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Other entries in Sa Pá

among the hmong

in spliff valley...

rented a mountain bike yesterday - $13 freekin dollars! but it was SO worth it. haven't had an epic day like this since the 6 hour run around fitz roy in argentina (in case you're keeping track, that was a really really long time ago. I'm such a slacker these days).

in total, I spent 8 hours on the bike, half of it mashing on the cummy brakes, the other half in granny gear cause 20km downhill translates into 20km uphill. but who doesn't love a good suffer fest every now and then?

for the money, my bike was actually pretty decent, shifters worked perfectly, noticed I had a front shock when I hit the first ditch (this is gonna hur.....oh look, suspension!), saddle - comfy. only issue was the squishy brakes - especially alarming when thinking about placid water buffalo, that if they DID decide to attack, could actually cause great harm. thankfully, this never happened.

the ride down valley was rice paddies galore. one one hand so green and lush and full of picturesque h'mong farming away. on the other hand a ridiculously sad reminder of man's domination over land and resources, tearing down every tree and manipulating every possible corner of land into a living topo map. needless to say I was conflicted.

lonely planet advised against getting snap-happy with the locals - some cultures think a photo steals their soul. I'm SO against soul-stealing, so ironically, probably saw 500+ native people, complete with incredibly picutresque authentic costumes, rosy cheeks, charming farm implements...but don't have a single photo to prove it. this will just have to get comited to my memory. as for you, well, get yourself here. seriously.

with 5k to go, the pavement ended to be replaced with rocky, gravelly, muddy, irritatingly bouncy track. did I mention it rained in the AM? I was on what was technically a road, but the one moto-bike track carved through goopy clay-y mud turned it into single track. I surprised myself how much I actually dared ride, tho I walked the especially mucky parts. more cause I didn't want a mud dip, than I was afraid of the pain of falling.

about this time, the air changed - noticed the entire valley was blanketed in the sweet smells of mary jane, if I wasn't mistaken (or so I've heard, haven't actually been around the stuff y'know, mum :). kept my eyes out for tell-tale plants, and who knows, maybe for armed guards too?

side note: in the past week, I've been offered pot 4 times, opium once. and this after months of nothing. I must be getting scruffier looking, or keeping stranger company. dunno...

anywhoo, heat started to kick in so I stopped for a fanta break (aka: asian powergel). the soda was annoyingly expensive, but the view was visa-commercial priceless. and the family running the place gave me a free 1/2 ear of steamed corn - bonus! I gave the kids balloons in return - we played a little futball. found out it's pretty easy to bend it like beckham if you're playing with a nice sllllooooow baloon (you should see my headbut - its not bad).

I stoped near the bottom to take more pics of stunning scenery, looked behind me and - yow - there was the first of many pot fields (my nose *wasn't* mistaken). I was in mid-pic when a guy popped out of the bushes. uh-oh, this is where I get interrogated & pushed around and my camera confiscated, right? not even close. he just kept walking - it was as if I wasn't even there....such a strange & wonderful valley...

I finally get to the river (boo, no more downhill) and stop for lunch - rice noodles, chicken and one egg. play with the lady's kids a bit (more balloons), get a tip on a waterfall within walking distance, decide to check it out. I leave my bike with the lady (can I trust her?), she sign-languages that I can pay later (K, at least I can pocket the $1.50 I owe her if the bike is gone), I head uphill towards the falls.

the lower section is nice enough, but not really an epic end point to such a fabulous bike ride...I try another trail heading farther up but after 2 switchbacks, it cuts straight through a huge field of pot. now, I just read 'the beach' so I know what happens to unsuspecting tourists around other peoples fields of pot. I decided I really didn't want to tempt fate (even though I was sure this was just my mind running wild.) besides, it was stupid hot, the trail kept going uphill, and I still had to get back to sapa. I used this as an excuse to put an end to the first half of this epic.

so I headed back down, got back to my bike (it was there!), chugged 1.5l water in one go and started back up. and up and up and up. 

based on the expressions of their faces, the locals clearly thought I was nuts. figured for all the gawking we tourists do, it's only fair I give 'em a reason to gawk back. I got countless offers for "moto-bike ladee?" (I passed on them all). the brutal bit was that parts of the road were 10% grade - sure don't remember that on the downhill (only loads of fun then....).

at one point I got caught peeing on the side of the road as a moto-driver and hmong-costumed woman drove out of no where. at first I stood up in stunned surprise, then realized that was even more revealing, so popped back down into the classic asian squat and just smiled from complete mortification. I couldn't even look at them as they moto'd by....oy.

rest of ride home, I just sweated more and more, but it was so fanTAStic! it felt great to be out that long, especially doing something active, and maybe a little less touristic.

once back, I immediately met up with caterine and frederick - the french-canadians I mentioned earlier - for dinner. I earned my grub so had grilled goose in sesamae/honey sauce, fried veggies, spring rolls and a glorious beer. wasn't a burrito (my usual post-biking craving) but still excellent.

I was dreaming of sleep,  but got back to my guest house to find a few peeps up drinking local beer, and, because I said "heck yeah I want to try it", locally distilled whiskey called apuan (that's how it's prnounced, spelled something like ruou...go figure...). so it was 3 locals, me, a frenchie and a japanese guy. nice time but finally needed to crash. later fell asleep to 'stralia vs italy in the world cup (pretty sure italy won) then woke up around 3:30am with light still on.

today I take another hard sleeper back to hanoi, back into the heat-pit. tomorrow is an overnight bus to vientienne, laos. but I have a sore throat....2 overnights on crummy transport. wonder where this is headed...

anywhoo, hasta luego, viet nam!

and ps -  stay at family guest house in sapa. walk past all the LP-recommended spots and you'll find it. price is right, views are great, staff is superb.

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