Cycling Adventures 3: Zandvoort, Alkmaar and Edam

Day 3 - The Hague to Zandvoort (continued)

Leaving the Hague in the rain it wasn't too long before we hit the beach. It wasn't a hard choice to push on. By midday we were ready for a break and some lunch by another beach. We had a drink at a dead beach resort restaurant to get away from the wind. When we came out it had started to heat up and it wasn't long before we were stripping off layers and dreaming of beach afternoon at Zandvoort.

Raincoat and shorts turned out to both be good choices!

A large part of our route on day 3 was through the Meijendel sand dunes on the west coast. The sand dunes provide a natural protection from the threat of the ocean. In other areas artificial sand dunes are constructed for the same purpose. It was such a departure from the sight of the green Netherland's countryside and paired with the sun's reappearance we felt like we were in the middle of a desert. 

Cycling to the sky

The sand dunes were vast and appeared to go on forever. Cycling up and down the small hills we didn't seem to be moving anywhere and wondered if we would ever see the beach! Eventually we made it to North Holland where we took a break to celebrate.

Made it!

Sand dunes as far as the eye can see

After some serious up-hill as we approached Zandvoort, the beach finally seemed within reach. Zandvoort is one of the major beach resorts in the Netherlands. The campground we stayed at had everything you could need (well, no toilet paper) but was extremely cramped. The idea was to fit in as many paying customers as possible and it was certainly an experience.

After setting up camp we still had enough time to enjoy the beach with a book and a drink. It was too cold for swimming and perhaps that is why the beach there is so built up with shelters and cafes.

Zandvoort beach

Traditional photo amongst the masses!

Day 4 - Zandvoort to Alkmaar
Today we rode through windy, country roads on our way to Alkmaar. We enjoyed some street art, the cycling, some windmills and an ice-cream before making it to the B&B where we would camp that night. 

We hadn't booked our accommodation assuming we could just show up in the middle of August. It was a B&B place setup by a husband and wife team, who also allow you to camp or park your caravan in their backyard.  We hadn't booked - because it was virtually impossible to do that at any other campsite, but here the owner informed us that they usually have a 2 night stay minimum.  Rob said "OK, we'll go somewhere else", luckily, the owner accepted his bluff and showed us where to setup, because I didn't feel like cycling to the next campsite across the other side of Alkmaar. This spot was certainly a contrast to the chaos of the beach resort site the night before. With cows as our neighbours, we slept well in the backyard, waking to the sound of birds chirping.

Excitement and fireworks on the streets of the Netherlands

Happily cycling through the countryside

Windmill ahoy!

Bit of a rest after an ice-cream break

Traditional tent photo, cows included

In the evening we explored Alkmaar, another town famous for its cheese. There were some impressive buildings in town, the Waag (balance scale) building in particular really caught my eye. In the 14th century it was a chapel for the adjacent hospital, later it was converted to a weight-house and now it houses the cheese museum.

The Waag, Alkmaar

Pretty Alkmaar

Day 4 - Alkmaar to Edam
This was my favourite day in our cycling adventure, mainly because we learnt more about how the Netherlands manages its water challenges but also because the day included a few other things I love to do.

Twenty six per cent of the Netherlands is below sea level and much of it is prone to flooding.  The country uses a complex drainage system that includes sand dunes, dikes, dams, floodgates, canals and pumping stations. Developed in the 15th century, polder windmills used the power of the wind and scoop wheel to bring water up out of the polder into the canals for drainage. Mills were combined to increase the pumping height and later mills used an Archimedes screw to further raise the height of the water. Drainage mills were replaced by pumping stations firstly using steam and then diesel and electricity.  

The Museummolen Schermerhorn that we visited, is one of the eleven windmills left from the windmill complex of the Schermer polder in North Holland. For almost three centuries the Schermer polder was drained using windmills. The museum included a great video on the history of water management and the opportunity to see inside the mill. We left in awe of the Dutch and what they have achieved. I think a lot of people would have just given up and moved somewhere else (easier said than done too I suppose) but the Dutch persevered  The current level of maintenance and necessary forward thinking for the future also cannot be underestimated.

Museummolen Schermerhorn

Another windmill across the way

Water: enemy and friend

Inside the windmill

Picnic on the canal

After some more cycling we stopped for a picnic lunch on a little canal. Our lovely, calm spot was barely 20 metres from the supermarket. It was one of those days were everything just went to plan!

Enjoying the beautiful day we rode on to charming, little Edam (of the cheese notoriety). I realise I sound like a broken record but Edam was truly out of a storybook with its quaint houses and bridge and gorgeous gardens. I felt like I was in a chalk drawing and if I stepped too heavily or fell in a canal I might just break the spell of the place. 

Beautiful Edam

Don't fall in and wreck the spell!

House with traditional Dutch shutters

That evening our campsite was alongside the IJsselmeer, an artificial lake constructed in 1932 when a dam closed off an inland sea. (Another example of the Dutch command over water.) It was a lovely campsite and we were pleased to enjoy a swim and some lakeside reading in the afternoon. The pier provided a great place to watch sunset and I had fun chatting to some kids that were trying to convince me to dunk my shoes in the water! Their Dad soon followed in their footsteps to apologise and I ended up talking to him too. Soon Rob joined me and we saw the last of sun with a bit of pier yoga. It's like paddle board yoga but on a much more stable surface!

Tent photo with towels drying on bikes

Sunset and Sunrise Mission 2015! (Part 2)

Welcome to part 2 of my 2015 Sunset and Sunrise Mission! Click here if you missed part one.

To recap, the aim is to see a sunrise or sunset in every country we visit. This installment includes China, Japan, Mongolia, Finland and Estonia:

China
I like this photo less for the sunset than the reminder of the fun day Sarah, Rob and I had at the Summer Palace in Beijing. The scale of the Summer Palace is really impressive and there is so many different areas to explore. 

Japan
I was pretty unhappy with my Japan efforts. We never seemed to be at the right place at the right time to capture a sunset or sunrise. Nevertheless, I did see this sunset from a Takayama bridge one evening.

Mongolia
Mongolia certainly took commitment as the days were very long. In fact, we left just before summer solstice so they were some of the longest of the year. The sun would set around 11pm and rise so early that I have blocked out the time.

Here are three sunsets we enjoyed most and one sunrise:

Stormy Gobi sunset

Gobi goat meeting at sunset

Sunset friend in the Gobi

Lake Khuvsgal sunrise 

Estonia
The beautiful city of Tallinn at the beginning of a sunset. 

Fairytale

Finland
The only Finnish sunset that I photographed was on our very last night in Helsinki. Basically I remembered my mission and ran downstairs in my pyjamas to capture a tram in the sunset. A flatter road and this could be somewhere in St Kilda.

Melbourne or Finland?

Sunset and Sunrise Mission 2015! (Part 1)

I thought it would be nice to have a Sunset and Sunrise Mission for the year. (Okay, if I am honest, it was initially just a Sunset Mission but I thought I'd make it more enjoyable/easier.) The aim is to see a sunrise or sunset in every country we visit. Here is our progress so far:

Malaysia
We have already blogged on our failed attempt at finding a sunset spot in Kuala Lumpur, and we really did not have many other tried at it. Luckily, on our trip to Pulau Selingan we caught the below sunset before we were ushered off the beach in case the turtles arrived to hatch. It was not spectacular but at least we have one to show. (And we will always remember Rob hacking at a coconut for half an hour while I did laps on the sand!)

Pulau Selingan

Nepal 
Nepal likes to turn on the fog or up the pollution in time for sunset. From Kathmandu you cannot see much at all and Pokhara sunset was rather disappointing. We enjoyed a beautiful sunrise at Poon hill but I really like this shot from Chitwan National Park. (Taken around the time Rob was looking for a brown crack.) 

Elephant in a Chitwan sunset

Vietnam
Phu Quoc purportedly provides the best sunsets in Vietnam. Whilst we did enjoy saying goodbye to the sun from the beach with cocktails there, we think our Mekong sunset took the cake for Vietnam:

Phu Quoc March sunset

Mekong fishing village

Cambodia
As it was severely hot in Siem Reap, we got up before dawn and rested during the middle part of the day. On our second morning at the temples we visited Banteay Kdei and Srah Srang and I captured this couple a bit after sunrise. 

Sunrise from Banteay Kdei looking towards Srah Srang

On our third day at the temples we spent some time trying to capture the beauty of Angkor Wat. 

Angkor Wat

Hopefully there are more sunsets and sunrises in our future- stay tuned!

Phu Quoc Island

After less than a week in Ho Chi Minh City we took our first mini-trip to Phu Quoc Island. Still adapting to Vietnam's heat, post-Nepali freeze, we thought it was smart to take to the water. Phu Quoc is a southern Vietnamese island that sits just below Cambodia. It is a short one hour flight from Ho Chi Minh. One of those flights were you aren't cruising for long.

As we flew into Phu Quoc, I debated whether to wake Rob up from his nap. The sea around the island looked beautiful as was lit up by many boats. I let him sleep and wake up as we hit the tarmac. (This is not as mean as it sounds. We have established the same rule goes for buses and planes, Rob would prefer the sudden jolt of landing or stiffness in his neck to being woken.) 

We chose to stay at a guesthouse listed on airbnb called The Venue. It was a good location as long as you don't mind a 400 metre walk to the beach. There were lots of food options at the end of the street and on the beach nearby. 

For a fair chunk of the weekend we beached ourselves. The island has some nice beaches,

though as always, it depends on your point of comparison. The beach closest to us did not have much of a coast but we were away from the main strip and it was peaceful. The lack of sand didn't really matter as it was too hot for us to lie in the full sun for a lot of the day and we preferred to be near the smoothies, fruit platters, spring rolls, cocktails and other delights. Reading, swimming and eating was the order of the day! That evening we enjoyed a sunset and saw my Mum's youngest brother's doppleganger. (Hi Peter if you happen to read this!)

Enjoying the beach near our guesthouse

Yoga at sunset

On our second full day at Phu Quoc we rented a motorbike from a restaurant. We were advised by their owner that under no circumstances were we to speak English, French or Vietnamese if pulled over by the police. "Pretend you don't understand anything", we were told. There have been tourist accidents in recent years on the island and the police have been cracking down on foreigners riding bikes. (Later, upon reading and thinking more on the subject we decided we probably wouldn't rent a motorbike again whilst in the country. After all, we don't ride motorbikes back home and aren't really on top of the Vietnamese road rules.) 

Anyway, on this particular day we set off with the idea that we would encounter small amounts of island traffic and if we drove safely would be okay. This turned out to be the case and we didn't spot the police anywhere. We stopped off at a cafe for a morning coffee before heading to the north-east part of the island. It took longer than we thought to get there and navigating the island wasn't quite as straight forward as we thought. Eventually we had lunch on a quiet fishing beach.

Child playing in the sand on a Northern beach

After lunch we found a bumpy dirt track that took us to a beach on the north-west side of the island. I made the ride more fun/dangerous by driving us slightly too fast at one point. Riding wasn't too comfortable but it was nice to be able to travel independently for awhile. Some of the island's resorts were on the north-west coast, perhaps positioned here more for the peace than the beach itself. We went for a nice afternoon dip before jumping back on our bike and heading south for the wet market. Though the market was interesting to see, Rob had a challenging time navigating us through the sea of motorbikes and stalls whilst suffering an overpowering stench of fish. After further wanderings we found the night market just in time for dinner. 

Something fishy in a market full of motorbikes

On our last day we journeyed to the southern beaches to spend more time reading on the beach. The beach was nice but very busy with large groups and lots of beach chairs covering the sand. (Yes, I know we are spoilt in Australia with quiet, often "untouched" beaches so this will always shade my thoughts on beaches overseas!) Towards the end of the afternoon people cleared off and it began to look like paradise! 

Reading on the beach

South-facing beach

All of a sudden everyone left!

We would recommend Phu Quoc as a great choice for a relaxing beach weekend trip from Ho Chi Minh.


Phu Quoc Costs and Tips 

Flight: AUD$346 return for two people

Accommodation: AUD$30/night for a double room at the Venue

Motorbike hire: ~70,000 dong (~AUD$4.40) for a day

Sun lounge hire: ~100,000 dong for a day (Or just got a few metres back on the sand and order a drink or some food and use their lounges. We were never made to feel like we should leave or continue to eat!)

Choosing a beach: There is something to like about most of the beaches but if you don't feel like exploring what each has to offer, we would recommend the east facing beach. If you walk a little south of the main bar and restaurant area it is both peaceful and beautiful.

General tip for Vietnam: Don't forget your passport! Everywhere in Vietnam requires your passport to register it locally and many keep it during your stay. Try not to be like us and leave it at the hotel!

Pokhara and Surrounds

Pokhara is a launching point for many treks in the Annapurna region, and sits on the beautiful Phewa Tul, with scenic himalayan views on good weather days. I've been a number of times.  We spent a lot of time floating about on the lake, watching the locals and tourists alike paddling to the temple on the lake, a popular local picnic spot but also we visiting the Mahadevi Cave and Devi's Falls.  Pokhara is an amazing place to recover from the ailments of a trek with good coffee, cafes, French and German bakeries, Italian restaurants offering western comforts but more importantly, dozens of small hole-in-the-wall Nepali food caf-au-rants and plenty of "happy hour" deals such as beer with a FREE(!) side of popcorn - but to quote Krishna "I like popcorn, and beer is OK too, but beer and popcorn does not work".

Phewa Tul at dusk

School kids on a bus

Staying in Pokhara

Although we originally planned to stay at the Buddhist Meditation Centre that offered cheap rooms away from the hustle and bustle of the touristy Lakeside, we found the offering at Karma Guest House too good to refuse.  With access to the lake, nearby bikes (more on that later), food, actually functioning hot water, a variety of rooms, and a cheap rate, it was a bit too convenient to say no.  They also operate a travel agent/trekking guide service from the hostel that could easily organise your activities in the region.

Rowing around the lake

Eating in Pokhara

Our favourite "local" place was "Tara's Vegetarian Cafe" open all day from breakfast to dinner, we strongly recommend to anyone wanting a good meal but sick of paying add-on tourist taxes. Tara's was tucked away behind a Tibetan giftshop and a massage place at the southern end of the lake as Lakeside Drive starts to turn east.  While she still offers western-style food, she has some different Nepali dishes with a determined vegetarian focus.  We ate here a number of times, and she was so determined to have our return business that she even offered to take our orders for breakfast, promising to have it ready for us at 6am the next morning, early enough for us to arrive, eat and get to our bus in time.  At the dinner we had with her, we talked about the difficulties of running a small restaurant without power most of the time, and how to compete with the big players who all have generators and inverters.  To top it off, she has playing cards and English books (including a Nepali guide book).

Touristing in Pokhara

Devi's Falls is so named for a tourist by the last name Davis, who in the 60's, while relaxing in the natural pools of the falls was sucked down, dropping at least thirty feet through rough water that flows underground and ultimately into / through the Mahadevi Cave.



Devi's Falls



Kat and Krisha at the falls 

Mahadevi cave itself has become a religious site (hence the name) that houses a temple as well as a grand view of the pounding base of Devi's Falls.  The architecture on the way in probably has more appealing than the dank, dark cave, but I still recommend going in for the view at the end, or to perform puma if you are Hindu.

Entrance to Mahadevi Cave



Lord Vishnu

The base of Devi's Falls from within Mahadevi Cave

Determined to see a grand sunset in each country, we ventured to Sarangkot.  Sarangkot is a ridge sitting above Phewa Tul and Pokhara with views in all directions.  We took a cab as far as he would go up the hill, a drive that just seemed to keep going.  When we felt certain there was no mountain left, he told us to hop out and walk for another 30 minutes to reach the top!  On good days, the Annapurnas float above you like waves crashing on the ranges below with Mt Machapucharre rising high and the sun glowing in the west.  On the day we went, the sun peeked out of the clouds for a minute before disappearing again but we enjoyed the serenity of being away from the blaring horns and enjoyed a cup of tea with 2 dogs who had taken us under their protection for most of our walk. Kat wondered aloud why this happened so regularly.  During our Poon Hill trek, dogs would awaken from their sun-bathing slumber, to trot up and down giant steps with us for one or two kilometres. Initially, I thought it was because they wanted to see us off their territory, but they were far too friendly for that.  It was only sitting there, sipping tea and munching on snacks as the sun set (probably) behind a cloud, that I considered the snack in my hand and its strong aroma.  Beef jerkey.  A terribly inappropriate snack for a trek in Nepal, but there you have it - I'm culturally insensitive at the best of times.  These puppies wanted us for our snacks, not our company.

One of our hiking friends: Rangkot

The Great Dérailleur Incident of 2015

Cue DOLPHIN SANDS ROAD! moment *shakes fist*

While in Pokhara, we took the opportunity to rent some "mountain bikes" to go for a ride, as far around the lake as possible.  This was a nice and relatively peaceful way to see the lake for an hour or so.  Unfortunately, on account of the utter and complete failure of the rear dérailleur to stay attached to the bike, this led to a rather prolonged and angry dispute with the young sahuji (and all his supportive friends).  They "respectfully" (their words, not mine) asked for me to make a contribution for repair of the bike.

Now, I cannot 100% rule out the fact that I somehow contributed to this rather disastrous (for the bike anyway) outcome.  I have actually had this problem on my own bike before....twice.  One might suggest, that as the common denominator in 3 incidents of rear dérailleur destruction, I actually did cause the dérailleur to get hung up in the back spokes and rip itself to pieces.  However, with this wealth of experience, it also means that I am (now) quite knowledgeable about what might cause a dérailleur to fail in the first place.  In the case of my own bike in Australia, it was the really the result of an excessive amount of force being applied to the bike in a way it is not designed to experience, namely, falling off the back of my car while flying down the highway.  This on its own did not cause the dérailleur to fail, but it certainly weakened the hanger, which eventually gave out.  The second time that it happened (again, to the same bike) could probably be explained by the fact that A) I fixed it and B) a rogue plastic bag wrapped itself between the dérailleur, the chain and my spokes while all of them were in the process of going round and round.  So in summary, I have seen what happens when the chain and dérailleur are out of synch and have a general idea what can cause it to fail, explode, and warp.

So imagine my surprise, when this Nepali dérailleur should fail exhibiting all of the same symptoms of a bike that had received massive and excessive trauma of bouncing down a highway after only an hour's ride on a bumpy road.

Mistakenly thinking that the failure of the bike we had borrowed for the day might be compensated for by a rental discount, we found on our return (that involved a great deal of walking and a negotiation with a taxi driver to actually get us back to where we started) ourselves discussing the ins and outs of customer service and expectations of a reputable business.  In case it is not clear, from my perspective: that would be not blaming the customer for a hardware failure that could only be caused by severe and repeated abuse.

Well, I'll save you all the blow by blow, but it seemed pretty obvious to me that the bike and others on display had had a deal of work already done on them.  Its likely that this problem has happened a number of times before with these bikes and been repaired - which just makes it likely to happen again.  Although none of the crowd "would suggest" that I'd intentionally thrown the bike on the ground and then stomped on it with a boulder borne of the great Saggarmartha itself, apparently I couldn't expect them to believe that this just "happened".  Trying to convey these complex arguments in my broken Nepali and their broken English was just another aggravating twist to the experience.

No one expects a dodgy side of the road place to provide a top quality bike, but I certainly felt that its their responsibility to fix and maintain bikes, because sometimes, they break down.  If you are in the business of renting a bike, it needs to work.  If you are in a bus and the carburetor fails, the passenger on the bus doesn't pay to fix it.  Therein lies the problem, it was always going to be a case of he said-she said.  A smarter person would not find themselves in this situation, a dumber would end it with fisticuffs.  Ultimately, I handed over a small but still annoying amount and left in a bit of a rage, that still flares when I think about it.

Tips for Pokhara

• Try to get out of Lakeside, even if just for a little bit.  For alternative places, climb to the stupa, visit Damside, the temple at the south of the lake or just catch a taxi to the middle of town and try to get back to your accommodation by local bus.
• Bike hire - if anything I can serve as an example to others to remember what you're getting into by borrowing from a small side-of-the-road provider.  Make sure you have a good discussion about terms prior to cycling off to the horizon hoping all will be well (and most times, it probably is):
• What happens if the bike breaks down?
• Discuss a deposit up front and make it reasonable for both parties.
• All care but no responsibility (good luck translating that)
• Accommodation
• Don't book online, you will pay inherent tourist tax. 
• Pokhara, and Lakeside specifically is undergoing a building boom.  Unless in super busy tourist season, show up in person and negotiate like the next place will give you a cheaper room, because they will!
• Hotel = $$$.  Guest house/lodge = $.  And as far as I can tell they offer you exactly the same thing, except you might even get to know the family running a guest house.

Costs (for the things worth talking about) - per person:

• Karma Guest House - 600NPR/night (bottom floor) - 800 NPR/night (top floor)
• Bike Hire - 500NPR/day or 150NPR/hour, 500NPR = idiot tax.
• Taxi to Sarangkot return - approx 1500-1800NPR (you have to negotiate hard)
• Bus from KTM-Pokhara - 1000NPR (if you are willing to negotiate, otherwise you can pay anything from 1500 to 3500NPR)
• Mahadevi/Devi's Falls - ~30NPR - not enough to make you disappointed when you see them