Ride to Hanoi

It took me 11 days of riding to get from Saigon to Hanoi. Three days to Jungle Beach.

 Jungle Beach is part hostel, part beach resort with a slight flavour of hippy commune thrown in. The buildings are all traditional bamboo and reed thatch construction with mud walls, painted of course. Meals are a communal affair with beer or wine an optional extra. The guests spend most of their time lounging in hammocks, frolicking in the waves or hiking up to the waterfall for a fresh water swim. It’s a great place to catch up on your reading or recover from the previous day’s long ride.

It’s a bit of work fighting the waves to get beyond the break. Each time you dive under a wave there’s another one coming right at you breaking in your face. Once you get out there there’s the wonderful feel of the ocean as it lifts you up and down; feeling the inexorable pulsing from storms a thousand miles away. Every wave, every ripple, every speck of foam has its cause. Man makes his mark on the land and leaves his waste to soil the seas, but in the ocean you can always feel the power of the world that gave us birth.

From Jungle Beach I headed North to Quy Nhom.  The hotel was friendly enough, relaxed and had a shower, had a bite to eat then decided to go for a walk to find an ATM.  At this point I made a series of mistakes.

1)      Did not take my mobile with me.  So a long walk in the dark and the rain ensued. Eventually found an ATM that works and got some money.  Somehow on the walk back I could not locate the hotel. Walked the same streets up and down. Asked some people, but I had the street name and hotel name wrong.

2)      Not only did I have no mobile, but I also had nothing with the name and address of the hotel. It was not a big one and was on a small street. Felt foolish, wet and lost. I was in a bad way.

3)      I took the help of a woman on a motorcycle. Should have known better, but I really did need help.  She drove me around and failed to find the hotel, kept saying she would help me. She really didn’t. Its just that at that point I badly needed a friend and thought that she was it.  I went into an internet café and managed to locate the hotel.  Some boys showed us the way, but I continued on the back of the woman’s bike.

4)      Nice to return to the hotel and put on some dry clothes and retrieve my mobile.  Then I tried to give some money to the woman.  She would not take it, but said she wanted to eat dinner.  She took me to a small restaurant and ordered some things. By this time she had persuaded me that she was a friend who just wanted to help. So I compounded my problem with her by saying I would pay. The bill came to a ridiculously high amount which I stupidly paid.

5)      She promised to repay some to me and said she had to go to her hotel nearby.  The result of all of this was she took off saying she’s return in two minutes.  Of course she never returned. A sadder and a wiser man, I walked back to my hotel.

Next day I rode to Quang Nhai in warm sunshine. The hotel was the My Tan Riverside.  It was improperly marked on my GPS, so it took some finding. Turned out to be a very nice hotel with a riverbank restaurant and nice view.  This time to find an ATM I took my mobile AND the motorbike – no problems.

Next day I reached Hoi An. Three days in Hoi An. Beautiful historic town! Good friends and trips to restaurants with fellow guests.  Got fitted with some excellent tailored clothes which I mailed back home.

Hoi An to Hue – nice ride.  I didn’t think much of Hue, but stayed 2 nights.  The city walls are impressive, but not useful considering the onset of modern warfare; more appropriate to the C15th. It didn’t do much to deter the French who soon occupied and looted it.  It was further destroyed during the American war. Trips to Palace and tombs seemed overpriced. Some kings from the C19th used their considerable wealth to build incredible, lavish tomb complexes.  The construction is extraordinary, but all I could think of was the waste of resources. No wonder the people eventually turned communist. I went for a ride through the peaceful green countryside.  Particular enjoyed the old Pagoda surrounded by the calm quiet of monastic grounds. It was to be my last sunny day.

Hue to DongHoi. Through the busy modern streets of Danang and along the shores of China Beach, pounded by the relentless waves of the South China Sea.  After Danang came the famous ‘Top Gear’ pass where the weather changes abruptly as the coastal road winds upwards into the fog. At the top of the pass the warmth of South Vietnam meets the cold winds blowing down from China.  There were lots of trucks, slippery roads and no view to speak of. After that it was wet work along the coast to Dong Hoi As I trailed the trucks along the busy highway I kept checking my physical state – hands cold as my gloves became damp, feet going slightly numb, back developing pains here and there, seat giving an increasing pain in the butt.  Minutes became hours. Always on the lookout for the emerging truck, motorcycle, cyclist or whatever. Hearing the siren of the huge sleeper bus coming up behind, hugging the center of the road … just get out of their way. Can I do this? Should I be doing this? I stopped for gas, tried to dry my feet, had a coffee and a cigarette.  Thankfully the bike continued to perform perfectly. Eventually I dragged myself like a drowning rat through the welcoming doors of the Nam Long Plus Hotel.  The manager helped me unpack my bike, dry off and get into some warm clothes. He produced a large hoody which was too big for him so I gratefully wrapped myself in its dry warmth.

The staff at this hotel were outstanding in hospitality and instant friendliness. The owner informed me that the thing to in Dong Hoi is taking a tour to the caves at Phuong Nha.  He said, “The caves are wonderful and people come just to see them.  Now you are here and you may never come back so you shouldn’t miss the opportunity.”  I counted the days and realized I can afford an extra day in Dong Hoi, so I booked a place on the tour the following day.  Guess what? He was absolutely right.  The caves are magnificent.  I met new friends and wandered open-mouthed through these vast cathedrals of natural beauty formed over millions of years within the limestone mountains.

The owner of the hotel was a veteran of the American war.  Actually he was only 4 years old when it started but he remembers the bombs falling and his family members dying.  He was a Communist and he used to hate the Americans. Now he feels betrayed by this own corrupt government and some of the Americans have returned to visit Vietnam and they have become his friends. He seemed to have gained a deep understanding of how people cannot be judged by their nationality. They helped me fasten my bag to the bike; gave me an extra poncho against the wet. His hotel touches everyone who comes. It’s a well-run place, but more than that, it touches the heart.

Dong Hoi to Vinh    Another wet ride. I have nothing much to say about Vinh, except that I got a good night’s sleep and was slightly better prepared for the next day – more rain and 176 kilometres to Ninh Binh.

Vinh to Ninh Binh   Just as I started my ride the rain came right on schedule.  Dark clouds and grey sheets of water gusted in from the sea all day. In the first half hour I hit some puddles and my feet were instantly soaked. My greatest fear was that, during one of my stops to check the GPS, I might get the mobile phone wet; which would put an end to effective navigation and make it very hard to find my hotel. It wasn’t fun; I just kept thinking about a dry place with a hot shower. At around 3 pm after what seemed like a chilly eternity, that is exactly what I found.

Ninh Binh to Hanoi   Decided to take a scenic route.  Its confusing to use GPS to try and find smaller roads. Kept missing the way.  Eventually found the dike road along the Red River which gave interesting views of cows and rice paddy communities, but it was so rough I was going less than 20 kph.  At least its warmer today. Once I got off the dike it was an easy hour to get back to the highway. Met a policeman who actually smiled and gave me directions in English. Hanoi bike traffic is horrifying, especially around the old town.

4pm found the Hanoi Golden Charm Hostel. 18 days, 2,000 kilometres. I made it!