Vietslam

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１We entered Vietnam freezing cold and soaked wearing socks over our hands and bin bags as coats much to the bewilderment of a seasoned Swiss tourer on his way to Laos.A good downhill with the right gear or weather became a test of endurance not seen since Scott of the Antartic and friends were heading south to colder climes.Glad enough to cut below the cloud forest and warmer air we found our way to a busy town called Tay Son.It seems tourism has yet to take off here as we took centre stage with exited young guys ,three to a motorbike screaming hellos into our faces as they flew past.So like that here then is it?
I'll be honest right from Tay Son ,throughout Vietnam I became pretty closed off towards the locals,generallly finding them too "in the face" loud and eager to rip us off somehow.If someone would shout hello to me I would shout it back and then wonder why he's got all offended.I'd tell you about the drivers but kids might be reading this,lets just say that if driving was a lesson in school then India would retain its place in the corridor doing lines while Vietnam would be sat in the corner wearing the special hat with the 'd'.Motor scooters are the worst,never and I mean never looking at whats coming when joining a busy road,simply trusting whoever is coming to go around them.Now thats trust!
It wasnt all bad.After the dry brown and yellow landscapes of Laos,Vietnam exploded into a colourful land of red flags and endless shades of green although the city of Vihn was about as grey as you can get.At least this comunist hovel had a fantastic two star hotel(two more than usual) with all the trimmings for five euro.A place where we found shelter from the ongoing cold and got clothes washed the cyclist way in the bathroom sink.
My wheel would last only another 160km along the white knuckle hell ride of highway one where the good drivers stay at home and the sadistic are out en mass.There is an alternative route along HCH Highway,Should of taken that really,definetly dont recommend HW1,its a real nightmare without an ounce of respect,not a place for flimsy bikes.We need air horns and armour if we ever tackle that fucker again. Besides, Tati's head was banging from the accident and from the stress of the road.
Luckily(I suppose) two spokes gave out in quick sucession which rendered my wheel useless,its buckle touching both sides of the frame as it turned.Seven hundred km of bumps and bruises has put it to the sword.A few adjustments of spoke loosening and we limped into a village north of Thanh Hoa where,on a busy cross road we were throwing our bikes on a Hanoi bound bus while fending off a hustler who smelt our gringo gold.And there we were travelling 130km to Hanoi ,by far the longest land transport we have taken on this trip. Tati was smiling all the way there.

Hanoi is where we found our feet again in Vietnam,its a fantastic city,lots to see especially around the leafy old quater,lots of churches,grand colonial buildings,comunist megaliths and fine lake side parks.Here is where we got serious with the national drink,bia hoi.This homebrew beer is made at various microbreweries and has no chemicals giving it a short shelf life but the way the locals and tourists put it away its never going to be around long enough to go flat.And its cheap too.Getting drunk for about 2 euro sitting in small plastic chairs on street corners feeling like giants is the sensible thing to do.
Looking for bike parts by bike in a big city will always take you to the out of the way places that most visitors miss out on.Now you'd think that Hanoi ,capital of Vietnams 83 million population would be teeming with bike shops.I had visions of fighting off shop owners who would throw new wheels at my feet " take mine, take mine" they would call out.Instead it involved an all too familiar wildgoose chase searching for this mythical wheel of misfortune.Alleyways and kebab sellers but no wheel,artists and markets but still no wheel.To the edge of town,a shimano sticker on a door,not nearly close enough.There are two Ba Trieu's(roads) in Hanoi, one has bike shops in the centre and the other has drunken gambling men on the outskirts of town,my map naturally took me to the latter where I topped up the 60km marker in my two day quest for a wheel which had taken me to all three web addresses of Marco Polos bike tours(all dead ends) and also to a mysterious Mr Treng at 51 Doi Can,so mysterious in fact that he doesnt exist.Feeling that unicycling was the only option left open to me I found the real Ba Trieu but no decent bike shop just lots of no's and cant help you's and plenty try down there's.Salvation would come in the form of a family in a tiny shopwho's daughter's exellent english made matters that much simpler.Although her dad worried me when he told me back wheels were the same as the fronts,he returned from his secret warehouse with an old back wheel ,rusty and dusty slightly buckled but fully spoked it was mine for twelve pounds.Bargain ,considering the effort!
All bike thoughts put to one side we went out to see Hanoi,taking in the war museum,passing a statue of Lenin(father red),wandered the old quater ,a fine arts museum(where most things looked like bike wheels to me) and also kept up our tradition of turning up late to see embalmed former comunist leaders.So sorry Lenin and Uncle Ho ,we will apologise to Chairman Mao all in good time.We even took in mass at St Joesph's cathedral as a gesture of rememberance to Tati's grandma,a peaceful occasion.
Left Hanoi crossing the Red river heading north first along small roads that disected busy rice fields and in the afternoon along the main road hampered by trucks and weekend traffic.Vihn Tri gave us comunist sized accommadation and a beer hoi bar next door.Lots of rolling hills and a weekend of empty rice paddies took us to Yen Bai and our nicest hotel of the entire trip.A big blue sore thumb of a place opposite the train station had four poster bed,fridge ,kettle,balcony,cable tv,hot water and great staff all for the standard commie giveaway price of 170 000 dong or 8 dollars US.Thought about staying an extra night just for the sheer luxury of it but were out the door early sunday morning with the need to get on.Following the red river along a dirt road over several steep hills to Mau A taking it easy in rough sections in fear of my wheel disintergrating,its along way to the next salvation in Kunming.
Great days ride passing small holdings and rural life using the river to our left and the train line to our right,even if we were unsure exactly where we were on our map these two landmarks kept us from getting lost.Asking the locals was out of the question since my veto on learning the language had most peole scratching their heads when we presented our map at various cross roads.I wondered sometimes if they knew where they were.Freindly enough bunch round here if not a little to drunk for the time of day.
Late afternoon brought us to a bridge with a sizable town unmarked on our rough guide map where we found a cheap homestay and beer hoi to go with our sandwiches we haggled down at the lively marketplace.
Decided to continue following the river in the morning,steep in parts and still a dirt road but very quiet and rural.Using a local girls boat to cross a tributary river at one stage,giving her rowing technique a questioning glance when she took the oars in her feet to take us across..The dirt became tarmac ,the road flatter as we passed brick factories perched on hillsides on the way to Lao Cai and its super eight lane highway approach from the south.Massive empty building stood either side of this assortment of border pride gone mad.
The section from Yen Bai to Lao Cai was better than our Sapa experience.Sapa town for me is over run with tourism the local tribal ladies going for the big sell in groups of four or five.I found it all a bit depressing and preferred our ride along the river,although it wasnt tribal it was certainly authentic.Tourism can destroy a towns soul and Sapa's soul has been stuffed,mounted and made into keyrings. We hired a moto and took in some of the amazing mountain scenery instead.
Vietnam was a struggle for me ,maybe too long in S E asia ,just didnt seem to click with the locals,right til my last purchase of water they tried it on.I dont mind the odd coin here or there but to double prices is too far..One mans nightmare......
You cant win em' all.The S E asia door is closing and Chinas jack in the box is about to spring.

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Photos

Lcal basket sellers
north of Hanoi

Comments

[Lazy]

Helmets...
Like the new baby blue helmet and sunglasses :)