In the media spotlight....

If you can be bothered scrolling through, go to about 1.15 to see our interview on Breakfast TV this morning!! http://tvnz.co.nz/breakfast/2012-06-28-video-4948985

We did it!!

600 long kilometres later, we have finally reached our destination - the bustling metropolis of Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon as locals still seem to call it. Quite a change of pace to be back in the urban swell - this one with over 9 millions people (and they say 4.5 million motorbikes!).

We bade farewell to our trusty two-wheel friends yesterday in the chicken village, just outside the lovely town of Dalat. Why is it called the Chicken Village you ask? Well it is quite a cute story...

Once upon a time there was a girl who fell in love with a boy, however they were from neighbouring and rivaling villages. They knew they couldn't marry but their love was so strong that the boy brought the girl home to meet his mother who refused to allow the union....unless the girl could find a chicken with 9 spurs on its legs. So she searched all the surrounding villages and then into the woods, where she eventually died. Now the two ethnic groups live together in harmony, and remember the chicken as a symbol of peace. In fact after 1975 (the end of the war) they asked the government to erect a giant chicken - with 9 spurs - which they did. See the photo. It was a lovely place, but very poor....the woman who showed us around the village was called Dong. She had learned English on her own from books (as well as French and German) and was delightful. The village is poor and children looked quite malnourished. We all bought many items (that we didn't really need) from her shop to try and help a little. Such a treat and recommended to anyone coming this way!

So after a 35km ride from Dalat town to the Chicken Village, it was a quaint and memorable place to leave our bikes and the rest of our support crew. We couldn't have wished for a better guide than 'our Lam' and the drivers and mechanic that safely negotiated our way through the mad roads of Vietnam. Intrepid are an awesome travel company and would highly recommend them to anyone who is looking for an adventure while getting to know the real country and people. www.intrepidtravel.com

Another wee plug is for a shoe shop in Hoi An, who uses all its profits to give to kids in need - in Cao Bang among other places -  shoes, clothes, school rehabilitation and more. The owner Thom (pictured here) is wonderful and has great shoes so if you are in Hoi An, visit here at the Friendly Shoe Shop www.friendlyshophoian.com


So this is where we say goodbye and thanks so much to those of you who have supported us and sent us warm wishes along the way. You have all helped us get up those mountain sides and through the searing heat - for a great cause. While Vietnam is known to many of you as a wonderful tourist destination (as it has been for us) there is also great need here still and we are thrilled to be just a small part of helping kids here who so very desperately need it. Often on my bike I am reminded of Phuc, who I met in Cao Bang, with her two kids Thoy and Duen. She wished for nothing more in life than to be able to feed her two kids that were at this time severely malnourished - even though she works every hour given to her. Please know that your support is needed, and I know through ChildFund it will be put to the very best use through committed and motivated communities in the north of Vietnam.

THANKS AND LOVE FROM THE CYCLING SISTERS XXX

The actual biggest day so far...

Kim in Basket Boat in Na Trang

So at the beginning of this 'leisurely holiday' ride through the beautiful country of Vietnam, I was under the impression that the hardest climb was the Hai Van Pass - remember the one we wrote about that was 10kms straight up and we were very chuffed with ourselves at the top. Well that illusion was burst wide open today as we climbed not 10, not 20, but THIRTY kms straight up - from 0 to 1600ms! Oh my weary bones (and other parts that need not be mentioned).

We left the beautiful seaside town of Na Trang this morning, well rested after our day on the boat and swimming yesterday (which was needed after the 70kms the day before). It was such a treat and felt like, amazingly, being on holiday!!

Sally at 1000ms! (sorry about the photo...)

Today we passed rolling hills at the base of the Nui Ba Bi Dop pass, before we began the climb. "Just 15kms to warm up the legs" said our guide Lam, with his ever present giggle. From there we saw the mountain covered in clouds ahead...that was our target. The scenery was stunning and went passed waterfalls, sheer cliff edges and many well wishes from bus and car windows passing by. We stopped for lunch at just above 1000ms, then came the final push. We made it! The cruel twist of mother nature came in the form of gale force blasts at the top of the pass that meant we had to pedal on the downhill too...

The slightly worse-for-wear group at 1600ms in the clouds

I did miss a radio interview as no coverage but not sure how coherent it would have been. Postponed til tomorrow, so tune into Radio Live at 4.55pm NZ time. Also Kim has been interviewed in the Waikato Times and Herald are trying to get hold of her too - the word is getting out there!!

So now in the lovely town of Dalat. Upon entering we saw greenhouses everywhere - this area is in the highlands with very fertile land. We look forward to discovering more tomorrow. For now...a much deserved snickers bar. And no, there is no guilt in eating it after today.

Tune in for tomorrow's update from the cycling sisters,

Sally and Kim x 

Kim's Cycling Thoughts for the Day

Hi all, Kim here. Just some thoughts about images of Vietnam I have had.

The first two things that are most prevalent are motorbikes and rice paddies. There are so many bikes here it is amazing. In Hanoi, the capital, there are 6 million people and 3 million motorbikes. They carry massive loads of goods including on my first day I saw 60 trays of eggs on the back of one bike! Alternatively I have seen a family of five on them, young babies included.

On all the flat land in this country we see crops grown, mostly rice but also sugarcane, tapioca, corn etc. There is nothing quite as vibrant as the green of rice paddies, the colour is stunning. It now makes me appreciate when I eat some rice the work involved in getting it, it is a huge process, very labour intensive.

We are in the seaside resort of Nga Trang today, we biked 70km yesterday through countryside and small villages with lots of children yelling hello. We are going to enjoy a rest day to allow our weary bones and bottoms to recoup. This includes a boat ride and swimming or snorkelling, tough life.

The trip is rapidly coming to its end which is happy and sad, so many great times and some hard ones, the people are so welcoming here, our group has been great and supportive and the Intrepid crew wonderful. Our guide Lam is the happiest person we have met and takes us down some paths which you would never know exists, keeping us off the main roads with our mechanic Sui at the back of our group as a great traffic warden. One last big day tomorrow, 30km of that is straight uphill!! just blacking that out at present and a couple of days later a nice 25km ride to a chicken farm before our drive to Ho Chi Minh City. Thanks for checking in on our news.

Love the cycling sisters Kim and Sally.

Early morning start but feeling a lot more rested after our day in lovely Hoi An. This town is  so cute - full of tourists for a reason! We did a walking tour in the morning, hearing the history of the place, seeing a musical performance, and seeing the cup of Confucius - apparently the only one in the world. So the cup has a hole in the bottom and story goes that if you fill it 80% with water, the water still remains in the cup. Any more than 80% and it all falls through the whole...and is symbolic for how one should live their life. (Wasn't allowed to test it). A bridge that connects the former Japanese and Chinese sides of the town, a bit of shopping and a cooking class....and I must admit, I kind of miss the cycling! So thought we could share some of the random scenes on the way we have passed....it is such fascinating countryside alive with people and nature!

The bathing buffalo - very jealous of this guy!

Awww...at the Monkey Rescue Centre

Dragon symbols are everywhere!

Gate at the Kings Tomb

A lady collecting snails - she gets about 30 cents per kilo!

Our new bikes! Just outside Hue in a cemetery as far as the eye can see!

Sorry about the side pictures - this post has been deleted twice so I'm just going to publish and ask y'all to kindly twist your necks a little on this one!!

Off to Quy Thon today...more soon!

Much love,
Sally and Kim

We made it! 85kms today in the blazing heat and we passed the beautiful but oh so high Hai Van Pass - 10kms straight up! Needless to say, bed is calling fast....but just to show you all, here are some pics of the road and us on top! More tomorrow after rest...good night now x

After 65kms wondering how we are going to get up there! 

The Hai Van Pass

Everyone who passed up on motorbikes or trucks tooted, waved and wished us luck

We made it! Happy group from the top of the pass. From here it was 10kms downhill.....oooh yeah

On the road...and it is HOT

First time back in wifi land after a few hot-diggity days of riding. My goodness - the heat! It does make the riding a wee bit more challenging...but it is just the most beautiful country side we are riding through. Just some of the scenes we have passed in the last 3 days:

Bustling markets, rice paddies through the whole cultivation process - planting in one place from a nursery, harvesting using a sickle (by the women...), harvesting using a machine (by a man!), limestone cliffs, vast fields of corn, rice drying on the road, rain forest, a monkey sanctuary (housing 15 native species), caves (called 'the cave of prehistoric man'!), thousands of children bursting out of their windows or doorways to yell 'hello hello hello' (and then giggle from the belly when we say hello back), crickets, frogs, buffalo, the most beautiful and genuine smiles....and so much more.

Here are a few scenes to share - hard to pick just a few as it is all worth sharing!

Delightful women we passed - they said their husbands were home having a drink!

Kim getting some much needed 'shower in a bottle' from Lam - our guide

This is taken just after our hardest ride yet - 40kms in 40 degree heat. We look happier than we were feeling at this point!

A crunchy protein treat for dinner - fried crickets! Local delicacy...

Thanks to you all for you kind wishes! If there are any comments here on the blog, thanks too - unfortunately we can't check those from here (can upload post, but not see blog). They are helping us get up the hills and down into safety at the end of each day!

Hope you are well in the slightly cooler climes....can't even imagine that right now!

We will write again when we can - from Hoi An probably.

Love Kim and Sally xx

Day One in the Saddle

Here we are in the saddle...day one in Hanoi to get used to our new mode of transport and the heat. My god the heat. And the traffic....so a simple flutter of the hand is supposed to be enough to stop the oncoming onslaught of motorbike, car and pedestrian? Amazingly...yes. Although it took us a little while, a few near death experience and slips on the cracked roads to learn this!
A short 20km ride around the three main lakes of the city showed us a different side to Hanoi life. From lily filled ponds (like above) to crazy winding back alleys to apartment blocks, this city continues to amaze all the senses at once. Perhaps the honking could subside just a little....
Here is our group for the journey down south...2 kiwis, 2 aussies, an American and Lam - our guide. Think we are going to be a pretty tight knit, sweat n story telling pack by the time we reach Ho Chi Minh.
Huge thanks to Rob and Rachel Hamil in Te Pahu, with Wayne and Paula hosting, who showed the amazing documentary 'Brother Number One' to raise money for us. You should all go out and watch it too.
More soon..time for a cool beer! Kim and Sally xx

Kim has arrived - warm wishes from ChildFund Vietnam office

So Kim has finally arrived and the cycling sisters are nearly ready to get into the saddle! One last day of work for me, and Kim came into the office to meet the team and receive lots of warm wishes from the ChildFund Vietnam people. Also a little advice - like stay out of the way of the big trucks!

Thanks - we will! Here are some pics of us with the team (they are doing such an incredible job here in Vietnam - we are lucky to work with such a committed and motivated group of experts).

We are wearing our cycling shirts, that if you can't read them on the front say 'Kiwi sisters supporting kids in Cao Bang' and on the back, our names and 'Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh, June 2012'

Huge thanks to Sonya at Logo U2, Hamilton, for kindly donating these shirts to us. We will wear them proud.

More soon, love Sally and Kim x

Meet sweet little Dao Bhio - who you will help!!

This little boy I met yesterday is 18 months old - and severly malnourished. His name is Dao (pronounced Zao) Bhio and lives in the Quoc Toan Commune in Cao Bang.

 

This is him with his mum attending nutritional training (and trying some of the food they are taught how to prepare for kids), checking his weight and height. His height is 74cms and weight is 8.9kgs - less than most kids of 10 months old.The usual check for children used to just be weight but checking height is so important to get a real reading of nutritional status - introduced by ChildFund in this area. The scales used previously were old, provided by govt - now these give more accurate figures.

 

At the end of this day, the district health worker gave me the updated results from checking 36 kids. 15 (41%)were underweight, 19 (52%)were under height, 13 (36)had both - in total 21/36 or 58.3% of kids under two were malnourished. that is a lot!!!

 

Once these kids are identified, they will become part of the feeding programme you are supporting to get them back on track with boosting their nutrition for 6 months, while looking at long term solutions with the parents and wider community in terms of training and providing long term solutions for whole families.

 

This is how the day progressed for Dao....

Dao with his mum try the
food they are taught to make

The clinic located high in the hills

Dao is weighed on the scales - 8.9kgs

Then his height is checked - 74cms

 He is provided with a Vitamin A supplement

Then returns to the scales to check

Such a sweet little boy - not shy of the white lady!!!

More from Cao Bang

Grandfather and wee girl - she is quite malnourished

Lovely group of kids in a school ChildFund NZ has provided a toilet block for. they are celebrating World Childrens Day and have been performing - hence the fancy clothes for the occasion!!

Hi all
Just signing off from NZ, get on my plane tomorrow night.
It is so exciting seeing photos of Sally in Cao Bang and the place we and all of you are helping with this trip. A big thanks to my friends who have sponsored me. Special mention to Warren D whose sponsorship will help feed a malnutritioned child for a year. Also thanks to our English family and friends who have sponsored us. Well next photo will be me in Vietnam with my sister, YAY!

Meeting the familiies yesterday...

So yesterday I traveled high into the mountains to the Tra Linh area of Cao Bang, where the project is taking place. I see a lot of things in my job and you can get used to some things, but meeting a mum whose dream in life is simply to have a little more food to give her very malnourished children is something that breaks my heart. I went to the house of Phuc, who is 32. Her husband died last year and she has 2 kids and a mother in law to care for. Each day she works on the rice or corn fields from 6am to 6pm, and in the dry season goes into the woods in search of firewood to sell. She works extremely hard. She also has to go 2km to fetch water from the well and carry it back. Her two beautiful daughters, thoy (3 years old but looks one) and Duen (12 but looks younger than my 7 year old nieces) smile lovingly at their mum. They know how hard she tries. Duens dream is to have some candy - not thinking of becoming a princess or pilot. This family will be helped in the project we are cycling for. Imagine not being able to feed you children even though you are working so hard. Hmm, heavy heart. But helped by the fact that we (all of you with us) are doing something about it and making life easier for Phuc....

the kids we are supporting and stunning landscape

Wow. this place takes your breath away. The landscape is different to anywhere i have been before - just stunning - and the communities are amazing!!! More soon on the actual project (my computer battery nearly dead) but had to share a couple of pix. The ChildFund team here are doing such incredible work!