done my research before signing up for a four day, three night cycling tour in Lao Cai province with Lotussia Travel. My friends thought I was mad cycling around one of the most mountainous parts of northern Vietnam! But the trip is well planned, so you’re not always in the saddle, and you’re never on your own. But I didn’t tell my friends that – I liked to think they pictured me huffing and puffing on my father’s rickety old Peugeot up and down the hills under a blazing hot sun. However, not even riders in the Tour de France go solo – everyone needs a team, a car, and a medic! My friend and I met our team from Lotussia Travel at Lao Cai station after taking the overnight train from Hanoi. First things first, we headed for a big hearty breakfast. With a long day of riding ahead we needed to ‘feed the engine’. Afterwards, we drove to Phong Hai town, 20km from Lao Cai railway station, where we kick-started our journey on two wheels. Our destination from there was Coc Ly, a cycle of 18km or so. The landscapes were stunning with rolling mountain ranges, wild forests and the yellow Chay river slowly meandering through the valleys below. We stopped at Coc Ly market, which bustles with hill tribes flocking from all over the area to buy or sell goods, or simply eat, drink and have fun. Here you can buy handicrafts or simply hang out and watch the world go by as members of Flower H’mong, Phu La and Dao Tuyen hill tribes wander past in colourful costumes. The atmosphere is lively and everyone is smiling. Nearby, I see a photography studio and a dentist’s clinic filled with boys and girls – signs of the changing times we live in. After an hour exploring the market, we cycled to the nearby village of Sa Koun Ho inhabited by members of both the Flower H’mong and Black Dao ethnic minorities. Next we embark on a motor-boat cruise along the Chay river. This is an exciting boat cruise winding us through breathtaking, out-of-this-world-scenery where the mountains grow out of the water, presenting us with hidden mysteries, including beautiful caves and grottos. There’s an added sense of poignancy as we travel around as I am informed that the market and the area around will be submerged by a manmade lake created for Coc Ly hydroelectricity plant in the future. We disembark at Trung Do village which is home to members of the Tay hill tribe. We are picked up by car and then transferred to a local restaurant for lunch. Before you start to accuse us of not cycling very much on our so-called cycling tour, we hop back into the saddle after lunch, and this time we’re going uphill! Our destination is Bac Ha town. The road from Coc Ly to Bac Ha is in good shape but the uphill segment is tough going. But we push on, inspired by our awe-inspiring surroundings, and the thought of dinner! We eat at a Tay family’s house and after a day of cycling, we devour our food. There is nothing more delicious on earth than a hot meal for a hungry soul! Grilled chicken and purple sticky-rice, stir-fried bamboo shoot with buffalo meat, and boiled wild vegetables with a wonderful dipping sauce - everything hits the spot. That night we slept like babies on a mat in the corner of the stilt house after being provided with pillows, a thin blanket and a mosquito net. Not even the grunting of the local buffalos can disturb our slumber! After breakfast, Lotussisa Travel transfers us by car to Si Ma Cai. Upon arrival we start cycling upstream along the banks of the Chay river. The sky above Si Ma Cai is clear and blue. With a cool breeze on my face I take a deep breath and bask in the glory of the seemingly endless mountain ranges around. On the road I can see the roof-tops of hamlets down below in the green and yellow valleys and the terraced fields in harvest season. The landscape is the most beautiful and peaceful I have seen on my journey so far. Every now and then a young Flower H’Mong appears with a beautiful smile that further lights up this rural paradise. Si Ma Cai is not as frequented as much as Bac Ha or Sapa, since it is nestled at the far end of a road near the border with China, but it’s just 40km from Bac Ha and worth the trip. The town is beautifully quiet and the people here live a simple daily life. The streets and the market are rather deserted except on Sundays when the market draws a crowd of Mong, La Chi, Phu La, and Nung ethnic minorities in colourful costumes from the surrounding area. Although cycling across some tough terrain in relentless heat may seem pretty hellish to some, what better way is there to experience such awe-inspiring scenery? So don’t delay! Dust off your paddle and prepare to be enchanted by the delights of North Vietnam.