Getting back to reality meant pedaling back up the steep roads towards Sa Pa.

One thing we’ve come to terms with in northwest Vietnam is riding steep roads. For all the elevation lost to Nam Cang, it would all be gained back on the return trip. Luckily, we booked accommodation about 6 kilometers from town which saved us a few hundred feet of pedal mashing.

After arriving at age EconPalms House (and the bungalow with a view), we settled in and looked forward to a few days of exploring the sights, sounds and smells closer to Sa Pa.

On Day 1 we rode a somewhat easy (only 2,900 feet up climbing) loop to Hau Thao village. It was a cool and misty day, perfect for pedaling and capturing moody pictures of interesting places.

On Day 2 we ventured further afield with a goal of getting to the top of Tram Ton Pass. This had been on the radar of our original plan and we thought it would be some consolation to get there despite the change in our bikepacking route.

On the outbound leg we stopped in Sa Pa to stock up on snacks. Not surprisingly, we were intercepted by a small group of Black H’Mong women selling things. These groups are even more common in Sa Pa than around the countryside – they sell everything from hotels to treks to textiles. In Ban Den, I bought some bracelets and a scarf. This time around, Chris and I decided to forgo the buying and banter a bit. Their questions were answered by our questions which was not exactly the direction the women wanted to go with the conversation. We even offered them a round of our snacks (hoping to throw them off guard a bit) and kept firing questions. Eventually, the conversation turned back in their intended direction – buying their things. We promised to find them on our way back through town. I even had to pinky swear with each one of them to seal the deal. Satisfied, they released us from their tractor beam and off we went to the pass.

No surprise, the climb Tram Ton was long, slow and winding. But we made it to the top, looked into the deep valley to the west and pondered what might have been if we had stayed with the original plan.

On the return trip, I tricked Chris into a quick photo shoot on 100 feet of delicious singletrack just off the summit. I had actually seen some local women hanging out there during the ride up and wanted to see if I could get some more local portraits. Instead, I found a primitive trail with a mountain backdrop shrouded by low hanging clouds. I just couldn’t help myself. Thankfully Chris, with his infinite patience for my photography, obliged as both model and photographer.

Our last stop of the day was a place we nicknamed Seven Dollar Village. The moniker was a result of the sum total of all things purchased while visiting. Vietnam is extremely affordable (aka cheap) and it’s awesome to see how far the traveler’s dollar goes here. Here’s the breakdown of the items and experiences we got for our money:

$4 – Cleaver for chopping chicken and vegetables. It will be a great addition to our Sprinter van kitchen 🙂

$1 Food – roasted corn, bamboo rice and baked sweet potato, made to order, over a smoky charcoal fire, by one of many vendors lining the road on the way to the pass.

$2 Handicrafts- colorful ornaments made by the local H’Mong group. I’m horrible at bargaining, especially when it comes to kids, so I may have paid too much. However, in the grand scheme of things, I doesn’t matter.

After Seven Dollar Village, we enjoyed an extended downhill cruise back to our lodging. By now we knew the road, maximizing speed on the smooth sections and slowing down to pick our way through the rough bits. I wouldn’t say we started to blend in, but for us, we felt a little local, as if we were taking part in the evening commute.