Northern Vietnam & Laos

I made my way North and crossed the 17th parallel. The bridge in the DMZ still shows what used to be the North and the South of Vietnam. 

Bridge at the 17th parallel

I was time to leave the coast of Vietnam and slowly head to Laos. 

I took some time to visit Phong Nha-Ke Bang National Park with these incredible karst mountains. The weather had turned grey with some rain but the landscape is of exact the type, I like a lot. 

Even the caves, which are normaly not my favourites, were quite impressive. 

Paradies cave

By leaving the densely populated coast, the streets became much more quiet. Still here and there was a school with lots of children, just waiting to greet you in a very intensive way. 

Sometimes, I really need to run - to escape these thousand hands ;-)

Into Laos, 5km behind the border, the sun came back. 

in Laos

The budist tempel reappeared (many christian churches in Vietnam). 

Paksan

I made my way to the Mekong river and cycled up to Vientiane. Beside meeting  nice people on the way, this part of Laos is pretty flat, the North with the mountains is supposed to be much nicer.  But I have to save that for the next visit of Laos. 

Vientiane

After a long day on the bicycle

Vietnam - At the Coast

Leaving Hô Chí Minh Town is an adventure of its own. I have Never Seen so many motor scooters in my life. Sometimes, it takes minutes to coss a junction. 

Heavy traffic in Hô Chí Minh Town

I was on my way to Da Lat, a litte town in the mountains that is known for the more cool climate. This meant a some  climbing, but at the Same time a more diverse landscape. 

Route from Hô Chí Minh to Da Lat

Da Lat old train station 

It would be a long day of cycling from Da Lat down to the coast, so I started at 6:30.

The sun sets point six in the evening and the Temperature is high, so I made it the daily routine to start that early. 

Da Lat at sunrise 

The landscape was becoming dominated by rice fields again. Mostly flat, it's an easy terrain for the cyclist. 

Vietnam landscape

Lady working in the rice Field

I went through some busy beach towns. Lots of Russian people here, even the menus in the restaurants are bilingual, in Vietnamese and Russian language. 

I liked more the small and remote villages in between. These were are my main stoping points. 

There are so many weddings in these villages, or maybe they are just so loud, making it easy to recognize them. And not just one time, I was invited to join the party - in my inappropriate clothes - invited to the honorable table...

Klaus the 'hon' guest;-)

in Hoi An

Finally, i made it to Hue, crossing the little mountain range of Da Nang. Now, I am in the North - a little bit colder- a little bit more rain (more than none as of today). 

Citadel of Hue

Hô Chí Minh Town

The ride from Cambodia into Vietnam was easy. I had the visa for the third country clued in my passport back in Frankfurt. So no big deal at the border. 

Just when I reached the capital of Cambodia, my first beer was due. 

Being in the city is a welcomed change from the very little villages, I came through on the way. Lot's of shops that even carry chocolade and a full blown nightlife. 

(these guys where inhailing nitrous oxygene (laughing gas). 

Then there ist the brutal and sad history of the Kmer Rouge. On the Image below is, what used to be the old Phnom Penh prision. Now it is a museum.