South East Asia trip - December 2022 to February 2023

January 10th, 2023 Have bikes, will travel On Jan 9, we woke up early to cycle out of Da Lat to Lao Bam - our first foray in a while back to our “planned” trip now that the air quality is good and the weather is warmer. We started the day with a nice breakfast and then hit the road. The first 8 km out of the city were rainy and the usual levels of stress through traffic and route finding, but the rest of the day comprised 107 km of absolutely sublime riding along the DT725 back road. Coming out of Da Lat we descended along a perfectly paved winding road through the vietnamese jungle, with minimal traffic. We must have had the biggest smiles plastered on our faces. We continued through farmlands and villages until another big descent into a river valley which was fabulous, followed by a big climb out of the river valley which was a serious grind. Our panniers are very heavy considering how few clothes we have - we brought a lot of emergency supplies and bike repair equipment. The humidity meant that even our pit vipers were fogging, which never happens in Canada. But it was still great and we continue to be celebrities. We have had people: ...

January 8th, 2023 Just swinging in the rainwhat a glorious feeling…. We made it to Da Lat around 6am Jan 7 with minimal bike damage and minimal sleep. My front fender is toast, but besides that the bikes are okay. We were dropped off at a gas station which happened to be 100 m from our hostel. The hostel staff are incredibly nice. We just hung out on the couch since we couldn’t check in yet, and got a coffee. They gave us blankets in case we wanted to nap. Then we mustered up the energy to go exploring. Max found a motorcycle route around the lake that looked nice that we thought we could do by bike. We set out and arrived in the countryside of Da Lat - oh my gosh it was so pretty. There were farms of coffee and rice and strawberries, and the lake was beautiful, and there were flowers everywhere. Quite a few steep hills for biking, but we had fun. We went to the zen cafe which was so relaxing and beautiful. They gave us coffee and a delicious breakfast while we soaked in the views and flowers. We continued riding out to a lavender field which didn’t have much lavender, but was very pretty. Then onto the clay tunnels which were the most bizarre thing… they had statues everywhere made of clay that you could wander through, including the COVID-19 park which had viruses everywhere. We laughed and moved on, stopped for another coffee at a cable car place to charge up Max’s phone, then onto Dalanta waterfalls where we got to ride a rollercoaster along the falls. We hiked up to see more odd statues and another waterfall, then continued looping the lake to “Happy Hill” which was a viewpoint the motorbike guy recommended online. It was so much more than a viewpoint - we got hot chocolates and took photos at all the weird bridges and rope ladders, and found a PILE of tiny puppies that were so cute!!!! Overall, this day was pure bliss. ...

January 6th, 2023 Shopping at the marketVeggies for everyone On Jan 5, we got up and had breakfast, then headed to the old town for our cooking class at the morning glory school. We got to start by going on a tour through the market, and trying a few fruits and smelling some spices. It was bonkers busy since it’s the full moon festival tonight. Max was the class keener - answering all of our guide’s questions correctly… it was so embarrassing. ...

December 31st 2022 to January 5th, 2023 We woke up early on Dec 31 to head to the train station, but they wouldn’t take bikes. This woman found us and asked if we needed help, then set us up on a bus that should arrive in 15 min to pick up us and our bikes, and brought us to a coffee shop for coffee and tea. She was so nice, though I am sure she was supporting all her friends haha. ...

Notes from December 30th, 2022 Well, yesterday (Dec 29) was brutal. Phong Nha Caves We woke up crazy early (515am) to get packed and eat breakfast. One of the staff at Garden Moon homestay got up to make us food and check us out - he was so sweet. Then we hit the road by sun up and it was already very busy. We cruised along the QL1A for probably 60 km of the usual horns blaring, smog, etc. But at least we had a relatively wide shoulder. By the time we got to Thanh Hoa, Max wanted to “reassess” because it wasn’t fun. I was feeling super sick. We tried a tourist information place, and they sent us to the train station which had terrible schedule options, and we tried the bus station next. There was a nice lady there but we pretty much got swept up by this greasy guy pretending to get us a deal on a much earlier bus. We went searching through the town to get cash, and by the time we got back to the bus station I was dying. Max was chatting with the bus drivers making a plan, and I started puking in the corner of the parking lot. From there, that became our whole day until 5pm. I would run off and puke in the parking lot every 20-30 min, and Max was brought into the bus driver fold sitting on little stools and being offered cigarettes. I was also getting really cold. People keep telling us the weather is “unseasonably cold and rainy” which is great to hear haha. We basically wear our single pair of pants, long sleeve shirt, puffy and rain jacket every day - the vietnam outfit. ...

Notes from December 28, 2022 Wow! We went on the longest flight I have ever been on. Max and I slept a good amount, and I read some of my book. I love the book - the rose code. Such a page turner. Our bikes were lost, and they couldn’t locate them based on the tags. We had some issues communicating with the lost and found lady. We went to our hotel by taxi. Hanoi is crazy - people load up their motor bikes like cars. There are plants everywhere, including many that I have at home! And the people are so friendly and helpful. There are no lines, no lanes, no problems. Traffic is wild. ...