Mu Cang Chai - Tan Uyen : 78.1
After a good whole day's rest at Mu Cang Chai, our troop was on the saddle again. It was a pleasant ride to Tan Uyen. Thankfully, no more fog or mud! We had a view of more terraces and mist-covered mountaintops.
Bike malfunction happened here - a broken chain. This happened four times during this leg. Thank goodness for my trusty bicycle mechanic ;)
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We stopped for lunch in a town somewhere (I forget the name). A group of men from a nearby table, approached us with shot glasses and a pitcher of a clear drink. It was vodka. (It must be noted that it's a norm to take shots with meals in these parts.) They wanted to give us a round. We were not really in the mood for alcohol, but we did not want to offend or be discourteous, so we accepted. This rambunctious group of men (they were obviously mildly smashed) were so delighted with our group, that they offered us another and another round. We tried to decline, but alas, they were very insistent. We must have had about four shots each!
Then finally, they want back to their table, and we resumed with our lunch, amused by the friendly alcoholic welcome. G-third and Levi were the first to finish their meals and stood up to go outside, leaving Pen and me at the table. The group of men, seeing that we were alone, invited us to go to their table. Pen and I courteously declined, shaking our heads no, but smiling. They insisted, and two men actually stood up to get our bowls and bring them to their table. We were left with no choice.
At their table, there were introductions - pointing and broken English style. Pen tried to make conversation by using her Vietnamese language app, but it wasn't very fruitful. There was just a lot of loud laughing, and Vietnamese, mischievous grins and suggestive gestures, which started to make us feel uncomfortable. When it was becoming unbearably awkward, we stood up, smiled through gritted teeth and proceeded to walk to the entrance - with my bowl and chopsticks. I finished my meal there, not daring to go back inside.
We pedaled onward to Tan Uyen after lunch. Tan Uyen is not a very picturesque town, unlike Mu Cang Chai, but we did have a great view of mist-covered mountains from our hostel
Jan 7, Monday
Tan Uyen - Binh Lu : 25.7
The shortest ride of the trip.
We arrived at Binh Lu just in time for late lunch. We found out that it is a new industrial town. Wide roads, no car in sight.
One of the locals became quite fascinated with our multi-geared bikes.
Not a word in common, but somehow they understood each other.
Next : Day 10 Binh Lu - Sa Pa
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