day 47 - Na Loc to Quan Hoa

Tuesday, 10 December 2013

We set off at 6.30am from Na Loc after a bit of a broken sleep. The hotel we were staying in doubled as a karaoke venue and it was midnight before the place was quiet. 

Based on another cyclist's blog that we had read, we anticipated a 25km ride to an intersection and roughly another 100km to Mai Chau but, like our map, the information wasn't quite accurate. 

(Early morning riding by the river)

(Large water wheels at work)

(A young woman wearing a traditional conical shaped hat)

(Tiered rice paddies and lush green surroundings)

Shortly after setting off, we met an Australian family - a mother, father and two teenagers - who had arrived in Vietnam last week and were cycling to Laos. The father had three different maps and a GPS unit attached to his bike but explained to us that they had already got lost twice and that they had passed through one large town already that wasn't on any of his maps. As with the man we met on our last morning in Vieng Xai, we were issued with a few more travel warnings about trucks, dust and scenery obscured by haze before we continued on. 

(We passed many large wooden houses built on stilts)

We rode for 50km before we were able to locate ourselves on the map. Thankfully, we continued to find the locals to be willing to provide directions, with one man drawing us a map in the dirt by the side of the road. Turns out dirt is good for some things! 

The children in Vietnam are just as enthusiastic as those we came across in Laos, although here they prefer to say 'hello'. Many of the adults we passed also smiled and said hello, although often it was delivered as though they were answering the phone and didn't know who was on the other end of the line. More of a 'hello?'

(School kids keeping us company)

We have to say a special thanks to Tim and Tina for a tip they gave us. The dogs in Vietnam seem to enjoy chasing us as much as the dogs in Thailand did. Tim and Tina's advice was to slow down altogether and take the fun out of it for the dogs. It worked a treat and our ankles are bite free! 

76km after we set off, we arrived in the town of Quan Hoa. Having not seen any road markers for Mai Chau and not being able to rely on the map, we decided to call it a day and aim for Mai Chau tomorrow. We found a great hotel in the town at a reasonable price and the food has been good and we haven't had to haggle for anything. It's good to get advice and information from fellow travellers but sometimes we just have to see for ourselves and make up our own minds.  

Tomorrow we head to Mai Chau where we'll have a rest day and explore some of the area. 

   

(We've seen a few of these big colourful posters in Quan Hoa)

(These men at our hotel wanted their photo taken with Paul)

(Paul taking good care of the bikes)