Another day at the office today - 130km in around 8 hours total. Not so tough, weather was hot, humid and sunny, but not burning. We were headed towards Lao Cai, via Bac Ha, but there was no information regarding a reputable town or hotel to stop in on the way. We had plotted a route to a small town at a big crossroads called Pho Rang - we had no idea what to expect but hoped for at least one good looking Nha Nghi and a restaurant that did good food. We expected the road to be busy and probably overused as we were on a main route.
It was actually an interesting journey. We saw some interesting things. The road most of the way was sided by drying leaves and thin sheets of wood. Looked like the ply's of plywood, but we were not sure what it was. Loads of it. The leaves could have been a food product but again not sure! We passed through many small villages where the road broke up into unsurfaced ruts and mud due to the local traffic slowing us down, the villages were looked after and had a good feel of country life as opposed to the busy transport road we had expected. The areas still seemed well-to-do as Ha Giang and the day before did, with people sticking to the traditional stilt-house construction seemingly at their cost. Very pleasant areas.
Pho Rang was a nice surprise. We found the hotel entering the town, 200,000d (£6) and the room was clean, small but fine. Good hot shower. The hostess suggested by pointing that we should try the restaurant directly across the street which we did. A real honest Vietnamese place, and friendly as you like. We had a huge plate of veg and egg fried rice each with fried pork spring rolls (with noddles in them - new) and the ubiquitous garlic fried morning glory. With a couple of beers and even a tiny rice wine each it came to another £5. The rice wine was completely clear and was just like a good schnapps. No memories of the bad stuff. Then it was back to the good guesthouse and off to bed!
Route Link
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| Still don't know what these drying leaves were |
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| Good roads |
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| By the people, for the people. |
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| Feelgood messages |
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| First time we saw locals swimming in the river, they were scuba fishing |
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| For the whole journey we saw this wood drying |
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| Traditional stilt house |
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| Little break! |
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| Stil in the Switzerland of N Vietnam |
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| They are still building these houses new, not concrete crap. |
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