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Our journey path (as featured
in Treks in a Wild World)
The treks journey starts with a flight to Hanoi from
where we ride north towards China for a trek into the mountains
and a boat ride along the beautiful lakes of Ba Be National
park in time for the Spring Festival.
Spring festival
Highlights of the festival include:
· Boat race on lake
· Wrestling matches
· Bull fighting
· Cow racing
· Singing and dancing
· Can throwing to find partners
· Goat chasing
· Sampling duck embryo soup: definitely an acquired
taste!
This festival is celebrated by the Tay, Dao, Hmong and
Nung ethnic groups. The Tay are Vietnam's largest
minority with an estimated population of 1.2million. The Dao
wear highly distinctive clothing and the women often shave
their eyebrows and hair and wear a giant turban. All groups
migrated to the highlands of Vietnam from China.
The Spring festival is a big event in their calendar and is
celebrated by 15 - 20, 000 people, many of which have walked
for days from other tribal areas to attend.
Travelling tips for cyclists
· Before you head off into the unknown if you want
to have an easy ride make sure you are prepared. Public transport
in Vietnam is patchy and unreliable so if you want to get
out of the vice like grip of government tour operators and
have a real adventure then it's best to get your own wheels.
And in Vietnam, two wheels are better than one. You can purchase
your own set of wheels for $10 a day.
· Be wary of scams in which you are given a key for
your padlock, and the rental company has a spare. They then
follow you and steal the bike, which you are then liable to
pay for.
· Bring your own helmet or else your holiday
in Vietnam could come with a free lobotomy. Goggles and a
working horn are also a must. (It is illegal to be without
the latter in Vietnam).
· Make sure the agreement you sign is in English and
that you rent from a reputable dealer.
· Check the bike over properly before you ride it.
· Get some practice before you arrive on your trip:
Vietnam is not the place to learn how to ride a motorbike.
· Carry spare fuel unless the idea of sleeping
by the side of the road appeals to you.
· Always carry a comprehensive tool kit with plenty
of spares and a pump in case of punctures.
· Do not ride at night - most Vietnamese do not know
how to use their headlights
· There are no ambulances in Vietnam.
· If you are planning to bike in the north the best
months are September to May. During the monsoon roads and
bridges are washed out making travel impossible.
· Take extra caution when turning corners: you never
know what may be around them!
Ba Be National Park
Did you know?
· Ba Be National park covers 50,000 hectares of limestone
tropical forest. The centre piece is the largest natural lake
in Vietnam : 5 miles long and up to 100 ft deep.
· Puong cave in the park is 1000 ft long and
has a river running all the way through it. It is a prime
example of the fantastic limestone Karst formations
that are a special feature of this area of Vietnam.
· There are several cave-dwelling communities found
in the Northern hills area. |
