The Epic Journey

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Prologue: Hello Hello fans - I'm so sorry to have kept you waiting for so long... I have a lot to write about, and I didn't want to rush it. As some of you may remember from various emails and the like, I went on a road trip with two friends up the coast of Vietnam. This was in some ways one of the all time best things I've ever done, and in others one of the most stupid. Before I continue, I'll explain logistics a bit more, and that should shed some light onto both descriptions: I decided to drive a little over 980 km (roughly the distance between Carlisle and Savannah, Georgia) on a motorbike with a top speed of approximately 80 km/hr (not that I can actually maintain 80 kmh for more than a minute or two...) with no liscence, no papers for the bike, no map, and only two college-age ex-frat boys for my companions. (Truth be told, only one is actually a frat boy, and the description doesn't nearly do him justice, he's actually pretty cool, and the other should have been one, and wasn't...). I had little more than a thin plastic sheath as a rain coat, and a large backpack to hold my 'supplies'/clothing for the next two weeks. Furthermore, let me explain that I was sharing the road with HUGE buses and trucks (like from the interstate at home), cows, ducks, dogs, motorbikes, cars, and bicycles...all on the main arterial road in Vietnam - Highway One - which is less than the width of Hanover Street in Carlisle. Add to it the fact that people more or less disregard road signals (and their significance in general communication on the road), plus the general tendency to pass each other by driving in the opposite lane (mine)...which pushes me off to the side...and into the lane with bicycles, pedestrians, etc.

Chapter One - Nature's Splendor: Nothing I write can do justice to the beauty I saw on this trip. At times, we drove through valleys of rice paddies (greener than I imagine Ireland is in the spring) speckled with white cranes and flanked by hazy purple mountains. (Gorgeous as it was, the cross winds here were pretty bad, and the driving was often difficult.) At other times, we drove though mountian passes, misty with clouds and fog; along the coast line, with a sheer drop to the water below us. Always, the sky spread out above us, limitless. Vietnam has a fairly diverse landscape, and we drove through sections that were reminiscent of the American southwest as well as parts that were distinctly jungled Vietnam. I've posted some photos to do the rest of the talking for me...


Chapter Two - The Company You Keep: More about the boys. I've never spent time with such testosterone pumped boys, and it was certainly an interesting and fun experience. I won't go into depth, except to say that their conversation revolved mostly around three topics that I don't relate to much: in-depth politics (nothing superficial for me to grab on to), sports (still nothing), and babes (in some ways this was the most relatable. At least I could have an opinion). By the third day of traveling, I was craving estrogen in a way that I haven't since eleventh grade...but in the end, I persevered and had a great time with them. HAnging with boys certainly has it's perks - they're quite laidback (as any boy will readily agree). These boys also like to flex their muscles from time to time (as is known to happen) talking about how much they can drink, hot girls they've dated, general 'pissing contest' material...which was amusing enough. The pinnacle came early in the trip, when Brian dared Tyler to chug approximately three shots' worth of nouc mam (fish sauce, asshole sauce, you know the drill). To make it more worth his while, we each threw down some cash (about 13$) which TYler is always short on. The fish sauce made it down well enough, no puking or anything, but the following morning Tyler was in a poor state. He got well aquainted with the toilet in our room, and even the following day, we had to pull over to the side of the road for him to throw up a few times. (The best was when we pulled into a small town to find lodging, and he keeled over on the main drag, right outside the hotel. As the only white people in town, the last thing we needed was to draw more attention to ourselves). Which brings me to another point - never before in my life have I had the (dis)pleasure of enjoying 'celebrity status'. At first, it was fun. We sought out small places where only natives woud go to drink/hang out. We had some great drinking nights, including one in which we outdrank a native and sent him to the bathroom. But as time wore on, I was more and more aware of my status as 'different'. It got to the point where we tried not to be with locals much; once we were at a bia hoi place with them, weren't enjoying their company, left and went to the local 'fair'...where they tracked us down and continued to hang out with us for another hour or so. In one small town, a hotel girl became fascinated with us and we chatted with her/got food...it was fun!!......until we woke up and she was waiting for us outside of the hotel room! I don't mind it all the time, and it generally affords a lot priveledges to be white here, but there was no escape, and it became too intense by the end.

Chapter Three - A Moment of Seriousness
As I mentioned before, the roads were not altogether safe (although we did a lot of driving during Tet holiday itself, so not many people were out on the roads). Unfortunately, there was one bad thing that happened - I partially caused an accident. I was making a left turn, and I put on my turn signal, but forgot to check my mirror. I started to turn and saw two bikes behind me. I stopped, but one swerved to try and avoid me(thinking I wouldn't see them) thus hitting the other bike. Neither bike should have been passing me on the side that i was turning towards, but regardless, two riders ended up on the ground, and one was not well off. There is no real infrastructure here, so no ambulance/police came. Instead, they plopped him on the back of a bike and drove off - I'll never know if he was alright or not. He was supposed to be wearing a helmet, which would have seen him much better off, but as I said, there's no infrastructure, and the laws aren't enforced. Although it was only partially my fault, this accident had a profound effect on me. In day to day life, it's impossible to understand how each and every decision you make (or don't make) effects others. Generally, I evaluate any given circumstances by how it will effect me and the people I know. You can never know how your actions might unintentionally touch someone. The whole experience gave me insight into the interconnectedness of how our lives are forever touching others around us...I know this all sounds quite corny and rediculous, but it was an eye-opening experience; tragic, and unforgettable.

Chapter Four - Odds and Ends
Here are just some highlights from the trip that don't fit into the aforementioned categories.
1) While we were in a small town (the one where the men tracked us down) we went to a local town fair... when we got there, we all needed to use the bathroom, and we spotted a small cafe that seemed safe. Little did we know it was anything but... upon entering, we went towards the back and were pulled into a Vietnamese dance party!!! Woo HOOO!!! It was a bunch of V teenagers dancing around to blaring techno!! I was SHOCKED and immediately joined in - Tyler was horrified, and claimed it was the closest to hell he's ever come! If I didn't know better, I'd guess these kids were on 'E' - they were OUT OF CONTROL! Needless to say, we didn't stay too long, but I'm sure we made their night - white people at their party!!
2) Attempting to see the sunrise - and being ambushed...after a night of partying with locals (nice people, early in the trip) we decided to wake up before sunrise and watch it from the red sand dunes in Mui Ne. Lonely Planet is generally pretty reliable, but they dropped the buck here. Upon FINALLY reaching the dunes (post sun rise, after a few wrong turns) we were 100% ambushed by a gaggle of street kids with plastic 'sleds' promising a great ride down the dunes. Our full mental faculties were less than intact, and so we didn't fight them (as we should have). After some mediocre rides on less than impressive dunes, we paid the kids. They were NOT greatful for our money (which was more than sufficient) and started fake crying and when that didn't work they started cursing us out!!! THE AUDACITY!!!
3) At one point (between Mui Ne and Nha Trang) we had to pull over for gas and bathroom breaks. Rather, I had to use the restroom, so the boys stayed out at the gas pumps. It was dark out and the place was eerily (sp?) lit and a bit scary. As I bumbled towards the back, and the toilets, I stumbled across what I can only assume was a stop off for the illegal animal trade. There were a bunch of cages, some housing monkeys, others dogs, and one with a HUGE eagle/other bird of prey. I've heard of restaurants acting as fronts for the mob, but never gas stations in the middle of now where hiding animals. Needless to say, I was more than a bit starled! I hurried on to the bathroom and went about my business. Visions of '12 Monkeys' danced through my head for the rest of the night.
4) We tried to keep the night driving on Highway 1 to a minimum - it was MUCH worse at night, with the same amount of traffic, more bugs, and much less visibility. But at times it couldn't be helped, and in a way these times were really quite remarkable. The rice paddies stretched out into a field of darkness, with no discernable shapes, and continued until they met the mountains at an imperceptible point. Only the silhouettes of the mountains were noticeable, just a shade or two darker than the twilight sky behind them. In a world that's so frequently a victim of light pollution, it's a rare sensation to not know where the earth stops and the sky starts. It left me feeling quite small and insignificant; dwarved in the undefined darkness that engulfed me just a few yards beyond my motorbike's headlights. The only other time I've experienced this sensation was in Romania, when we (Suzie, Angelo and I) were riding a bus in a blizzard. The only difference was that the world was white (much more optimistic) as opposed to the black abyss waiting to swallow me up!

So, that's about it for the actual motorbike leg of the trip. I decided to head up to Hanoi (via bus) on my own after the boys went back to HCMC. More about that later!

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Photos

And the journey Begins...
Technically this was the second leg of our trip, but the drive from Saigon to Mui ne was kinda ugly in comparison. Post Mui Ne is when the real beauty started.

Beautiful
We stumbled across this little area whilst we were searching for the sand dunes. As you can see, the sun has clearly risen.

Ungreatful wretches
These would be the little brats who ripped us off and took advantage of our fragile (collective) state of mind!

Me and Brian
Road between Mui Ne and Nha Trang.

Da Boyzzzz
This is a wonderful portrayal of my comrades. They worked on their tans the whole time; when locals saw them, they were fascinated and apalled.

cows and sheep
Here are some of the aforementioned cows and sheep that we shared the road with. At this point, it was getting cold so we pulled over to put on warm clothing. As I was rooting through my bag, the whole lot came over and surrounded me! SURPRISE! Unfortunately, no photo exists.

The Open Road
This is one of the (many) valleys that we drove through with the strong cross wind. The scenery and vast sky were well worth it.

Near the end...
In the last town we stayed before Hoi An. Quite, quaint, unassuming...and also where the crazy techno teens lived! Who would have thought????

CHam Ruins
This is an ancient temple complex that was built by the Chams, a group of people who were greatly influenced by Hinduism.