I'm in the mountains (9-10/2/14)

OK, I've got two days to catch up on.

So yesterday I set my alarm to get up early to get on the road as close to 6 as poss and woke up early anyway as per usual. Checked the time and thought the alarm would go off soon so got up. Got everything ready, my kit on and bags packed. Checked my phone. 4.57. What? Checked my watch. That said the same. Oh shit I'm up an hour early. How the hell did that happen? So back to bed I went, boots and all. Finally got up at 6, got the bike out the storage garage I put it in last night, loaded it up and got on my way. It's raining. And dark. I'd set my route on google maps just to make sure I didn't go wrong because the maps here aren't great and then I stopped every so often to check my position. Getting out the city was the hardest bit because of the rain and road spray. It was a case of head down and just get on with it. Most of the roads were pretty good condition except the odd badly levelled rough patch or lack of repair entirely. I stopped for a bit at 10 to get some food at a small food place just off the motorway and am guessing they don't get many outside visitors as they seemed to find it quite interesting. Doing the hand to mouth as if feeding myself gesture didn't yield many results. So I pointed at the pots cooking and then at myself and ended up with food. Good enough. Not sure what. Didn't ask. At least it wasn't an unborn chick which I've seen being served! Back on my way, it's stopped raining, two miles down the road and a rattling noise appeared. The bolt had come out what I think was the torque arm to the rear wheel. I should know what it was but don't. And it was dragging on the ground. Found a place to get a bolt fitted and paid them the 30p they asked for. It could have been worse as breakdowns go. After that it was just a case of getting to Ba Be national park. Checked my google maps at junctions and went where it said. Unfortunately it took me the shortest route and I ended up on a dirt track. It added an extra hour to my journey and tested the hell out of the suspension of the bike but I got to see the back quarters of Vietnam and all the kids stopped, stared and then shouted hello and waved grinning. It was quite nice really. I used my action cam too and people kept waving at it, even on the roads. Got back on route, tarmac route, and got to the homestay that I'd been recommended. Instead of a quiet house by a lake I was confronted with thousands of people and tents and marquees by the lake. The place was buzzing with activity. A lot of people saw me and said hello and again found it entertaining to see a foreigner. They were still celebrating new year and the homestay was full. I'd just got chatting to 3 Aussie girls and we were saying how nice it was to find someone else who could talk English. So the owner rang a place in the next village and found me a room. Got down there and found the place and they told me they had no room and no one anywhere spoke English. Luckily the place next door did have room and so after about a 20 minute conversation I found out the price and put my bags in. I decided to ride back to the previous homestay, as the owner there spoke reasonable English, to ask him to help me organise some trips. Apparently though they were also fully booked and he was the main organiser. He told me some places I could visit myself the next morning and so my trip there was cut short by a day. I stayed a bit longer to chat to the Aussie's while I still could before heading back. Got back in time for a shower and dinner, mostly in silence, but it was very very tasty. I did get some home made alcohol though. I'm not sure what it was but it tasted good. Had an early night and contemplated the day. I think this was one of the hard ones. I've realised that I like to be able to talk to people, and I suppose I take it a little for granted. When that option is taken away it gets a little lonely, and frustrating. Fell asleep in minutes and woke at 7. Except for the half 3, and hourly after, wake up call from the cockerels that were around it was a pretty good nights sleep for a change. Had breakfast on the veranda whilst overlooking the river and mountains which I certainly couldn't complain about except it was pretty cold but the hot pancakes helped with that! I then went to see a waterfall and a massive long cave in the area. I was the only person at both. The cave was a 200ft climb up steps to the entrance which I appeared at breathless. Descending into the cave on my own was eerily silent and very dark but I had my headtorch and continued. It took about 20 minutes to reach the end and then I turned and came back out. They've got stalagmites about 4 metres tall and only about 6 inches across. THAT I've never seen before and was quite amazing. They have a white statue in there too which caught me by surprise when it glowed  slightly in the distance from the light of my headtorch. The waterfall was good but not spectacular. Still worth a visit though. I rode back to the homestay afterwards to get my things and headed off towards Cao Bang some 140 km away.

Started about half twelve and stopped for lunch after about an hour, again at a small food place. It was cold today and my hands were freezing so needed to warm up too. Got a similar reaction as before but the people there were more interested in my trip and looking at the map. The little girl was very friendly and fascinated with me. It was difficult to order food as there are no menus at these places. It seems Hanoi has been the only place with menus so far. I managed to ask for chicken noodles with the use of one of the people's smart phones and as usual it was very tasty. Back on the road I stopped to buy a scarf at a shop which only had two. One bright yellow one with red hearts on and another with fetching shades of pink and black. Pink it was then. BTW Jade I've got a present for you now lol. I noticed the roads climbing in altitude and the temperature dropping but the scenery getting better. As it turns out the roads got better too. A hell of a lot better. Every corner up the mountain one side and down the other was a mix of sweeping bends, chicanes and hairpins. My bikes not exactly a racing one but it coped admirably with every one. I was overtaking mopeds uphill, downhill, on corners, on the straights. It was awesome. I even did a couple of cars. My hands were numb, my body frozen. I'd say it was like riding in the lake district in autumn/winter. But it didn't matter. I completely forgot about all of that. This wasn't a quick 15 minute thrill. The corners went on like this for nearly 100 km. Up mountains, down mountains, through towns, past villages, pigs, dogs, trucks, on and on for so long. It blew my mind. I couldn't believe how the bike handled. The only issue was the wobbling front wheel as it caught in the indents in the road and there were some potholes and rough ground as usual but I got used to spotting them early and avoiding them. I had to put my action cam on just to get some evidence to show other people. I hope it recorded OK. But these roads were all out amazing and the scenery to match. I couldn't stop smiling. Got to town in definitely a new record. Looked up a hotel on my phone, found it and checked in. Hit the shower still needing the warmth and headed out for food. Still had trouble ordering but between us we managed to agree to a meal. Back to the hotel, movie, blog update and bed.

Not many funny stories this time but I hope the photos make up for it. I've had a complaint that the where's Rolly photos from two blogs ago that no one guessed at were too hard so Jade and Mike one of them is just for you two lol. Enjoy.