam, we had a couple beautiful days of riding in Laos along SH8 with lots of Karst mountains, lush jungle and tons of small villages. The temperature was getting into the mid 90s so we started getting up at 5:30 and would be on the road by 6:00 so that we could finish riding by 1:00. We made the mistake of staying in a room without AC one night and that won't happen again!
Fortunately that heat wave has passed and we've had much cooler weather the past few days. In fact, we've been down right cold riding in the rain the past couple days - who knew you could freeze your arse off cycle touring in SE Asia? We bought some cheepo rain jackets which have been a life saver as our jackets are not waterproof.
Our last couple days we've been riding on the Ho Chi Minh highway which is tailor made for cycling - beautiful scenery, very little traffic, decent road surface and gradients, etc. We've read that it gets rougher south of here so we're planning to head for the coast and hit some beaches as we make our way down towards the Mekong Delta. We've been surprised to run into so few other bike tourists so far, although we've seen tons of motorcycle tourists especially the past couple days on the HCMH. Tomorrow we are taking a much needed rest day and will be exploring the caves in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
Since my last post, we've returned to the mountains but fortunately the climbs and road gradients were nothing like what we experienced earlier in the trip in Pu Luong scenic reserve or in northern Laos. The road builders up there liked to run the roads straight up every mountain (many Mnong villages are at the top of the mountain) which made for exhausting bike touring! Before returning to Vietnam, we had a couple beautiful days of riding in Laos along SH8 with lots of Karst mountains, lush jungle and tons of small villages. The temperature was getting into the mid 90s so we started getting up at 5:30 and would be on the road by 6:00 so that we could finish riding by 1:00. We made the mistake of staying in a room without AC one night and that won't happen again!
Fortunately that heat wave has passed and we've had much cooler weather the past few days. In fact, we've been down right cold riding in the rain the past couple days - who knew you could freeze your arse off cycle touring in SE Asia? We bought some cheepo rain jackets which have been a life saver as our jackets are not waterproof.
Our last couple days we've been riding on the Ho Chi Minh highway which is tailor made for cycling - beautiful scenery, very little traffic, decent road surface and gradients, etc. We've read that it gets rougher south of here so we're planning to head for the coast and hit some beaches as we make our way down towards the Mekong Delta. We've been surprised to run into so few other bike tourists so far, although we've seen tons of motorcycle tourists especially the past couple days on the HCMH. Tomorrow we are taking a much needed rest day and will be exploring the caves in Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park.
Awesome! Laos sounds chill.
ReplyDelete-Willy