Boy, that was a long day yesterday and consequently I lay in deep slumber from ten o’clock last night. Our traditional room was on stilts, overlooking the surrounding rice fields and fishponds. The bed, a simple arrangement on the floorboards, was alongside a large open window that channelled a cool dawn breeze over me. I always feel like some kind of explorer when I wake up cocooned in a Mosquito net, I guess it’s just something I don’t use at home and therefore another exotic thing that reminds me I am away. Though the valley was shrouded in mist, the sun peeping over the mountaintop promised a great day for riding, and I was ready to get out there.
Unfortunately, we are going nowhere. Dan has been hit by a bug, and is not looking too good. As someone lucky enough to seldom get ill, I am usually stunningly unsympathetic where caring for the sick is concerned. But Dan & I are a team, for the whole of this adventure, whatever it involves. Moreover, I am aware that with the interesting variety of food we have been throwing down our necks, I could be next at any time.
We agree that he should sleep the morning, and review things at lunchtime. Meanwhile, this gave me the perfect excuse to explore the valley on two wheels, and while I am at it I could track down some drugs in the village (for Dan that is, I gave up on the Easy Rider image).
Evidently, the entire community in the valley exists on land-based work. Following a random dirt track I bumped my way through settlements of only a handful of stilt houses, with idyllic scenes enough to satisfy anyone’s expectation of rural Asia. Scruffy kids running about in the dirt, dogs eyeing the strange looking bike rider, hens leading a mob of newly hatched chicks across the track and folk nearly tripping over themselves at the very sight of me. Further along, a yard where they were making a type of moulded coal brick that I have seen in use throughout the region. The bricks are round and permeated with holes, and seem to be mostly used for cooking over and boiling water. As I passed along a narrow offshoot of the main valley, a gang of men hollered me from a heap of stone they were quarrying by hand.
Isolated from any visible village, I came across a large level area cleared out of the bush. It was the size of, perhaps, six football pitch’s, and completely surrounded by a three-metre wall topped with broken glass. There was no sign of former buildings in the area, and to this day, my mind boggles as to its purpose. Of course, a country with such a troubled recent history brings all kinds of possibilities to my vivid imagination. If anyone has any clue, let me know!
And so it went on, by luck the track I picked followed a large loop and delivered me back to the village. Using Dan’s phrasebook I had to suffer the indignity of telling the shopkeeper that I had diohria, as there was no phrase to use that said “I’m fine, but my American friend is back at the guesthouse with diorehah and needs some medication”. So with a look that seemed to be mostly one of pity, with only a slight smirk, he handed me a bag full with unidentified pills, three different types, and sent me on my way. If I say so myself, I would make a dam fine doctor.
The patient was a little better, and with some gentle nursing, I persuaded him to get on the road. A bite to eat and a handful of pills later, we were agreed we could comfortably cover the 65km to the next town, Moc Chau. Before leaving, we bought various craftworks from our host, a lovely woman who really looked after us. She weaves all her own materials, seen in the images at left, and even her kids pitch in!
You may be wondering at this point, why I am so keen to drag poor Dan off his deathbed and onto his bike. Simply, we do have to keep moving. We have initially rented the bikes for five days, though we can extend if necessary. The trip is doable in that time, but clearly, at our pace we will not. It is now day two, and we have actually only covered a pitiful 135km at this point, partly due to us going steady on our first day, but mostly because we got endlessly distracted along the way. And here’s the thing – from here on, the landscapes are said to get better and better. In order that I can later on turn south and leave the country before my visa expires, I need to watch my dates. Having said that, at this point I am having such a great time that I really do not care what happens.
We had to initially backtrack to get out of this wonderful valley, before rejoining the road west, which abruptly starts to climb higher into the mountain range. The traffic is light enough to relax a little, just the usual bikes, buses and heavily overloaded trucks. Rather than sticking together all the time, we slip into a routine of going at our own pace but keeping a look out for each other. We both often stop at different places for quite different reasons, and usually know vaguely how far behind the other should be. We operate a simple rule that if the second person does not arrive in around half hour, the first will go back, in case of breakdown or accident. This continues, the lead constantly changing between Dan and I, and it works well. Of course, we often pull up at the same vantage points; stop for a drink and to exchange stories.
On a particularly steep and windy section, I had my first real scare today. I was cruising uphill, relaxed and enjoying the view, when two cars and two bikes racing each other hurtled around the corner on my side, directly at me. There was nowhere for me to go, it was a sheer drop to my right. My lack of bike experience shone through, and I pulled on the front break and the clutch at the same time. I am only used to ATV bikes, where the left lever is the rear brake, and one routinely slows by using front and rear together.
Both my and the bike’s weight came down on the front wheel, causing me to wobble and very nearly unceremoniously go over the handlebars and then over the edge. The speedsters, shouting and beeping their horns, swerved onto their own side with seemingly a hair’s breadth to spare. Whether they spoke any English or not, they must have got the essence of my message as I yelled back in passing. I stopped further up the road, at a vantage point where I could wait for Dan to come into view, to be sure he hadn’t run into them.
Time and distance wise, we were doing ok. Having climbed steadily for ages, the scenery improved with each and every turn. The land was mostly native forest, with just small areas cleared for farming and the occasional settlement. A vivid blue sky set all this off beautifully, and with the cooling wind-rush as I motored on, I needed nothing else.
It was not long before we found a track leading to nowhereville, so we did what any self-respecting nosey people would do, and followed it away from the road. A little way down, we came into a Mong minority settlement. The houses were in quite a state, and the people had cold faces. We really did not have a great feel about this, and felt perhaps we were intruding, at the end of the road we turned and, after a short fuel/food stop, headed back onto the road. Not an altogether successful venture into a minority village, but we are learning and don’t want to push our luck. I did raise one laugh though; passing a house with perhaps a dozen women squatting outside, I hit a large rock square on with my front wheel. For the second time in the hour, I very nearly dismounted. I looked up in just enough time to see all the ladies in fits of laughter. I am always pleased to brighten somebody’s day.
It is surprising how long it can take to cover sixty-odd kilometres around here, especially with so many distractions, and darkness was threatening as we approached the small market town of Moc Chau. Despite travelling apart most of the day, we drew together as we entered the town, and as is our new routine in such places, we cruised down the main drag side by side, feeling but probably not looking rather cool.
After a very dodgy dinner, where the food looked as if it was cooked last week, we searched out a garage to conduct a little maintenance on the Minsk’s. They had been running just fine, but both are suffering from electrical gremlins and keep on blowing light bulbs. Driving in the dark with no lights is perfectly normal I should say, but not necessarily the wisest idea.
Dan, having developed an obsession for Karaoke, dragged me to a bar for a few beers. As hard as I tried, I was truly beaten. By eleven o’clock, I was ready to hit the hay. Our routine involves very early starts and long days, and it is very satisfying for the head to hit the pillow and immediately drift into blissful sleep.
Tomorrow, we aim to cover some serious distance and catch up with the schedule. |
