Category: Uncategorized

Elbows in the Road

So it was bound to happen at some point and yes, while on our way to the west coast of Phu Quoc, we came off the bike. 

We were on a sandy track working our way up to the main road and we started to skid. We were probably going slightly too fast. 

We are both fine – just a few bruises and we both left pieces of our elbows in the road… The medical kit came in handy!  

One of Altura back panniers also took a beating but held up well.

We took the next day to relax off the bike and Annie had a nice birthday on the beach.  

Having had a day of sun, sea and sand we’re both ready to move on so today we head to the main town Duong Dang to meet and stay with another cycle tourer Kateryna who is the only person on the island registered on warmshowers.com

Egg Surprise, Wild Camping and a tribute to David Bowie

January 13th 2016

This afternoon we reached Phu Quoc island after our two day, 130km cycle from Long Xuyen. 

It has been a great couple of days and we are settling into a good rhythm, managing more miles in less time. It has been completely flat the whole way which has been perfect for this first week – it’ll be interesting to see how we get on with some slopes, although this might not be for some time.

Our bums are still sore – on the second day we even tried the double shorts tactic.

image

We’ve enjoyed a ‘varied diet’ including liver & kidney. During one lunchtime we enthusiastically pointed at what we thought were harmless eggs but they turned out to be fertilised, semi-formed ducklings… Paddy’s even had feathers, a head and a beak! He was encouraged to have a taste but the response I got back was ‘over my dead body’.

image

Most importantly we saw through our plan to camp on the eve of the second day. Before our trip, we had read a couple of blogs which said camping was difficult or even impossible in Vietnam.

Due to the Delta area being intensley irrigated and farmed, finding a camping spot was a little tricky at first. Finally we passed a small patch of forest next to the road which turned out to be pretty perfect. The only slight irritation were the red fire ants but long socks and our helinox chairs soon sorted us out.

WE ARE SO GLAD WE BROUGHT THE CHAIRS!!!

image

It was good shopping for supplies and cooking our own dinner and breakfast. The Optimus stove has been great.

  
It was way too hot to sleep under the fly sheet but we were still protected from the mozzies without it and enjoyed the added bonus of star gazing before falling asleep. We both had minor irrational panics during the night – convinced we were going to be eaten (!?) or discovered – other than that we slept soundly until dawn. 🙂

  
After camping we set off for Ha Tien and on the way we were passed out by the Tour of Vietnam bike race (that’s not it’s official name but it’ essentially what it is). We got a lot of attention from the race photographers and friendly support crew.

image

Finally we rolled into town around 2pm and enjoyed a few beers and a good night sleep.

We logged onto Wi-Fi for the first time in two days and read the news about David Bowie. Devastated. What an artist. We enjoyed watching videos and interviews of him over our beers.

We’re writing this on the ferry to the paradise island of Phu Coc where we’ll celebrate Annie’s birthday tomorrow.

Rest Day

Today (January 10th 2016) we enjoyed our planned rest day in Long Xuyen, arriving at around 11am after 30 or so km.

We found the ferry crossings easily. They both run regular trips and the first just outside Cao Lahn was free for cyclists.

image

image

Long Xuyen is a large town which always means higher prices but we’ve found a reasonable hotel near the ferry dock which has a parking bay inside where we can leave the tandem.

We spent the afternoon having a long lunch, watching the cargo ships going up and down the river.

image

Annie made a new friend who was obsessed with taking selfies… She showed us how to peel and eat this fruit which is called Bong Sem – it’s good for helping with sleep apparently. You peel the acorn like seeds which are known as Hat Sem.

image

image

image

We have both been struck by how friendly and helpful the people of Vietnam have been so far. With it comes a no nonsense attitude which is great.

Two 70km days ahead which should see us through to Ha Tien.

We were treated to a dragon dance practice session by the river while walking home.

image

Tanh Hoa – 100km on

Well here we are! A hairy ride through HCMC, a few wrong turns, 5 road side wees, 2 huge bowls of Pho and many smiles and waves later we have completed our first day on our tandem.

We made it, even if the German chocolate biscuits that Gina (our warm showers host) gave us for the journey didn’t…

image

We think we did a 100km in total and we’ve stopped overnight at a sleepy town called Tanh Hoa. Our position
10.658degN,106.181W

It seems we are the only foreigners here – one of the joys of arriving by bike – but we are acutely aware we need to improve our basic Vietnamese quickly.

My bum (Annie) is more than feeling the 7 hours in the saddle although Ben’s bikers balm is working it’s magic.

image

Our hotel is basic but clean. We feel the bed spread pretty much sums it up…

image

Paddy is physically in pretty good shape although mentally exhausted from navigating through the road traffic. Dad will be pleased to know that his suggestion to fit a handlebar mirror was a good one and we would encourage other cycle tourers to think about getting one too. The Mekong Delta is heavily populated resulting in quite a lot of traffic and it’s really useful to know if there are large vehicles coming up behind us. The Vietnamese are not aggressive drivers but they do like to overtake wherever possible, we can use the mirror to slow down/speed up so we’re never  near 2 trucks passing each other. We also wished we had bought pollution masks as the roads in HCMC and other towns can be truly nasty.

The bike performed well – we have a slightly warped disk break (a result from the flight) which we have fixed but need to keep an eye on.

Day of Prep

image

We spent most of our first full day exploring HCMC. Neither of us are that enamoured with it as a place and we’re really keen to get going on the bike and explore the countryside of the Mekong Delta.

The War Museum was well worth the visit though and we had a good lunch on a roof top cafe (a recommendation from Gina) – the second beer at lunch was definitely a mistake however… We’re still acclimitising to the humidity, heat and new time zone and the second beer knocked us out for most of the early evening. We stayed up long enough to watch a film (‘The Snapper’) from our hard drive (thanks Johnny!).

We’ve been getting up at 6am as we plan to do the majority of our cycle miles before 12 noon each day. Today will be a day of planning and final prep before we head off tomorrow. Bike set up, navigation, provisions, loading our panniers etc

We will head west towards the coastal town Ha Tien, from where we can get a ferry across to Phu Quoc island.

The bike looks in good shape after the flight and we might take it for a test run later.

image

Settling in Saigon

So, here we are then. We’ve just woken up from our first full nights sleep in the lovely house of Gina and Tony, our warm showers hosts, which includes AC, a pool, en-suite, Yorkshire tea and good company.

 We’ve started in a style that’s unlikely to continue but it is perfect to get over the jetlag and get set up.

 Gina works in the German embassy and has been all over the world – good stories from Addis Abbaba and Afganistan. Tony is a fitness trainer from Sheffield and is a big Conor McGregor fan – fair play. Along with the two kids and their dog Stampy they’ve been really welcoming.

 Our flight was fine except both UK and Vietnamese security cutting open the bike box! Luckily we had lots of spare gaffa tape and cling film. Thanks to Matt for dropping us off with lots of time to spare – it was needed in the end!

Today we’re heading into Ho-Chi-Minh which looks like a metropolis compared to Hanoi.

We might leave tomorrow, or we might stay one more day to plot our route to Cambodia. We’re going to go to an island somewhere along the way we think…,

Visas

Please note that this information was posted in 2016.

The only planning in terms of route we have done before setting off is to look into the visa and border situation for these countries:

Vietnam, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar, China, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Iran, Turkey

We obtained visas for all these countries. 

Yes! That’s right, me a British citizen cycling got a visa for Iran!! If you want more info on this please read this here and then leave a comment and your email and we’ll contact you.  

It’s a good idea to ensure that you have at least 6 months validity on your passport when applying for all visas.

Take a stack of passport photos with you for your visa applications and always keep your departure forms safe. Women need some passport photos with their head (no hair showing) covered for Iran.

If you are quitting your job before leaving its also a really good idea to steal some company headed paper (preferably stamped at the bottom if your company has  an official stamp). Visa applications may need proof of employment so having some company paper to print onto is a good idea. 

If you’re not taking a laptop we would advise mocking up some simple documents such as a basic letter and cv formats which you can edit easily. 

Flying into Vietnam

Visa required before travel.

On 22 June 2015, the Embassy received the formal notification that the Government of Viet Nam decided to exempt visa for British, German, French, Spanish and Italian citizens travelling to Viet Nam (for all purposes) for a period of up to 15 days, and on the basis of meeting all conditions prescribed by Vietnamese laws.

Applying for a loose leaf visa which doesn’t require sending your passports in is possible.

Length of Visa: 30-90 days, single and multi-entry both possible

Extension Possible: 30 days or 90 days depending on the type of visa

Vietnam to Cambodia

Suggested Route Based on Macmillan Cycle Tour

Visa on arrival at border. No prior registration required. Payment must be made in USD (we paid $35). e-visa also possible: www.evisa.gov.kh / help@mfaic.gov.kh

Length of Visa: 30 days

Extension Possible: 30 days extra

Bavet, Kaam Samnor and Phnom Den crossings are open to foreign travellers and issue Cambodian visas.

The other border crossings at Trapeang Phlong, Prek Chak, O Yadaw and Trapeang Srer are reported to be open to foreign travellers and in some cases issue Cambodian visas.

We have also read about a $25 departure tax from Cambodia…

Cambodia to Thailand

You would think that Thailand would be the simplest visa situation but the rules regarding border crossings and visa exemptions make it more complicated for cycle tourers and we have the added complications of needing a multi-entry visa for Thailand.

Thai Tourist Visa Exemption

Passport holders from 41 countries and 1 special administrative region – Hong Kong SAR – are not required to obtain a visa when entering Thailand for tourism purposes and will be permitted to stay in Thailand for a period not exceeding 30 days on each visit.

If such foreigners enter Thailand at immigration checkpoints which border neighbouring countries (overland crossing), they will be allowed to stay for 15 days each time.

Since 20 December 2013, Nationals of (G7) the following countries who enter via a land crossing or enter via an airport will be entitled to a 30 day visa exemption, UK, U.S.A, Canada, Italy, Germany, Japan, France.

Foreigners who enter Thailand under the Tourist Visa Exemption category and would like to leave and re-enter may only stay for a cumulative duration which does not exceed 90 days and is within a 6-month period from the date of first entry.

Foreigners entering Thailand by any means under the Tourist Visa Exemption category are required at the port of entry to have proof of onward travel (confirmed air, train, bus or boat tickets) to leave Thailand within 30 days of the arrival date (otherwise a tourist visa must be obtained).

If we need to stay longer than 15 days we need to apply and pay for a Tourist Visa for Paddy – we won’t have proof of onward travel either – which probably means applying for a Tourist Visa before we reach the border.

Extension Possible: yes for both types but need to be applied for at the Immigration Bureau located in Bangkok. 

Applying for a Thai Tourist Visa

It is possible to apply for tourist visas for Thailand (circa $40 for a 60 day double-entry) in Phnom Penh, Cambodia. This takes 3 days.

Siem Reap looks like it is possible via an agent who has connections with the embassy in PP but would require us to send our passports to PP. Might be safer to do it when cycling through PP.

  • Single entry tourist visa will be valid for 3 months (you must enter Thailand within the validity of visa from the date of issue)
  • Double/triple entry will be valid for 6 months (you must enter Thailand on your final visit before expiry date)

Thailand to Myanmar

Arriving and departing across land is definitely possible.
When travelling over land to Myanmar, you must always obtain your visa beforehand; it is not currently possible to get Myanmar visas at the border and e-visas are not valid for border crossings.

Bangkok visa address:

132, Sathorn Nua Road, BANGKOK 10500

(662) 234-4698, 233-7250, 234-0320,  637-9406

Nearest Train Station – Surasak

  • The Visa Section is now open for applications only from 9:00 AM to 12:00 Noon.
  • Afternoons 3:00 PM to 4:00 PM are only for pickup.
  • Bring your passport, a photocopy of your passport, 2 passport photos and an address of where you will be staying in Myanmar.

Apparently 4 official crossings are now open:

Screen shot 2015-08-20 at 13.00.01

Myanmar to China

Blog on getting to china on bicycles.

Reply on forum re Chinese Visa

Our experience of applying for a Chinese visa in Bangkok.

Our experience of crossing the border between Myanmar and China (Muse) – check out the comments from other cyclists at the bottom too.

Will require bank statement and other proof documents. You apply in in Bangkok via the Embassy and the Bank of China. Takes at least 4 days. Need proof of $100 for each day of your visa.

Central Asia (check out Carvanistan forum pages for latest info)

Kyrgyzstan – free 60 day visa on arrival! 

Tajikistan including GBAO permit – one day $55 in Bishkek – easy!

Uzbekistan – see our blog here re applying in Bishkek 

Turkmenistan – see our blog here re applying in Bishkek and experience with the e-code.