Well it’s been a long time without a blog update so I though
I would do a short written one before I enter the dragon of China and do not
have access to this website.
Since leaving Thailand a lot has happened as Mike and I cycled
across Cambodia, Laos and Vietnam to Hanoi. Mikes blog is here and he has
already detailed some of what has happened so take a look.
To summarise; we got food poisoning in Cambodia which slowed
us down for a while. I knocked over a pot of boiling dumplings with my bike and
had to make a swift exit after negotiating a payment settlement. We experienced
Laos New Year which was crazy. Everyone was in very good spirits, having water
fights and giving us free beer. We rode into the night on one occasion (which
was great) as we wanted to make big distance that day and thought the further
town might have a better hotel, which it didn't.
We rode from Laos into Vietnam
across the number 12 road which was one of the best rides in South East Asia,
had a bit of trouble getting into Vietnam as Mikes visa had sustained water
damage in Laos ... but after extended checking and phoning the guy let us
through.
The contrast from one country to the other as we cycled over
a mountain range into ‘nam was incredible. The sound of the birds and insects
in Vietnam was straight out of a ‘nam film (bar the chopper) and we were
cycling through swarms of flies. It was just hilly jungle and getting late. We
were thinking of pitching the tent somewhere before it got dark just after
seeing a big black snake slither down the road, when we saw what we thought
might be a guest house so went to investigate. As it turned out it was a small
primary school. We got invited in by the totally non English speaking teachers
who shared a meal, gave us shots of their home made rice spirit lost at chess
to me, let us use the bucket for a wash and then let us stay in the class room
under the watchful eye of a Ho Chi Minh portrait. We got up early and then
cycled of to the bemusement of the local arriving school children. The people
of Vietnam were intrigued by my height which meant that we got a lot of
attention. We didn't actually see any other white people until we got to Hanoi.
I intend to do the usual video blogs for this section of the trip but will have
to do them at another time. So a few should appear once I exit the dragon.
Things did take a slight turn for the worse though as Mike
gashed his leg on his pedal when cycling on a really rough road. This then got
infected as we rode into Hanoi in really bad weather on really bad roads and
covered in filth. Things then got really worse as his leg swelled up to the
size of an elephants and he was sick from the antibiotics (a common side effect
with this particular type) meaning he had to go into hospital for a few days to
have them delivered by an IV drip. Thankfully it seems he is on the mend though
and will be heading back to KL and then Canada in the next few weeks.
I really enjoyed Hanoi and Vietnam and will miss it, but it
is time to move on. I am near the border with China and should cross in the
next few days. I have been cycling up to the border with Darren a great guy
(and another Canadian) who is then heading to Sapa and then into Laos. He has
just come the way I am heading so has been a great source of info. You can find
his blog here. It’s been great riding with the Canadians and will be back on my
own in the next few days which makes it seem like the start of a totally new
trip.
My route is to be
China (got the visa OK but have to extend it half way across or ride very long each day), Kyrgyzstan (No visa
needed), Uzbekistan (paid an agency for an LOI so can obtain a visa on the spot
in Bishkek), Turkmenistan (will have to get the transit visa in Tashkent), Iran
(visa application code applied for, which if I get I can apply for a visa in
Bishkek), turkey (no visa needed) and then into Europe. Total distance will be
about 15,000 km to give a total of 27,000 km for the whole trip and home
sometime in September.
It’s going to be epic!
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