Return, Legs

Parts 1 to 3

Dong Van

As I'd been riding steep hills for 4 days, I decided to chill for a day in Dong Van, before embarking on my return legs, to allow my own legs to return to some sort of normality.

The view from my room

Fully mooning again

The Old Town in Dong Van

Tao phớ, a rice ball sweet served with a sugar syrup, peanuts and sesame seeds. It was interesting, not my fave. Rice balls can be a little bland sometimes.

Tribal dancing in the square. For tourists.

Making bánh cuốn, a local specialty. They're basically little rice noodle packages, often made with egg cooked into the gooey rice pasta, and then wrapped around local mushrooms or meats, or left empty, and served with a broth and greens.

I've had it a few times now, this one was particularly good.

Downtown Dong Van

Traditional clobber

I skipped on the horse.

Yes, I found a place to eat that had everything I could ever dream of.

Sweet banana-flavoured bread shaped like a banana. What on earth will they think of next.

Delicious local rice-based sweets, soft and a little spongy

Walnuts for 60c Oz/bag

Salted dried local plums. Vitamin C bombs. I bought loads.

Local designs

Mèo Vạc

It was actually raining when I left town today, but it only lasted for about 10 minutes, even though it'd been raining for hours earlier in the morning.

I was lucky.

But it was super foggy, so a lot of today's views were obscured

Tacky innit

Nice spot for a cottage

Heading over the Ma Pi Leng Pass. Incredible beauty.

Had to be extra careful today. The rain did some damage

Café wall in Meo Vạc

A seriously massive block of tofu

Mường ethnic group, common in the Meo Vạc region

I hung out with Johnny Ray this afternoon and eve, a super interesting guy from Boulder, Colorado, who gave me a fascinating insight into what it's like living in the US at the moment, and how he believes his country is falling apart at the seams, with so much of the population struggling just to make ends meet.

In his view, immigration issues, crime, chronic and entrenched racism, housing unaffordability, soaring food prices, deteriorating infrastructure, and political and corporate corruption and greed are all causing society to break down in the US.

He told me that life is so different there to what it was even 10 years ago, and painted a pretty bleak picture of the future, fully expecting Trump to be elected for a second term at the end of this year.

I can now, for the first time ever, finally understand why people are voting for Trump. He very cleverly blames Biden for the infinite problems facing everyday Americans, and they're so frustrated with their worsening daily grind that some proportion of them will vote for Trump simply because they want change. That proportion was enough to get him in the first time.

JR and I stayed up late, and the interesting conversation wasn't all we shared. Beer and 'appy 'erbs also made their way into the mix. It was so nice to chill and speak English.

Johnny Ray in India. He spent a long time there recently, cruising on his motorbike.

Back to Yen Minh

Today I took a different road back to Yen Minh, a town I visited almost a week ago, on the road from Ha Giang.

The road climbed straight away

And it wasn't a good road at all for the first 20 clicks or so

But the views were still incredible, some of the best on the whole loop so far.

Demolishing an old house.

Hey! Good potential nickname.

It got hazy after lunch, but the views were still the bomb

This is actually terracing, seen from below

I've seen signs for Chicken Rice, Beef Rice, Duck Rice and even Dog Rice. But this is next level.

Recent landslide

I've never eaten a bride's mid. Kissed, yes, and nibbled. But never bitten, chewed and swallowed.

Not yet anyway.

I don't think I'll ever know know what Filming Pigeons are.

It pissed with rain tonight. Wonder how the roads will be tomorrow.

From Whence I Came

So today I cycled back to Quan Ba, but took a different road, off the main loop.

I was so glad I did, there was pretty much no traffic whatsoever on that whole stretch, with just tiny villages and forest the whole way. It was really beautiful.

The local hill tribes around here live quite traditionally, they're probably the most traditional I've seen so far on this trip. In many villages around here, everyone, from young kids right through to the old people, wear their traditional clothing all the time. I haven't really seen that anywhere before. In most other places the younger people wear mainstream Western clothes, and the traditional weaving skills are dying out.

Today started with a long long climb, and ended with another. Every day I've been climbing over 1000m at least, today it was 1200m, over a distance of about 50 clicks. I feel totally used to it now.

As I was riding this morning 3 little village girls ran over and stopped me, and one of them gave me a bunch of flowers. So sweet. That's them on my bike. The flowers, not the kids.

Most of the day I rode through beautiful pine forest, small villages and forests. The views were amazing, as usual.

The back road wasn't the best in some places, but generally ok. The great thing was there was almost no traffic whatsoever.

Thick forest

Fruiting palm

Bamboozled

Eventually I descended, and followed a river for quite some time.

At late lunch I met a bunch of 5 young guys from the Midwest in the US, a region in the northern central part of the country. They all met at college in Minneapolis, and it was super interesting chatting to them about the US. They're riding the Ha Giang loop independently on motorbikes, and are having a great time. As usual, they couldn't believe I've been cycling it.

There was a whole stack of whisky jars in the restaurant, as you see in many eating places here. At first I thought this was snake whisky, but actually there's honeycombs in there. The lady gave me quite a large glass to try (for free, of course), it was really good - strong but smooth. I guess the honey takes the edge off it.

It rained on and off today, but I didn't get too wet. The cool mist has its own beauty.

A sign of things to come. A massive resort in a small Hmong village. That's the end of that place, basically.

My guest house view.

Back To Ha Giang

A met a really nice Singaporean cyclist at breakfast in town, Ming. He's doing a ride through Vietnam for a few weeks. Travelling super light too, just a small bag.

As I rolled outa town locals were burning various important things for their ancestors, to help them in the afterlife.

There was a big big climb at first today, to a pass called Heaven's Gate, but Heaven had clouded over this morning. The view of the fog was stunning.

Eventually I rode into Ha Giang, having finally completed the loop. I gotta say, this region has some of the most incredible scenery I've seen on this whole trip so far, and the experiences I've had connecting with locals has really been amazing.

If you wanna see this place, get here soon, it's changing quickly.

Unfortunately, despite (or should I say, because of) my heroic cycling over the past week, climbing over 7,500m over about 300km, my body hasn't quite shaken off the lurgy it's been fighting. Surprise surprise.

Just for comparison, Mt Everest's elevation is 8850m. Does that sound impressive? (Because that's why I said it). There's obviously no logic whatsoever in comparing the two.

I rode into Ha Giang and died. I had a really shit night, feverish, runny nose, blah blah, even got this infection on my arm, so again I'll need to rest a little before I head towards the next ripsnorting leg of my journey.

Pho Rang

I've been back in completely untouristed small town Vietnam over the last couple of days, quite a change from the loop, with its hordes of young travellers.

There's no tourists here whatsoever. Not even Vietnamese ones. The route I'm taking is a back road to the town of Lao Cai, which sits on the Chinese border, and there's no so-called "tourist attractions" anywhere along the way.

I guess I'll probably get to Lao Cai tomorrow, and will cross into China the next day, insha'Allah.

Revolutionary art in Ha Giang

I'm feeling better, but not 100%. I still have a runny nose, which is annoying when you're cycling, and I'm still not at my full energy levels, unfortunately.

Well, not yet.

High above the Lo (River)

Town square in Viet Quang

Dinner. The white stuff is bitter bamboo shoots. Good when mixed with other stuff, but not so great on its own.

An example of my incredibly structured and methodical language learning technique.

It was super hot and humid today. The fields are looking rather pukka at the moment chaps.

Unfortunately though, crop burn offs are creating some pretty hazy skies. Skies that reach down into everyone's lungs.

Wooden spoondrain

The whole place was plied with the stuff

Large bunches of drying leaves. Not sure what they're used for.

Traditional large wooden house with thatch

A woman made me a salad today. A salad! Well, it was more like a salad soup, as it was swimming in a clear pickley sauce. But it was bloody good, and the last thing I expected around here.

Spring has definitely sprung

There were more high passes today, and the air was completely still, and stinking hot. I sweated like a pig being raped by a British Prime Minister.

No, I didn't make up that unforgettable image. It was on an episode of Black Mirror I once saw, and I couldn't resist mentioning it.

The views were beautiful, of course

Pho Rang is a grubby town. The streets are grubby, the eating places are grubby, my hotel is grubby, my bathroom is very grubby.

But hey, ya get that sometimes.

Dinner on a grubby table.

Under the table

These dusty boxes have been sitting here for years. Note the "Keep In Cool Dry Place" direction - it was about 35 degrees in there.

The lovely lady convinced me to buy these. They were crispy and old sesame crackers. Not bad actually. She gave me a couple of small packs of biscuits for free, which was very kind, except that when I tried them they weren't that recognisable as biscuits anymore, given their age.

Last Leg

It was already hot when I set off today.

The local plywood industry is really big around here.

1000 Ply

Ply on the wall.

Aaargh! Ok ok, I'll try really hard to stop using silly puns.

It's just that they're so easy to make up on the ply.

Although, realistically, I sorta know how my brain works. Even though I might try not to write any more, sometimes it's really hard for me to get self censorship to a ply.

Leafing the district

My destination. Only 60 clicks to go, and it's only 11am.

Drying bark. Not sure what for.

Encouraging drivers to use their horns before entering the village.

These little piggies are going to market

Board meeting.

Shit. That could've been one of my captions for a bunch of ply.

So great to see a bit of lantana out here. I miss it.

I can't believe I only discovered corn milk on my last day in Vietnam. It was delicious! Full of jelly too.

The steam bun, bánh bao, was nice too

A bloody scorcher. Felt just like at home. I miss Oz sometimes.

China's own Southern Border Wall.

Downtown Lao Cai

A delicious dinner, and my last Vietnamese beer for who knows how long.

Durian coconut sweet. Yum.

Good Evening Vietnam

Awwwwww, it's finally become time for me to leave this beautiful country.

I love Vietnam. I've spent 3 and a half months here over the past 10 months, and it really feels familiar now. It feels like home.

It's so amazing to be able to experience that feeling, of knowing a country so well that it just feels normal to be here. I know the language well enough to get what I need, I feel really comfortable connecting with the local people, I know what food and drinks are around, and I know what I like here.

This has been my route over the past 6 weeks.

For most of this part of my trip I've been in the hills, except for Tam Coc and Hanoi. This time I decided not to go to the well touristed Sa Pa region or Halong Bay, as I've visited those places before, and, you know, you can't go everywhere all of the time.

The End Of The Beginning

It's the end of an era.

And the beginning of a new one.

Leaving Vietnam and entering China means I'm officially, after all this time, leaving Southeast Asia.

Of course I know it's not necessary for me to say how much I love this region.

But that doesn't mean I won't.

It's just so bloody relaxed here. People make their own rules, in their own time. There's incredible food, scenery, mountains, beaches, cultures, languages, national parks, cities, and thousands and thousands of villages and nondescript towns all over the shop.

Southeast Asia is a melting pot of nearly 700m people, although, surprisingly, that's only about 9% of the world's population.

And guess what my absolutely most favourite incredibly special thing about Southeast Asia is?

It's those 700m people.

I think I've met nearly all of them now.

I cannot even begin to describe the incredibly warm feeling I have for the people here. They've completely carried me on my journey, always looking out for me, calling and waving to me, giving me things, food and drinks, cooking for me, cleaning for me, fixing my bike, and doing a million other things for me.

Every day.

And so much of the time it's all been for free. Just because they want to help me.

And so many times they'll go the extra yard.

These people have taught me about respect. They're incredibly generous,  hospitable, and so respectful of everyone. And the older you are, the more respect you're afforded. It's really inspiring, and is something for all of us to emulate. Imagine how infinitely beneficial this approach would be for our own societies.

So, to every single person I've met here, I want to express my deepest and most sincere gratitude. Right from the middle of my gushing heart.

And, in the most fitting finale of all time, as I was riding up a steep hill today, in the blazing hot sun, the most incredible thing happened.

You probably won't believe me.

As my legs slowly propelled me up the hillI, I suddenly felt an external force pushing me and my bike from behind.

The force was powerful and real, and made my pedalling so much easier.

But the thing is, there was no one there.

And then I suddenly remembered all those hundreds and hundreds of kids I've passed on the road on my bike on this trip, nearly all of them getting excited as I came past, waving, calling out, running to keep up with me, and squealing with delight.

So many times kids have helped me if I was climbing a hill, by running behind me and physically pushing my bike to make it easier for me. Sometimes there was a posse of them, taking turns. Of course, every time they did it, I felt their help before I knew what they were doing.

They're so incredibly kind, up for a good time, and, of course, they loved every minute of it. As did I.

But today, in the still heat, there were no kids to physically help me up the hills.

So, of course, they just went the extra yard.

And they did it anyway❤️

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