Snow in Vietnam!!

Ok, so I'm a week or so late, but recently there was a fair covering of snow in Vietnam!  In many places, this was the first snowfall in known history. Unfortunately it has also impacted crops on which much of Vietnam relies. It was particularly heavy in mountainous areas such as SaPa.

Snow in Vietnam!!

I'm pleased to say that since this news article things have warmed up enough for the country and crops to recover.  Temps in Hanoi currently seem to be approaching 10C and climbing each day.  By the end of the month when we arrive, it should be low-to-mid 20's which is perfect for motorcycling.

I also noticed this artlicle on the same website, about an enterprising chap who has started making bicycles out of bamboo!

With just 2.5 weeks to go now until we fly out, I'm starting to get itchy and really just keen to pack and get out there. I've started gathering my kit together, putting things aside that I'll need for the trip and will most likely start packing within the next week or so.

Off road in the Vietnam Mountains

The video below was from a fellow Nam adventurer, Ian James. Ian hails from Wales, as you can no doubt tell from his amusing running commentary on the video :)  I'm not 100% where this was shot but will try and find out.  Shortly after the end of this video, Ian's panniers caught on a rock and unbalanced the bike, leading to him tumbling down the mountainside!  I guess that just reinforces our decision to ditch the panniers this year and go with roll bags or roll-top duffels on the rear seat and rack.  Seems like there are some narrow sections to be navigated through if our planned route includes any terrain like in this video.

I'll let Ian tell the tale from here...

Ha Giang Province - Vietnam

Having set off on an overnight train from Hanoi we made our way to Sapa where we met our guide, Hung. The next 5 days we rode all sorts of wonderful countryside and met amazingly generous and happy locals before riding back to Hanoi.

This video clip shows a flavour of mountain trail that we experienced. Towards the end of the clip we start the decent but unfortunately the thicker canopy meant that the soil had retained a lot of moisture rendering conditions particularly difficult for the big heavy Dommie that was on very road biased tyres.

We spent 3 hours tackling this type of terrain following the end of this clip and ended up, exhausted (mentally as well as physically) and injured. I ride the AMAZING Honda CRF250L, the only bike fitted with sturdy metal framed panniers....which were to become my downfall. A few hundred metres from our overnight homestay and whilst travelling at the rear my inner pannier caught a rock (lack of awareness due to tiredness) and as I stretched out an opposite foot to balance myself I found no resistance. I tumbled down the side of the mountainside rapidly followed by the motorbike. The rest is history as they say.....Vietnamese farmers coming to the rescue, chopping down bamboo and roping the bike up the side along the Bamboo skids. A bust thumb, damaged ankle/leg ligaments, cracked nose meant I got away lightly but the worst thing is that the camera battery had died! Still.....better to have done than not. The bike started first time despite the 40-50ft drop and all that was broken were mirrors. I think the repair bill was about £20!

Counting down to NamBusters III...

After the craziness that was December, we can now start to count down properly to NB3. For me, December included a work trip to Pittsburgh, a family holiday to Lapland, a site move to project manage, oh yes and Christmas with my two lively kids! Pittsburgh was enjoyable, always nice to see a new city and especially when it's decorated for the Christmas holidays.

I liked Pittsburgh, it has a nice vibe and the people were friendly. The food was not generally on a par with what I've experienced in Chicago or NYC but there were highlights, notably an excellent steak that I enjoyed at Morton's Steak House. Probably the best steak I've ever had.

 

Then it was a quick flight back to the UK and off to Lapland the next morning with my family.  It was genuinely an amazing experience and our kids LOVED every minute. We managed to fit in some snowmobiling over a 30km forest route which was huge fun. Those 600cc snowmobiles get a move on nicely too!

So, with all that done we can start counting down to the main event.  NB3 starts in a little over 40 days. I managed to find this nifty little countdown clock on t'internet.  This time round I'm not going to be blogging as we do the trip, it was too time consuming and took me away from the important things (exploring, taking photos & drinking beer). Therefore this time I'll hope to post a few photos up where possible but will do the rest when we get back in the UK.

Nifty countdown clock added below!

Countdown Clock

Nambusters II Part 6 video

Hi folks

I haven't posted an update for a while, not much to update about since most of our arrangements are now made and we're just counting down the days until we head out!  Around 90 days from today but who's counting?

I finally managed to work up a video to cover off the last part of Nambusters II.  The footage was all taken during the last day as we were heading back from Ha Giang to Lau Cai.  Regrettably, the highlight of that day, where we made some new friends at a very remote village and gave them our comedy 'gifts' was not caught on camera - not video camera anyway.  We did get photos and they can be seen under the day 6 write-up.

Even so, we travelled through some quite varied terrain and weather conditions on the last day.  To start off there were quite serious looking clouds and we thought we were heading for a drenching.  Fortunately the clouds slowly gave way to a lovely warm afternoon which was perfect for riding.  We also had to repair the Sufat subframe on a few occasions, getting it welded at least twice during the day.  In the end, we offloaded the luggage strapped to the back onto my bike to lessen the weight on the subframe, and Del fixed it up with cable ties that held nicely.

After some punishing off-road 'roads' we found ourselves on a glorious ribbon of mountain road that went on and on.  I followed Jim for that section and could tell he was properly enjoying it.  No photos or footage because we were too busy having fun.  Eventually we pulled in at Lao Cai and wrapped the trip up there before taking the night train back to Hanoi.

The video below has two parts, the first being the last section of the trip, and following that there's a brief highlights bit from the whole trip.  Enjoy!

Nambusters II Part 5 video

Another instalment to the NBII saga...

This video follows our escapades as we headed out from Dongvan to Ha Giang via various mountain routes.  Half the day was spent off road, traversing a mountain track that took us through many extremely remote villages.  As usual everyone was incredibly friendly, and in most cases kids ran out of their houses to wave us by.

One more video to come after this one...

Nambusters II Part 4 video

Really enjoyed making this video.  In many ways it was the peak of our trip because the Ma Pi Leng pass was the road we're been working up to and looking forward to.  At 5000ft it's one of the highest passes in Vietnam and definitely one of the most dangerous.  Half of the bends are completely blind, the road is narrow, and it's 100% unforgiving.  It's pretty much straight down the fast way if you mess a bend up.

It's also one of the most scenic places we've ever been to.  The views have to be seen to be believed.  Absolutely epic in every way!

Nambusters II Part 3 video

This was shot over the course of a day, starting at Quang Uyen then riding to the Nguom Ngao caves. Then on to Ban Gioc waterfall which sits half in Vietnamese and half Chinese territory. The border runs right down the centre of the river. Finally leaving Ban Gioc and riding to Bao Lac.