Motoring through Nam IV

From Hue we drove to Phoung Nha-Ke Bang National Park. The park is beautiful, as you can see.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Evan and I stayed in the village of Son Trach where no English was spoken. In fact, between Hue and Hanoi, where Evan and I spent 3 nights and 4 days, English was hard to come by. What was more frustrating for me was the lack of effort on the part of local people to communicate with me, often individuals to whom I was offering or had already given money (namely, hotel receptionists).

The route from Hue to Son Trach traversed 230 km of rural roads and took us around 6 hours including breaks. We explored Thien Duong (Paradise Cave) in the National Park. Discovered very recently (2005) Paradise cave is 31 km long and considered the largest dry cave on earth. We climbed 524 stairs to reach the cave’s mouth, then descended into it’s depths before exploring along a 2 km loop inside. I’ve seen my share of caves in the course my travels, but never anything of this magnitude. Here are a couple photos of stalactites.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Afterward we drove back to our hotel, checked out and hit the road, this time headed for Ha Tinh about 200 km away. We were making excellent time on the Ho Chi Minh trail until the directions called for us to take “Route 17” east. Quotes, you may have guessed, are meant to convey that this was not your typical route. Route 17 was a dirt farm road, littered with large jagged rocks and divots, very steep at times, and ultimately impassable. A flat tire (a likely outcome given the terrain) in the middle of the 45 km we were supposed to be on this trail would have been a devastating turn of events. We turned back after about 25 stressful minutes. Back on the Ho Chi Minh, where not long ago we’d been ahead of schedule, we were now racing daylight.

And then I crashed.

We were on an unfinished road, covered in smooth wet clay. I wasn’t going particularly fast, maybe 35 – 40 km/hr when my front tire lost its traction and I fell on my right side. I may have been lucky to not have fallen on rocky pavement, but believe me when I tell you that the ground is a solid, unforgiving beast nonetheless. Instantly I was flooded with a combination of shock and pain. I lay motionless at first, not wanting to move any potentially damaged limbs. Soon I heard hurried footsteps approach. One man grabbed me by the helmet and jerked me upright, then tried to slide his hands under my armpits to lift me to my feet. I was beside myself with anger. First of all, when someone’s been in an accident, the last thing you do is move their neck in any way. I’m sure this man’s intention wasn’t malicious, but wow, what an idiot. Also, after having just suffered a painful trauma, the very last thing I wanted was to be moved or touched, let alone jerked awkwardly to my feet. How does that help me? What if my leg(s) was broken? After I had been pulled upright I shoved the 2 men away who were trying to lift me to my feet. Then I just sat there, breathing, waiting for the shock and adrenaline to subside. Evan was by my side shortly and helped to get me and my bike off of the road. I poured water down my right arm and leg to wash away the dirt and examine the damage.  As I did a large crowd gathered to behold the fallen foreigner. These people had no concern for my well being. It was a show to them, roadside entertainment you might say. I don’t know if I’ve ever felt so uncomfortable, so vulnerable, sitting there with stinging wounds, filthy, weak, a hundred eyes or more staring, waiting, excited for my next move.

I was lucky. I had bruised my right hip pretty bad but other than that I only had two or three superficial wounds. Once I had collected myself I told Evan “Let’s get the hell out of here,” then did my best to ignore the gawking crowd smiling and waving to me as I mounted my bike.

Back on the road, my confidence was shattered. I was afraid of falling for the rest of the day, miserable and anxious. At long last we arrived in Ha Tinh, but it took ages to find a hotel to take us in. We found a place eventually, showered, ate and passed out.

 

The next day we drove to Thanh Hoa, another 200 km away. It was not a fun ride. We were on Highway 1 the entire time, weaving around Mack trucks and other traffic, exhaust bellowing in our faces. We both felt sick by the end of the day. When we arrived in Thanh Hoa I put my foot down that we would be staying at a nice place. A very nice one. And we did. Here’s the view from our balcony.

 

 

We now had only 200 km left to reach Hanoi, one day more on this crazy moto journey. Before setting off we took a photo in front of the hotel. After 40 km on the A1 we drove on empty rural roads for the rest of the way. Beautiful. It reminded me why we had bought bikes in the first place. I began to feel sad that the journey was coming to an end.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here’s a look at our route from Hue to Hanoi in 4 days on Google Maps.

It was an amazing feeling to see Hanoi in the distance. Evan and I yelled like shameless fools as we cruised into the great northern metropolis. Wow. We had made it. 2600 km from Saigon to Hanoi, 12 cities en route.

 

Reflections on the journey as a whole:

As you can imagine, there’s an enormous difference between road tripping in a car versus on a motorbike. On the bike, you feel every inch of the road, each crack in the pavement. Fluctuations in weather, wind speed, visibility, flying debris, sunlight, and traffic congestion affected my attention on a moment-to-moment basis. A true exercise in mindfulness.  Transitions from freedom on well-paved roads to heavy traffic, potholed or unfinished roads could be sudden and unexpected. Since I navigated the majority of the journey I tended to take the lead on the road, so when we cruised on rural mountain passes, there was nothing to obstruct my view of the astonishing vistas, villages and villagers, mountain ranges and rice paddies. It was perhaps the freest I have ever felt. At other times, however, namely on congested roads, constant vigilance was required to stay alive. I can’t tell you how many Mack trucks I passed with about 2 to 3 feet of space on the shoulder between the truck and the guard rail (or oftentimes a much more precarious boundary). Whenever attempting such a pass, I honked the horn so the truck driver could hear me coming and held my breath, knowing that if another car were to pass him on the left, or if he were to swerve to the right absentmindedly, I could be a goner.

This experience was, undoubtedly, the most dangerous yet fulfilling endeavor of my life. As I drove across Vietnam’s magnificent landscape, all of my belongings strapped to my bike, I experienced a sense of control over my own destiny that I had not yet felt in my short time on this earth. When I arrived at each destination, I was free to explore on my own schedule. I was never obliged to wait for a bus or pay for a taxi (though I did take one or two taxis in Hoi An en route to fancy dinners). Since most Vietnamese people travel by motorbike, I felt at one with my environs – a traveler rather than a tourist. Instead of comparing one city to another, I was able to hold each destination in context of the terrain before and after. I was able to witness the stunning transformation of the land and people as I traversed from South to North, from coast to highland. Never have I been so in tune with the pulse of a country and its people. Knowing its history and legends, its no-so-long-ago war torn past, I was able to cultivate a novel appreciation for Vietnam’s cultural variety and regional similarities and differences.

This adventure was not without serious risks, and I must give thanks to the cosmos that I arrived in one piece. I am also very grateful for the Google Maps app on my iPhone, which was able to guide us the entire way. I have no idea how we would have navigated some of those middle-of-nowhere roads without it. Of course I must also express deep gratitude to my travel companions Emil and Evan, fellow Cobras, with whom I am forever linked, who helped make this journey the wondrous and unforgettable experience it was. Finally, I am indebted to the beautiful Scottish girl whom I met on Koh Ta Kiev, wherever she may be, for pushing me to push myself.

It was one hell of a ride.

Here’s a look at the full route from Ho Chi Minh City to Hanoi. Google Maps estimates this route to be about 2100 km long, but with detours and exploring each city we drove over 2600 km.