along the way: day 41 - Phoulao to Sam Neua

Wednesday, 4 December 2013

We set off this morning from Phoulao shortly after 7am, wanting to make sure we didn't end up cycling in the dark again. We bought some deep fried yams from a woman cooking over a small fire by the roadside and the owner of the accommodation cooked us an omelette. We then said farewell to Eric and set off.

As we climbed up the mountain ahead, we came through the early morning mist to see blue sky and some spectacular views of the cloud covered valley. It was fresh but the sun gradually warmed us.

(Looking down into the valley on a sunny morning)

(Brightly painted houses)

(Happy little kids giving us a nice big wave)

(A large roadside shop selling all manner of things)

Throughout the day, we passed through many villages. We had come to recognise the towns where Blue Hmong or Striped Hmong people lived based on the colours of some of the homes. The Hmong tribes separate themselves into groups by colours, and while we haven't noticed a distinct difference in their clothing, their homes give an indication of the tribe they belong to. While the people in many of the villages we had passed through before were wearing more conventional clothing such as t-shirts, hooded sweaters and jeans, we were now seeing more women with beautiful headscarves and sarong style skirts. A few of the older men were wearing Russian style hats. We also passed through some villages that seemed more prosperous, with looms outside every other house and men working with timber or farming machinery.

(These women kindly let Nicky photograph them at work)

(If we needed fuel, this would be the place to get it from)

(Unsure why the little one at the front was carrying such a big knife)

(Late afternoon sun on the valley)

(The woman called the children out to say hello to us)

We reached the 55km mark early in the afternoon and stopped for a lunch of sticky rice, broth and boiled chicken at the base of a waterfall. After three bowls of noodle soup the previous day, it was a treat to have something different. With only 37km to go, we decided to push on to Sam Neua. The climbs continued but they weren't terribly steep and we made good time, arriving into Sam Neua shortly after 4pm. We found a guesthouse recommended in the guide book and once cleaned up, we had a good meal. Tomorrow we will rest here for the day.