Update April 2018

Countries visited: Vietnam, China

Cycled mileage in April: 1,370.8km
Cycled mileage per country: 898.9km Vietnam, 471.9km China
Total cycled mileage incl. April: 34,852.2km
April mileage not cycled 16.5km (Boat, Walking)

Days per country: 23d - Vietnam, 7d - China
Days cycling: 15d

Technical failures: 2 broken spokes

Link to this month's route

We finished last month in a town called Yen Cat after following the Ho Chi Minh Trail in northern Vietnam for 3 days. From Yen Cat we followed the Trail for another 1.5 days. Vietnam hadn't been our favourite country when we visited the south in January and February 2017. We had decided to give Vietnam another chance this year and to explore the north of the country. For the first days the experience was actually quite pleasant and in particular the traffic wasn't as unbearable as we remembered it from last year. But things wouldn't last for long.

Somewhere in rural Vietnam

Stopping for some coconut water

Following the Ho Chi Minh Trail

Just before we left the Ho Chi Minh Trail

As soon as we left the Ho Chi Minh Highway and started cycling towards the coast things turned sour. Madness was back in full force once we left rural Vietnam and things didn't get any better from there on. There is no reason to go into much detail. Vietnamese traffic causes an instant sense of humour failure for both of us so here is an article of a guy who managed to maintain his sense of humour describing traffic in Vietnam.

Vietnamese traffic

We reached the coast at Ninh Binh, rushed on to Vietnam's third biggest city Haiphong and from there on to Cat Ba island. Traffic-wise the island was a nice break from the worst of Vietnamese traffic but it was so badly overrun by tourists that we couldn't be bothered to stay for more than one night.

Tan Vu - Lach Huyen Bridge from Haiphong to Cat Hai

Ferry from Cat Hai to Cat Ba island

Cycling on Cat Ba island

View from Cat Ba city

We crossed Cat Ba island from south to north - a mere 25 kilometres ride - and took a ferry across the famous Halong bay to the city of the same name.

Crossing Cat Ba island

On the way to the ferry port

Waiting for the ferry to depart

Views of Halong Bay...

...during the ferry ride...

...from Cat Ba to Halong

Crazy traffic was back as soon as we disembarked from the ferry and unsurprisingly Halong was equally overrun by tourists. We had hoped to leave the next morning but the weather forecast suggested a mild storm and we decided to hide out in a hotel.
Initially we had planned to split the ride to Hanoi into two days but once we had set off we quickly realized that there was no such thing like an enjoyable route into Hanoi and so we decided to take the most direct way rather than sticking to narrow but equally busy secondary roads. We reached Hanoi after utterly unpleasant 145 kilometres and checked in to a hostel that had been recommended to us. They had somewhere to store the bikes inside and that was the only thing the hostel had going for it.

Way into Hanoi

But there was a silver lining. British cyclist Alex with whom we had cycled with in Thailand and Laos had arrived one day before us. Same for French touring cyclist Coline whom we had last met in Bangkok and British cyclist Simon whom we had briefly met in Laos. We had a fun night out with good food, good conversations and way too much beer. Bia Hoi ('fresh beer') can be had for as little as 5,000 Vietnamese Dong, about $0.20.
The next day Alex moved in to our hostel as the one he had stayed before wouldn't let him store his bike inside. A bit later Viktoria arrived, the German cyclist we had cycled with in Laos. We had another fun night out. The following days were pretty much spent the same way. The British Simon, Viktoria and Coline left over the course of the the next few days but Alex had to wait equally long as ourselves in Hanoi. He was booked on a flight to Seoul and had arrived in Hanoi way to early while we waited for a new credit card to be sent to Hanoi to replace Simon's expiring card. We all had planned to stay in the same hostel for the remainder of the time but one morning they suddenly decided they would no longer be able to store our bicycles indoors. After some arguments we cancelled our bookings and moved to another hostel a bit further away. The days went by and after a week in Hanoi there was finally hope that the letter with Simon's card would arrive soon. Just before Alex left we celebrated our second anniversary on the road together. Check out our anniversary posts on Facebook or Instagram here and here. One day later we said farewell and were left waiting for that letter while Alex drove off to the airport. 16 days after being sent from Germany the letter arrived and we were more than ready to leave Hanoi.

Our days in Hanoi: Eating...

...and drinking...

...and a bit of sightseeing

Ho Chi Minh Museum

View over Hanoi's West Lake

Playing with the cat in our hostel

We had almost accepted the thought of staying in Hanoi over the weekend but it was a Thursday when the letter arrived and on Friday we got back on the bikes and bashed out a solid 130 kilometres. The ride was stressful as was to be expected given we had to make our way out of Vietnam's capital.

Finally escaping Hanoi!

The next day started off much better as we left the busy highways behind and continued on secondary roads. In return the landscape became increasingly hilly and we felt pretty shattered when we reached lacklustre Pho Rang just before sunset.

Much more pleasant riding on secondary roads

Getting closer to the border town Lao Cai

The next morning the route continued through scenic rural areas and over rolling hills. After two long days on the way from Hanoi we were pleased to reach the border town Lao Cai after only 75 kilometres.

A taste of the mountains on the way to Kunming...

Frontier Area - Our last day in Vietnam

We had planned to cross the border the next morning but when we were ready to go the heat was already unbearable and the weather forecast was for 38°C. We decided to postpone our China plans by one day.
The next morning started with some clouds and so we packed up our stuff. It was only a short ride from the hotel to the border. Getting stamped out on the Vietnamese side took a bit longer than expected. Apparently we were supposed to show the print-out of our e-visas - which the border guards hadn't returned to us when we arrived in Vietnam. After some discussions we were finally allowed to leave the country. We walked our bikes across the bridge to the Chinese checkpoint. In the middle of the bridge we met a Dutch couple on their bikes and had a quick chat.

Vietnamese - Chinese border

Chinese immigration was quick and efficient. We had to answer some superficial question about our itinerary and then we were stamped in. The fact that we were on bicycles didn't cause raised eyebrows. After pushing our bags through the x-ray machine we were allowed to leave. We withdrew some Chinese Yuan in the border town Hekou and then we set off. It was too late to cycle far. We followed the Red River for about 60 kilometres and called it a day when we reached a small town with a hotel.

Cycling along the Red River

The next morning we woke up to the sound of torrential rain. We had planned to cycle into the mountains but were close to give up on that plan when the rain eventually stopped at around 10AM. We set off and for the next three hours or so we kept climbing until we reached the highest point for the day at 1,500 metres elevation. It was an awfully sweaty affair but the road was well maintained, there was hardly any traffic and the views were amazing. We had a delicious lunch near the crest and then followed an undulating road for the rest of the day. By late afternoon we rolled into Mengzi where we stopped at the first hotel we could find.

Up and up

Mountainous Yunnan

First glimpse of Mengzi

Strolling around Mengzi

We were hoping for some more nice landscape the next day but cycled through vast industrial areas instead. After a rather boring ride and some more hills and mountains we reached the historic town of Jianshui. We checked in to a YHA and didn't do much more that evening than treating ourselves to a delicious dinner with Italian pasta.

Industry and houses everywhere

Some more mountains...

...and still some more

Italian dinner in Jianshui

The next day was Simon's 30th birthday and we decided to take a day off from cycling and to explore Jianshui. We strolled around the old town for a bit but weren't overly impressed. There were some historic buildings, including some city gates and temples, but most of the houses seemed to be modern replicas.

'Old Town' of Jianshui

Historic temple

Another temple...

...and some more old town

The next morning again started with rain that wouldn't stop until 11AM. Eventually we set off and cycled back into the mountains once more. It was a mixed bag with both nice nature and vast industrial areas. Thanks to the late start we didn't reach Dajie before 6.30PM. Given the size of the city we were hoping for an abundance of hotels but in fact we had trouble finding any. Eventually we found one that otherwise would have been over budget. It had started to rain once more while we were searching for accommodation and so we decided to stay there anyway.

Another day, another climb

Industrial area

Last uphill for the day

The next day started with blue sky and we set off early. There was one more mountain to be tackled before we would get to Kunming. It was a slog but finally we reached the top at 2,100 metres and from there it was mostly downhill. The last bit of riding was rather unpleasant with a lot of traffic and we felt shattered when we reached out hostel in Kunming.

Marker for the highest pass on the way to Kunming

The next morning we slept in and then tried to figure out our options from Kunming. With a non-extendable 30-day visa we will have to take public transport from Kunming to somewhere closer to the Mongolian border. Stay tuned!