Hard to believe I’m really on the way to Hanoi!
The US Airways jet took off a bit before 10am – so that in 36 hours I’ll arrive (by which time it will be Saturday morning in Vietnam).
My itinerary:
- US Air Boston to Charlotte, arrive noon
- US Air Charlotte to Phoenix (arrive around 5 Phoenix time. This one was a surprise to me – I had no idea the plane stopped in Phoenix)
- Los Angeles, arrive at 6:30 PST
- Thai Air to Bangkok (departs 9:30pm, and arrives 6 am in Thailand)
- Thai Air to Hanoi (Departs 7:30, arrives 9:30 am)
The Economist notes that a big demonstration is planned by supporters of the ousted Prime Minister Thaksin Sinowatra on March 14. Luckily, I’ll be passing through the day before. I remember that the Bangkok airport was closed down for 4 days last year when there were similar protests. The Economist also noted that Vietnam just devalued its currency the dong I’m not used to our family traveling where the dollar has suddenly gotten stronger!
I arrive in Hanoi on Saturday in the midmorning – and I’m hoping I will have had enough hours of sleep over the Pacific to just convert to that time zone (having slept at the end of a 32 or so hour day – better than trying to make the adjustment by having a 14 hour day. I have ambien to help me if need be (and I’m not having any alcohol just in case – I’d hate to have ambien amnesia aboard an airplane. Hanoi looks like the place to do street food – and I’m trying to figure out how to be sure I’m only eating fish and vegetables (and not meat). It’s also the place to see the Ho Chi Minh mausoleum, and my guidebook says that Uncle Ho’s body does a 3 month ‘vacation’ in Russia in the winter, and should be back for my arrival. It sounds like there is not quite the cult of personality for Ho in Vietnam that there is for Mao in China. Each leader would probably be pretty surprised at the direction their countries have taken.
My itinerary once I arrive
Sunday night: Meet the bike tour group, have dinner, and take the overnight train to Lao Cai. Now, I think of Vietnam as a very narrow country – so how could there possibly be a 10-hour overnight train journey from coast to inland? Turns out that the ride is 340 km (under 200 miles) – so the train must be awfully slow. The tour book mentions that the sleeper cars are air-conditioned and cost $300,000 dong. That would have been under $50 before the devaluation – apparently when I take $100 out of the ATM in Vietnam I’ll be a millionaire.
Monday (40km): We’ll be driven to Sapa, at the top of the hill. The mountains are high here (as high as 3000 meters) – and happily our first day of riding will start off downhill. The itinerary says that we might ride back up the hill to the hotel, or we might “transfer back.”
Tuesday (35 km): We’ll be off road part of this day, and “there may be sections on this ride where you’ll have to carry your bike.” This ride will be through forests and a few minority villages
Wednesday (80 km): We leave Sapa and ride the Tram Ton pass – the highest road pass in Vietnam (at 2000m). Altitude sickness is not supposed to be a real risk until 2500 meters, but I have the medicines just in case. We stay at Tam Duong (which is distinguished by a Wikipedia site begging someone to translate the Vietnamese)
Thursday (110km): The itinerary describes this ride as “tough and challenging,” and we do lunch at the summit of a mountain where we are warned to bring a fleece. (It’s the end of summer in Vietnam and Laos – so when I checked last week the temperatures were often in the upper 90s in the day – although one evening they went down to 40. Good news for me is that everything will be expressed in centrigrade, so I won’t even understand what the temperature is) . Spice Road, the tour outfitter, calls most of the hills ‘undulating.’ I’ll find out what that really means. We’ll sleep at Lai Chau
Friday: (100km) We’ll be riding through more undulations where it is “impossible to count the number of hill climbs and descents.” On Google Earth, the area looks much like the Rockies I’m passing over as I write this entry. We end the day with a 2 hour bus ride to Dien Bien Phu – which I think of only as the site of the Viet Minh defeat of the French (1954) which ultimately led to the French withdrawal from (and the American entry into) Vietnam. The guide warns us to wear discrete bike clothes as the villagers find our typical lycra offensive.
Saturday: We rest today in Dien Bien Phu – taking in the war museum and exploring a local market.
Sunday (104km) We cross the Laotian border at Muang Khoua. Sounds like a downhill day with a lot of river views
Monday (96km) We’ll be riding through both jungle and rice paddies – and it sounds like some of the ride will be on dirt paths we’ll share with water buffaloes and villagers. That’s good - no pressure to ride as fast as the others. We stay in Udom Xai – which has a great produce market.
Wednesday (115km) The road is described as undulating once again. We follow the Nam Ou River to Luang Prabang, the terminus of the ride. This is the historic royal capital of Laos – it’s a UNESCO world heritage site, and we’ll see if after the ride we have the energy to climb Phu Si to see the temples there at sunset.
Thursday: No bike riding today – museums and food in the morning and afternoon, and a 4:45 flight on Lao Air back to Hanoi. My wife looked up Lao Air and wasn’t sanguine. I read blog postings and it sounds like the routes using French ATR turboprop planes are considered pretty safe.
So – I’m excited and a bit terrified. The plane is making the descent into LAX -- and I’ve just compared notes with a seatmate traveling to Sydney and decided I’m waiting until 4am EST to take my Ambien. That would be 4pm in Bangkok – so I’m hoping I can sleep well and be ready for a new day on Saturday in Hanoi.
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