6/6/25
We were starting to realise why the dogs were scared of us here. They were basically farm animals. We constantly saw them being kicked around. Then they’d be roasted, and eaten. Dog meat was sold everywhere.
We went about 5km to Đền Mẫu Đông Cuông, a locally important temple that graced the bank of the Red River. It wasn’t really a tourist attraction. They gift extremely expensive bottles of alcohol as a tribute. It almost looks like they’re shrines to alcohol. They were bringing in feasts and all sorts.
The valley wasn’t as dramatic as we were hoping, but the landscape became beautiful. We decided to stay on the opposite side of the river to the CT05 expressway for as far as we could. It was only mildly hillier.
We were back in very rural territory again. We actually saw some mildly terraced rice paddies. The lumber industry dominated though. Much of the hills were plantations. On the plus side everyone wanted to say hello to us again. We were popular once more.
Perhaps it was a mistake to take on this side of the river. There were several steep, unforgiving climbs and we weren’t used to them at all. We hopped off and walked our bike up half of them, sweat dripping down our faces. Once we’d conquered the bulk of the hills we stopped for an orange juice with an added teaspoon of salt. It was the ultimate rehydration cure for us.
For some reason the air became saturated with the smell of really processed cheese. Dairylee or something. The road was shoddy in some places. Usually at the bottom of the hills, completely destroying our gathered momentum.
It rained intermittently so we took shelter when necessary, and ate lychees. The massive timber industry continued. They seemed to be making some kind of very thin wood. It must get processed again. It was as though they’d unfurled their trunks. We were seeing many beautiful big butterflies again, small ones too. Once the rain stopped the Sun was mighty. It was apparently quite localised rain. The next part of the road was completely dry again.
We passed a woman chasing her own chickens. As she used her long stick to try and hit them it was hard not to notice that she looked like a chicken. Jonathan laughed at the situation. She laughed as well.
We ended up on a narrow road. It was barely a road, probably more like a train access track. It was still frequented by mopeds. It was easy enough for us to get through. The only other way round was a huge detour into the mountains. It was slow going. Chopped up flints were hard to make any good pace over. Afterwards we travelled through a village before rejoining the proper road. It was beautiful but extremely hot. Somehow it got to 40C. We don’t know what happened to make it rise 10C in such a short distance.
We had to stop for cold water and pulled up a chair in a little shop. We ate some taro covered coconut rice things and drank some sugar cane juice. We accidentally bought a full 2 litre bottle. We only had half of it and we left the other half there. It didn’t cost a lot and we weren’t about to carry it.
We’d been waiting to see the passenger train all day. The tracks had been next to us the whole way. When the train came, we were going through some kind of timber based industrial zone. The whole road had been taken over by it. Our view was only a swift glimpse of a couple of carriages. Of course we heard the horn too.
The road improved as we approached Bảo Hà, apart from one section that had clearly been subjected to some kind of landslide or sinkhole. The last 5 km was smooth going. There was something in the cane juice. Frankie was going a million miles an hour. One of those rare occasions where she sped off without Jonathan.
The town had a plentiful market and Frankie went and gathered our dinner while Jonathan sat in the shade. The same selection of vegetables and tofu as usual. We crossed the bridge over the brown coloured river. A young boy, who was walking over, ‘offered’ Jonathan a tiny birds nest. With two chicks inside. They looked dead. He was grinning ear to ear.
There were three hotels next to each other. As we deliberated the owner of our top choice beckoned us in. She opened the glass doors and gestured the bikes inside. She’d seen our type before. It was actually a clean room for a change. It wasn’t long before we were relishing the artificially cool air again. We tried to prepare a little more for China. Maps, translating apps and VPNs.
Surly They Won't Make It 