Bambi Chakas On the Road

IGOROT BIKES ASIA

Friday, October 20, 2006

Hi Kat, I hope you receive this by now. I wrote some other things. It’s really nice to go back thinking about my travels. I feel moments of elation. And the feeling is good. I don’t have time to correct my grammar so I leave it to you. Write me if you have something to ask. Tomorrow I am working so I’ll go kite surfing now.

Cheers,
Bam

Imagine me– a hometown guy from the the Mountain Province- 30 years old then but who has never traveled before outside the Philippines. It all began two years ago in 2004 when I had a dream. I wanted to cycle a famous traveling destination- a route from China to Lhasa then Nepal using only two wheels. It’s called the bicycle. I also wanted to do this alone. This route , to some cyclists or adventurers who know about altitude sickness also know that these high roads are some of the most dangerous. most beautiful and wildes routes on earth. The roads there are between 12,000 to 16,000 ft. and the temperature can drop down to negative 20 degrees celscius or lower. The old Tibet is on the edge of the Himalayas.

So,to move this thing called bike, you needed to pedal it. My main objective was to cycle from the border of China to Lhasa to the capital city of autonomous Tibet. From there, it would be another 3 weeks to Kathmandu in Nepal. I had to arrive in the city before the first week of November before all the roads get covered with snow. The worse thing is if they close the roads. To arrive there I needed to bring a simple “ home” with me. Tent, stove sleeping bag, warming clothes (LAGALAG), rain pants and jacket etc plus 15 kilos of spare parts and tools in my 4 bike bags were all I had.

Preparation:
It was four months of preparation. It was about getting passports, trouble-shooting my bike, physical training and the route. The final organization was done with the help of my mentor whose name is “Aklay”.

Hanoi- Nam Vinh(SW of Hanoi)-Thai Vinh- Hai Phong- Halong Bay- Hanoi.This was my test drive tour. It took five days and gave enough time to process my Chinese Visa. Nouc’s racks were fine. Nouc is the name of my bike. I got this from the first Vietnamese lady I met. It’s a lovely name which means “water”. My love affair with Nouc started when I bought her 10 days before my flight. She’s old but she is simply sturdy.

Hanoi- Moc Chau(Northwest of Hanoi)- Son la-Tuan giao-Luan chau- Lai Chau- Sapa-Hekou(China). It is one of my most unforgettable places. I met a lot of friends here mostly the ethnic minority groups. H’mong, Black Thai, White Thai and etc… who offered me shelter and food, hot tea and tobacco. I sat, ate and talked to them. And in most occasions, if I asked my host if I could take photos about what they were doing, I was declined. Well, that’s all I could do, respect their wishes. I was also invited to see the women weaving in a room big enough for 20 people.They were making their crafts which they exchange in the market. Few words were exchanged but sketching or doing my “wait-a-minute-I’ll-find-that-word-in-my-emergency-dictionary-little-book” technique was also effective.

Curious window-peeping locals were puzzled about me– where did I come from? They noticed that we all had brown skin and yet I didn’t understand them. They saw Nouc outside and they asked me where I was going. When they understood the word China, their eyes bulged. “ You’re crazy!”, I could almost hear them say.

My heart was heavy when I crossed the border to China, the colors of heaven were fading and the smells of the air slowly changed. That was my first hour in China. The route to Kunming was not open for foreigners at that time so, I had to take a sleeper bus.

Kunming- Dali- Lijiang- Quiatou-Zhongdian- Deqin- Zhongdian- Xiangcheng- Sumdui- Daocheng- Sumdui- Litang- Yajiang- Luding- yaan- Shimian- Kunming.

My first morning in Kunming was cold and rainy. Even my route to Yunnan province did not look too good so I went shopping for what I needed. I went to look for food and extra clothing. I also visited some bike shops and sports shops for my tent. At night, I talked to some hardcore backpackers and cyclists. The cyclists kept me company. I thought that I was alone. But I sat and heard their stories and cycling expeditions from one continent to another. I wished they could just take me with them. The weather report from BBC channel for the past 3 days were still bad. My chances about getting to Lhasa were growing thin. On my third day I could’t sleep. I was missing the on-the-road life. Finally I came up with a decision after I accepted that even traveling to Dali by bus or skipping my plan to trek Tiger Leaping Gorges to buy time, wasn’t enough. I needed time and I couldn’t squeeze my cycling days to Lhasa to less than the planned time. Otherwise this would be like a quest not an adventure. So, I was not going to Lhasa. But I immediately promised to be back. Two friends from the guesthouse comforted me when I started to cry. Life must go on and so must my adventures. So I planned a de-tour as a side trip to the neighboring province of Sichuan. So I emailed Lemoni, my anchor, to buy a map of southwest China and give me the places which I passed back in Kunming and to send a map of Laos and Thailand . I could arrive back in 3 weeks.

When I was in Dali, it rained and rained for two days until I was sick of it. Then I met a backpacker who told me that the weather should clear the next day according to their website. So I went back to my room to prepare after hearing the good news. To get to Lijiang in one day you need to stay on your saddle for 12 hours and cycle 180 kilometers-which I did. The place was packed with tourists. The place was beautiful and romantic. Water flowed gently around the old city’s small creeks. That night I went to watch a traditional round dance, and when they stopped the music because it was curfew hour, a local Tibetan pulled out his flute and started to play which was followed by chants.Then about a hundred tourists and locals started to dance. They held close to each other side to side forming two big circles with three layers each moving in both direction first to the left, then after two tip-toes from each legs with a cross, would swing to the right and do the same thing. The fire in the middle was still high and could last for hours.

After three days, I left for Quiatou on a cloudy, freezing early morning at 0700 before sunrise. Then I left Nouc in Quiatou and I went trekking to Leaping Tiger gorge. It’s one of the deepest ravines in the world. It is part of the mighty Yangtze River that stretchesfor 50 km between two 16,000 ft high mountains. It’s also one of the most pleasant and breath-taking walks on earth. And this place is an obligatory stop for any backpacker. I almost got pushed to a ravine by a passing donkey. When I climbed down near the river rapids, I could feel its might and her loud roar. I spent a night a few meters above the river. When I went back to the town, I felt pain in my leg muscles . It’s hard to convert a cycling leg to a trekking leg.

We left the town for Zongdian (Shangri-La). The real adventure began.

Here, you breathe the thin air. I made it to the beautiful Tibetan plateau at 1500 (time?) and I made a stop for my first Yak butter tea. Then the weather changed suddenly that afternoon. I thought it was permanently cloudy and rainy in China. But that afternoon, the sun was burning rays into my skin. My skin loved it. In Zongdian, nestled at 12,000 ft., the temperature started to drop at 0 degrees that night. After two days, I was finally fed-up with the stories from my host about cyclists going to and from Lhasa and stopping for the night at his guest house. I felt angry and a little jealous so it was time to move on. It was raining again, when I was few kilometers away. Around this area, four seasons are packed in a day. It changed anytime. So I didn’t mind this time. I got all my right outdoor gear anyway.

I took the steep road to the valley of Benzilan which was around 6,000 ft. I was there the next morning and then on the road again to Deqin. This was the route I chose to Lhasa. Heart-attack-climbing began. 50 km cobble-stoned road stretched up to the 3rd pass. There were 3 passes ranging from 10,000 to 13,500 ft. altitude from the roadside and are full of colorful autumn leaves. After the first pass, I wanted to spend a night on the maintenance camp. This gave me an introductory ride to Lhasa.

Temperature dropped to minus 7 that night. In the early morning, I wrapped myself like a mummy. I climbed the two passed then went on a downhill ride which was very, very cold.

After 2 nights I went back to Zongdian. Then I had two more days of visiting monasteries and figuring out the route to Sichuan, the neighboring province. I copied a hand written map in a coffee shop. I was hoping all the passes were correct. That routé was opened two years before for foreigners at that time. I was in-love with the places I covered on this part. I saw more beautiful and colorful snow mountains . I told myself that I was not dreaming. I was awake-I told myself. There were a lot of photographers on the road. When I saw the Tibetan prayer flag, I smiled. I got off Nouc and slid on the snow. I cried like a kid who was given mounds of X’mas gifts. (get more of this on my email dated Oct. 06 2004)

Kunming- Jinghong- Menglun-Mengla-Boten( Laos)- Odomxay- Pak mong- Luang Prabang- Kasi- Ventiane- Nong Khai(Thailand)- Si Chang Mai- Sang Khom- Loei- Bangkok- Kanchanaburi- Bangkok- Yangoon(Myanmar)-Gyobingauk- Prome-Migyaungye-Pyay- Magwe-Popa Bagan- Myingyan- Kyaukse- Inle Lake- Yangoon- Ngwe Saung Beach- Yangoon- Chiang Mai(Thailand)- Mae Chaem- Mae la Noi- Mae Hong Son- Pai- Chiang Mai- bus and motorbike to Chiang Rai- Mai Sai- Chiang Khong- Chiang Rai – Chiang Mai- Bangkok- Ko Chang- Bangkok- Home Sweet Home.

When I crossed to Laos, it was a sad sad ride. Chants and music of the Tibetan Nomads were playing around in my head. I still saw the faces of the Nomads I had been with and some Chinese friends who helped along the road. The horses on green meadows and grasslands, monasteries and monks-both young and old, white mountains, and castle-like mud houses. If I had been asked then to speak about my feelings about being there and what I had done, I really wouldn’t be able to say it out loud. Those were undescribable feelings until now. If some friends ask me about it, I’ll just take them back there.

Then it was down to Laos and back to the flatlands. Here, my tears flowed. I just remembered my legs were working. I slept in an unknown village, 30 km. before Odumxay. I didn’t know their group and language or dialect. All I knew was my sign language was more pronounced when I had to explain everything to my host that night, which was my first night in Laos.

My heart was empty when I crossed that poor country. I still felt sad. Then there was boredom. I just kept on going and going. I wanted to call my girlfriend, my family and my friends but the toll call was so expensive. While my legs were working, my mind wandered. I thought of something that I thought of before. I thought about another bike expedition to Lhasa. And then from there, I’d follow the Marco Polo route to Europe.

In Thailand, I cycled for three days following the Mekong river. That time I felt a part of my ear that had frostbite. This was scary. I didn’t realize this until I saw a dark-spot in my ear from a mirror in Kunming.

After packing Nouc in Thailand, I went to KO Chang with a fellow traveler whom I met in Nong Khai. She just bought her bike in Bangkok and came along with me to Myanmar. It was good because I heard hotels and inns in Myanmar were getting expensive and we could share the costs.

In Ko Chang, I thought of South America as I was lying on the beach under a Thai blue sky. I heard a lot about it from other fellow cyclists and backpackers. According to those who had seemd to have the best opinion, it was better to cycle to far away places first, which I think is somewhere in the Andes. But as always in life, something came-up. But as long as these dreams keep haunting you, wherever you want to go, it will happen. I will be there soon. Right now, the wind just pumped-up, so I am going to the beach and launch my kite and go surfing.

TEXT & PHOTOS BY NEIL “BAMBI” CHAKAS.