Vietnam, Day 12 the Final day - Yen Bai to Hanoi

The father of modern Vietnam, Ho Chi Minh, looked over me as I slept; not personally, his picture hung over my bed for the night. He led the independence of Vietnam just after the second world war and overcame French rule, Chinese influence and of course American support for the South Vietnamese during the "American War" as it's known in Vietnam. Earlier during the trip, Ta took us to a dam that the Americans tried to destroy during the war and it was the first time I've heard it being referred to in that way; but it makes complete sense. I didn't detect any remnants of animosity for Americans today or indeed the French, but that may just be because tourism is now crucial to the Vietnamese economy.

Of course the other a war, was the short lived one with China, which invaded in 1979 in response to Vietnam's involvement in Cambodia, where they helped depose the murderous Pol Pot and the Khmer Rouge, which China supported. Vietnam, a communist country was closer to the Soviet Union. It's a complex history, but Vietnam has moved on and is just getting on with it. It's still a communist country but not in a repressive police state manner. The state apparatus is seen everywhere, communist party buildings in most of the towns we saw, work gangs repairing roads, etc, but tourists are not greatly affected by it. In China, Tibet in particular, we could not move more than a hundred km without having our papers checked.  

               

It's a grey start to the day and in fact that didn't change. Setting off and it soon became apparent that the chickens this morning had a particular death wish, jumping out in front of Ta and me on several occasions. Bless them, I do like chickens, they're very cute, but so stupid. In a random thought, I wondered if it would be possible to train a chicken to have a bit more common sense. I guess a tall order. In any case, no chickens were harmed today.

Plenty of tame road riding today, if you can call dicing with lorries that appear on your side of the road on blind corners, 'tame'. At the first coffee break, I ask to try Ta's bike. It's a 150cc version of the bike we're riding. It's a little smaller physically and has a reduced diameter 19" front wheel that in principle makes it less stable off-road than the 250cc with its 21" wheel. To give you some comparison, most road oriented bikes have 17" wheels, which give more agile handling. I don't notice the reduced stability, even if we did do some mild off-road sections, the 150cc engine had plenty of pep for me, and I thought it was smoother and had a more pleasing sound. For sure it couldn't keep up with a 250 flat out, but wasn't far behind. I kept the 150 for the remainder of the day.

At around 11:30, as usual kids in blue and white, or green and white, uniforms spill onto the roads, walking, riding bicycles, electric bikes or in some cases mopeds. Ten or eleven year old kids taking their younger siblings to/from school is quite normal here. They wave to us as we pass.

Coffee before lunch and it's a model of neatness. The Vietnamese coffee was OK too, served in the usual mini aluminium filter, we must be getting close to Hanoi.  Ray especially savours his caffeine kick, before which he's a bit grumpy to say the least...

An early lunch stop and the food as always was very good. The flavours that come out of a tiny basic kitchen is incredible and never disappointed. Even my normally bland tofu was appetising and could be further enhanced with the excellent local soy sauce. However the toilet to the side deserves a special mention for opposite reasons.

In a dice roll moment on a straight road, Duff had a near miss when a truck for no apparent reason veered across the road in his direction and mine, then suddenly corrected its course and resumed a more appropriate benign path.

Before reaching Hanoi we follow the route of the Red River levee which flows through Hanoi. In places the wide road disappears and becomes a dirt or gravel road. In other places it's an almost pristine tarmac road and for some reason it's completely empty. We also alternate between the road and the flood plain. It's a mad hour or so of wild off-road on-road and a huge cloud of dust follows in our wake, but Ta seems to be having more fun than us. It's brought to a premature halt when my back wheel develops a puncture.  

Thanks to Mr Tu, 30 minutes later we're back on the road, but now in a somewhat more sober mood. Ta still bounces around like an over eager Jack Russell and I join him temporarily below a grass embankment, but the 150's tyres are very slippery and I call it a day. By that time we're on the outskirts of Hanoi and opportunities for play are diminished.

And then.... 3, 2, 1, pow! We're back in Hanoi. Boy, it's insane. It's 3pm on a Friday afternoon, you can imagine the chaos.  Mopeds, cars, bicycles, mopeds, trucks and mopeds, everywhere. In all directions. Simultaneously! Don't blink or you're toast, don't hesitate, see a gap, make it yours. Take no prisoners, but don't be aggressive. Make progress, but don't go mad. But somehow, we make it through in our ten pieces, and arrive back at the tour office.

High fives, hugs and, no, no kisses. We made it! Bundled into the mini bus and back to the hotel, it's a short break and then out to dinner. The evening is young and karaoke beckons... Alas, Ray says "we'll save it for next time". I'll quote him on that the next time. Whenever that is.

STOP PRESS: Ray, Alan and I sang an impromptu My Way outside the hotel with a portable Karaoke machine that I picked up at the market for 250,000 dong. Yes!!!

Vietnam; the boys and me went through hell....  you weren't there man!

Vietnam, Day 11 - Lake Ba Be to Yen Bai

A bloody orchestra of crowing cocks from 6am woke me, so my favourite pre and post alarm sleep was disrupted. Although, the positive of this premature réveille is the best morning view so far and breakfast on the balcony extended the spectacle. The low lying mist gradually lifts while we eat and the topics of conversion this morning include the 'artistic quality' of Queen album covers and circumcision. Lovely.

The morning's riding included a narrow technical section through fields, leading to a path through thick foliage. Just before we turn right to head uphill, we see a family in the fields threshing rice. The rice is shaken from the bushels by a machine and bagged, while the stalks are neatly piled ready to be used as fuel. The whole extended family have roles and even the kids lend a hand.

We climb the side of a hill, another tight, steep, rocky and muddy trail, very challenging for all of us. Several sharp, near 180 degree, turns require deft throttle and clutch application combined with balance or you end up doing the equivalent of a three point turn. Watch out for the dried up muddy ruts, or you'll come a cropper if you're not careful. At one point Ray decided his bike was 'tired', so allowed it to lie down 'to rest', either that or he was leant over Marquez style! That caused it to trap a cable, resulting in some rather erratic - more than usual - behaviour from his throttle, not what you need on the side of a hill. Mr To was on hand to sort a quick fix with a handy rock. Unlucky Gerard ended up stuck towards the back, and with Ta frequently stopping for pictures, stories were relayed about the sound of incessant cursing that resulted. The climb was physically hard work and most are sweating profusely. Great fun though.

You'd think that villagers would object to a group of hairy, dirty bikers riding en mass through their villages. But no, they genuinely seem to appreciate our presence, waving, even without prompting by our own waving, and smiling in return when we initiate the universal sign language exchange. Kids run out from inside their houses, jumping up and down in excitement at the sound of our engines. The Honda 250 exhaust note is quite muted, but it sounds more purposeful than the average step-through.

Off-road riding sees your mind constantly processing multiple inputs from your senses: eyes seeking out the best line over rocks, through mud and gravel; ears listening to the engine note rising and falling; the feel, of the bars and the seat moving under you; and if you're not riding with mechanical sympathy, even smell, as you burn out your clutch! Fortunately we are not in that category. So that leaves only taste unused, but that gets a good workout in the evenings when we enjoy the excellent Vietnamese cuisine!

Before lunch we stop for coffee and there are a number of karaoke rooms at the back of the cafe. Ray picks up a microphone... but no, he's just teasing us. Is that as close as we can get him to a karaoke session?  We'll keep trying.

Lunch, then refuel, and we resume on a tarmac road. We stop just before starting the last off-road section of the day and it's time for a quick 'pit-stop'. Half way through, two young girls on a bicycle appear on what was a deserted road and head our way. On seeing us, they decide to change course and head the opposite way, much to my relief, in both senses of the word.

We then ride 7km off-road, blasting across dusty roads with dips and rocks ready to catch you. Graham and Gerard take the lead behind Ta, with me in hot pursuit. We stop with whoops of delight and Martin is so in the groove, he blasts past us and stops 50m further up the trail. Then it's a road ride to the homestay for the night. A hammock awaits me and I unwind while compiling my notes for the day.

Is that the sound of an animal being tortured filling the air? It's coming from the house opposite; but no, it's someone exercising their vocal chords on a karaoke machine! Fortunately they pack up after a few truly awful Vietnamese songs are massacred.

At dinner, the homestay host brings us some happy water. He seems to be the most enthusiastically 'happy', proposing multiple toasts in the local dialect Vietnamese, while the fish in his pond get to enjoy their fair share of happiness too. A couple from Cape Town, here in Vietnam to teach English, join us at dinner; one wonders what they made of our eclectic bunch. They've been here for a few months and said they saw all kinds of animals butchered on the roadside, including dogs. It's not something we saw, although a few butchers did have pictures of cows, pigs, chickens and dogs.

200km to Hanoi tomorrow - the last day. We plan to wake for an early breakfast so that we can avoid the Hanoi rush hour at around 4pm. Happy riding.

Vietnam, Day 10 - Quang Uyen to Lake Ba Be

My roomie, Danny throws opens the curtains when his alarm goes off. In the daylight we can really appreciate the view that he chose for us last night: a brick wall. Wrapped in fleeces, I'm prepared for breakfast in the virtually open air of the hotel lobby; things have calmed down since last night's chaos and the sliding doors are mostly still.

The bikes have been prepped for us and are parked waiting, opposite the hotel. We're off and following mainly tarmac roads today. We ride on the flat plains in between the soft looking limestone mountains. These mountains are very different from those we've seen in other parts of the world. The Himalayas and the Alps are very jagged, while these are rounded, but with very steep and sometimes sheer slopes, and are covered in thick vegetation. On either side of us are neatly ploughed smallholdings and harvested paddy fields; they are so neat they could almost be for show.

Then it's a series of fast roads through towns, and we see the usual collection of obstacles deserving beeps. The horn is not a sign of abuse here, it's sign of being noticed and surely that's a good thing.

We start climbing and fog closes in on us making it cooler; we stop to add layers. We go up and down, up and down (ten dollars worth?), and sometimes it's difficult to know when we're higher or lower, but my body's own altimeter gives me a clue when they pop. These are nice mountain roads, sweeping, with mostly good tarmac. I'm following Alan this morning and we come across a big 4x4 drifting into the middle of the road, then suddenly indicating right. I'm inside of Alan and have to stop completely, while Alan goes around to the left. At this point Duff, who's following me, also sweeps by in a supreme overtaking manoeuvre worthy of Valentino Rossi himself. Savour it Duff, it won't happen again! 

There are live bamboo rats attached to sticks outside some houses. These things grow up to 2kg and are being sold as food. Ta tells us the meat is sought after. A puppy has a narrow escape as it runs out in front of me, then stops. I too, stop, just in time; if it was a cat, it would be down to eight.

We pass the truck carrying Mick and our luggage; he didn't wave at us, but claimed he did at the lead group - that's just favouritism! Hopefully he'll be joining us on two wheels tomorrow.

Stopping for coffee, I have the best ice cream of the trip so far, a chocolate something or other. It was good. Ta impresses us with an abs exercise roller he finds; we suspect he's a bit of a gym bunny. Outside, kids are heading off to school, although this appears to be an add time to go (around 11am). They want to practise their English and ask us our names. I try to answer in my best RP and reciprocate by asking theirs. Hahn, Linh and Chau, nice to meet you. Back inside, and detailed Brexit discussions are continuing; maybe we should stay in Vietnam!

Now for the off-road bit, we ride along a river bank whose edges have been eroded by the river in flood. There's a corn field on the left, a narrow path ahead, and a 3m drop to the river on the right. The path is broken by a gap bridged with a small makeshift bamboo bridge. Ta says this wasn't there last time and he was expecting that we'd have to carry the bikes across the gap. As it is, it's not a trivial affair to traverse the gap, which is in a dip, cross the bridge, and go up the other side. But we all make it without falling in. Then onwards through a mini banana tree plantation; the leaves are huge, but the bananas are still green.

Back on the main roads after lunch and another set of sweeping roads to enjoy. You need to be careful of sandy gravel often found in the middle and edges of the road. Pick your path carefully to avoid these or risk losing grip, especially in corners. You soon become a dab hand at finding the grippy line.

Just over 200km today and we arrive at the homestay by about 15:30. Set by a lake and with magnificent views, it is composed of a number of basic wooden rooms, with a mattress and, and, that's about it! The gaps in the planks suggest this might be a chilly night.

But before bedtime and before it gets dark there's time to get a boat trip on the lake. We get out of our riding gear and jump back on the bikes for short 1km ride down to where the boats leave. It's a completely different feeling riding like this with the wind in what's left of your hair and being so light without our body armour. It's not something I'd want to do with any kind of speed, but it's nice to experience it once in a while. The last time was on the salt flats in Bolivia; good memories.

We clamber into a long flat bottomed, not quite skiff, raft. This takes us for a 45min cruise up and down Lake Ba Be. It seems like there's lots of rubbish floating on the water, plastic bottles litter the surface, but in fact these are floats for fishing nets that hang below and we see fishermen laying these out as we go past. The forest around the lake is thick and looks primeval. It's hard to imagine anyone fighting their way through it, down steep slopes, to the waterline, perhaps no one ever has. 

Towards the end of the ride, Ray and myself leap into the water from the boat, we swim the 2km back to shore, although in reality this may have been closer to 20m. It was very refreshing and will probably have the same effect that our herbal baths had a few days ago.

The sound of Vietnamese soap opera on the family's TV is entertaining me in my single room. That and the French couple in the room below me. I do hope they don't get frisky!

Vietnam, Day 9 - Boa Lac to Quang Uyen - does my bum look big in this?

The alarm went off at 0630 this morning and it was a cold breakfast, which came in bursts and in the wrong order. The bananas arrived after we'd left. 

Mick's not riding with us today. He had a fall on the second day and his back has been playing up since. The fall however was not on a bike, it was in a slippery shower floor. Proof if ever there was, that washing is more dangerous than riding; perhaps that's why we like to be greasy bikers? He's dosed up on ibuprofen and will be riding this one out in the support truck. We'll miss him out on the roads - whenever we stop for lunch or drinks, people want their photo taken with him; he's quite the celebrity.

I've decided to deploy extra padding down below today, a folded towel strategically located. Let's see if it helps. It does look rather odd though.  Bags loaded into the truck and we're ready to fly.

After leaving the hotel, we see a couple that we saw few days ago at the top of a pass. The Chinese lady wanted her photo taken with me and said she liked pigs; I'm sure that's no reflection of me or her gentleman companion. 

It's cloudy and feels to be at about the Goldilocks temperature for riding. Turning off the main road we climb into the clouds, and then gradually the sun's disk appears through the grey fog, and then emerges, bringing the flat landscape to life and giving our eyes some colour to appreciate. The views of the mountain tops over the clouds are fantastic and surprising given that we are only 1000m up.

Duff says he's not in the groove today and Ray seems to be warming up slowly too. Quite like me really. Everything starts out sedately, then something triggers the inner BikerDom, it could be a smooth corner taken at speed, feeling the back end slide out a bit, or perhaps Graham getting too close to my rear wheel as he does. Then BD is off. It takes a while, but he comes down to earth eventually; until the next trigger.

Around mid morning we arrive at a wall of rock a few hundred metres high, witha zigzag of road climbing it sides. There follows 15 curves taken with spirit. The five musketeers arrive at the top with smiles on their faces. Oh, Ray's woken up now has he? Then down the other side with equal zeal.

We come across a mobile wall of brightly coloured flowers. These are being transported on a you know what, weaving across the road in places where the lack of speed hinders stability. Another example of two-wheeled utility.

We cross another river and are given a choice, wet or dry, and you know the answer. This time it's a proper concreted ford above a small weir. The concrete is extremely slippery with slimy mud and I can feel my back wheel spin-up in a few places so I have to be very careful with the throttle. Of course we're posing for photos and videos as we ride across, so a spin and fall into the water would be be doubly embarrassing.

Before lunch it's a main road with centre line road markings and everything. Doesn't stop people closing off an entire lane outside their houses with logs and branches so they can dry their seeds in the sun. Coming across these, you have to wait for oncoming traffic to clear before proceeding.

Although it's neither too hot nor too cold, the locals obviously feel the chill and many are riding with back to front jackets to protect them from the cool airflow. It's a cheap way to stay warm in the 'winter' in Vietnam.

We do meet up with Mick and the truck for lunch, he's in fine spirits. We're in flat country now, the weather's fine and we're riding through former fields of corn either side of the road, the stalks have been neatly gathered in bunches like mini tee-pees that litter the fields.

After lunch it's a fast "100km" blast on main roads before reaching the Thac Ban Gioc waterfall on the border with China. These are lovely and a bit like a mini Niagara Falls that separate the US and Canada. Canada gets the best view of those falls and I reckon the Vietnamese get the best view of these ones. We stop there for a while, exploring the area and taking lots of pictures. The main falls are divided between China and Vietnam, as is the river, and we can see the Chinese side only about 50m away Chinese tourists on covered rafts enter the spray from the falls like a Chinese version of the "Maid of the Mist" boat that does the same thing at Niagara. 

The Chinese side is definitely more commercialised and you can see modern developments on the hillside above the river as well as a wooden walkway. You're not allowed to swim in the water, I guess for fear of crossing the border, but the official rafts ply their trade up and down. The Chinese are the only ones on the water today and they seem to have no regard for the official border that runs midway down the river. Apparently the border with China used to be about 10km further into China until China claimed it and took control of it many years ago. Something of which, Ta reminds us about periodically.

Another fast run of 40km, which turns into 60, but I don't mind. I do however miss the fuel stop, running past it at speed after getting stuck behind a car and then rushing to catch up. I soon realised that there was nothing to catch up to and stopped at the next junction. This was fortunate for Tu ("Tang" was incorrectly used previously), sent to retrieve me, as otherwise he would not have caught me easily.

The hotel seems like it's in the middle of nowhere as after dark it's the only light in town. Only it's not, the town is a short walk away and by all accounts is quite large. The hotel lobby is extremely noisy and as we eat dinner (surprisingly tasty squid) we can barely hear ourselves talk. We also battle with the cold draft from the constantly opened sliding doors which are the main door into the hotel. After a table of locals leave, things calm down a bit. "HELLO! I'M ON THE TRAIN!" comes to mind. Like yesterday's hotel, it has many elements that are really nice, marble floor, etc, it just has that unfinished feel, which ruins the effect.

Not sure the towel did anything, as my bum still aches.