We got up at a much later time than our alarm was set. That snooze button is so enticing. It's going to be a very hard readjustment when we finish our holiday.
After breakfast we hire 2 mountain bikes and get a map of the local Namtha Valley & prepare to ride a 35km circuit.
We set off just after 9.30am & begin. Initially I'm a bit nervous, especially in town along the main street that all the cars & scooters are on. You know that saying, 'it's like riding a bike' meaning that you never forget how to do it ?
The village was a perfect harmony of the old preserved way of life, as well as being functional & progressive. We saw schools, with lots of boys & girls in uniform, kindergarten's & shops.
A lot of the houses are basic wood, built off the ground. Some of them appear to have electricity & nearly every house has a fire going.
There's animals everywhere! Turkeys, ducks, chickens, geese, cows, pigs, goat's, cats & dogs are some of the species that you will see wandering around or sleeping in the sun.
Tom got a bit nervous around the geese, who were looking very intimidating & honking their displeasure at being awoken.
After breakfast we hire 2 mountain bikes and get a map of the local Namtha Valley & prepare to ride a 35km circuit.
We set off just after 9.30am & begin. Initially I'm a bit nervous, especially in town along the main street that all the cars & scooters are on. You know that saying, 'it's like riding a bike' meaning that you never forget how to do it ?
Well, I didn't forget, but I wasn't good & nearly immediately steered myself into a barrier when the gear's dropped down forcefully. Tom was a natural, of course & looked like he rode a bike every day of his life. The gears violently dropped down a few times of their own accord, even though I wasn't changing gears. It was very annoying. In hindsight, we should have taken the bike back, it would have saved us many hours of frustration & effort.
As we left town behind & the traffic, my bike started to cooperate & I started to relax more & enjoy myself. We made our first turn off from the main sealed road & headed towards a waterfall & a few ethnic villages.
One of these villages was called Nam Dee & is known for it's people called the Lanten. The Luang Namtha Valley has the highest concentration of Lanten villages, Nam Dee is 1 of 5 large villages.
The Lanten have migrated down from China over the centuries & taken part's of their culture, beliefs & writing with them.
Their production of indigo cotton & durable bamboo paper is famous. As we rode through, we saw some freshly made paper drying out in the sun.
The Lanten have migrated down from China over the centuries & taken part's of their culture, beliefs & writing with them.
Their production of indigo cotton & durable bamboo paper is famous. As we rode through, we saw some freshly made paper drying out in the sun.
Riding the bike was getting easier, despite the road getting worse ! Sealed, smooth road was replaced by loose dirt & lots of rocks. There was so many rocks, the vibrations coming through the bike were making my whole body jiggle & it was hurting my flabby arms! I definitely didn't have this problem as a kid.
The village was a perfect harmony of the old preserved way of life, as well as being functional & progressive. We saw schools, with lots of boys & girls in uniform, kindergarten's & shops.
A lot of the houses are basic wood, built off the ground. Some of them appear to have electricity & nearly every house has a fire going.
There's animals everywhere! Turkeys, ducks, chickens, geese, cows, pigs, goat's, cats & dogs are some of the species that you will see wandering around or sleeping in the sun.
Tom got a bit nervous around the geese, who were looking very intimidating & honking their displeasure at being awoken.
We were on our way to see a waterfall, but in our eagerness & excitement, we sped past the signs.
Once past the main Nam Dee village, the road became compacted dirt or mud, making it easy to get some speed up.
The scenery peaked here as well! The dirt roads were a bright red colour, the fields & terraced hills of wheat were various shades of green & yellow, with fringes of bamboo. The sky was an extraordinary shade of blue with the occasional cloud. Just as we got here, the sun really came out & made the colours of the land radiate.
The scenery peaked here as well! The dirt roads were a bright red colour, the fields & terraced hills of wheat were various shades of green & yellow, with fringes of bamboo. The sky was an extraordinary shade of blue with the occasional cloud. Just as we got here, the sun really came out & made the colours of the land radiate.
We rode our bikes for a few kilometres, even crossing a river & several muddy sections. I was sure I would stack the bike going through 1 particularly large, sticky puddle. I felt the tyres slip & by some miracle didn't fall off! Tom couldn't stop laughing & I shrieked like a banshee while riding through the mud & then cackled like a witch once safely through on the other side.
Thank God Tom wasn't recording!
When we got to a maple tree plantation, we felt like we had gone too far & checked Google maps, which confirmed we had gone way too far!
We turned around & successfully located the entrance to the trail for the waterfall. It required an entrance fee & a hike. We decided to skip it, we'd looked up photos of it & decided it wasn't worth the money.
We rode back through the village & onto the main road for a few kilometres, where my bike once again started to play up. Tom took over riding my bike & attempted to fix the problems with the gears dropping down.
The last 4 km's of the circuit, I swapped bikes with Tom to give his legs a break. It was with tremendous relief that we finally made it back to town.
Once on the main street, we walked the bikes back to the shop & the dodgy bike was now locking up for seconds at a time & dragging the rear wheel. Impossible to ride!
We took the bikes straight back & were obviously angry at the dodgy bike. The owners didn't understand English but Tom pointed at the problem areas & demonstrated the rear wheel locking up instead of spinning.
We rode back through the village & onto the main road for a few kilometres, where my bike once again started to play up. Tom took over riding my bike & attempted to fix the problems with the gears dropping down.
There is now also a problem with the rear brake causing resistance on the rear tyre & stopping you from gaining momentum. Even going down hill, it seems to stick & you feel yourself slowing & unless you peddle, the bike would stop.
Tom continued to battle with the bike for the majority of the day as we rode along the main roads, completing the circuit. We didn't detour any further to sight see & as the midday sun came out, the problems with the bike only got worse & we wished we were back in town.
The last 4 km's of the circuit, I swapped bikes with Tom to give his legs a break. It was with tremendous relief that we finally made it back to town.
Once on the main street, we walked the bikes back to the shop & the dodgy bike was now locking up for seconds at a time & dragging the rear wheel. Impossible to ride!
We took the bikes straight back & were obviously angry at the dodgy bike. The owners didn't understand English but Tom pointed at the problem areas & demonstrated the rear wheel locking up instead of spinning.
After this it was time for food & more water!
We had each drunk more than 2 litres of water but felt like dehydrated prunes. Despite the SPF 30, that I applied to my arms & back this morning, I was obviously burnt. Even my face which had SPF 50 on it, also looked quite red. Tom had also applied sunscreen this morning & was now rocking a dark brown colour. He hardly ever burns.
We shared 3 bowls of food & drank more water, before stiffly walking back to our accommodation.
Once there, we cranked the A/C, showered, applied moisturiser, continued drinking water with an electrolyte supplement & tried to stretch out our legs. The basic circuit was meant to be 35km's, but I'm sure we did more like 40km's.
Apart from the dodgy bike, which definitely made it difficult & frustrating, we had a great day sight seeing, exercising & in general just being outside! The rest off the day went by in blissful relaxation.
-Alli
We shared 3 bowls of food & drank more water, before stiffly walking back to our accommodation.
Once there, we cranked the A/C, showered, applied moisturiser, continued drinking water with an electrolyte supplement & tried to stretch out our legs. The basic circuit was meant to be 35km's, but I'm sure we did more like 40km's.
Apart from the dodgy bike, which definitely made it difficult & frustrating, we had a great day sight seeing, exercising & in general just being outside! The rest off the day went by in blissful relaxation.
-Alli
Today's sun exposure is going to leave me with the most unfortunate tan lines...
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