Sometimes it rained but often the skies went grey and that was all. The pattern is not bad. The cloud cover provides welcome relief from the sun and riding in the rain is not that bad. The prettiest views were of long valleys with terraced rice padis, snaking rivers, and lush forests. The number of trees surprised me.
Trees generally cover the steeper hill sides and small patches of trees spot the valleys as well.
The roads in flat areas are often lined with trees, each tree painted with a three-foot wide white stripe at chest level. As we climbed hills, the number of people generally declined. Once while we climbed a long hill, we passed an elementary school. At this school, however, one kid decided to run after us. This was not hard since the we were climbing a fairly steep hill.