Today Vietnam tested our patience. Though other people rated our hotel with five stars because of the delicious breakfast they just serve some instant noodles as Phở. Nevertheless we started early to make some kilometers to reach Ha Long Bay in three to four days. The weather was cloudy and the temperature comfortable. The first 100 km today have been the quickest until now. The streets were broad and there was almost no traffic. The valleys and mountains we passed weren’t as steep and narrow as they’ve been yesterday. We rode through giant rice fields and many villages. At about ten we already arrived in Hoa Thanh where we fist wanted to stay for one night.
Because of the not so interesting landscape and the perfect temperature to ride on, we didn’t stop for any longer time. In Vinh we enjoyed lunch in a small restaurant. For the young people there we were an attraction. We thought it would be a good idea to follow the route QL1a close to the coast. This decision actually was a big mistake. It was a horrible ride for the last 100 km following this road. There have just bee many trucks and buses honking all the time. We swallowed dust and diesel and had to be careful all the time. The landscape? Forget it. To follow the A1 from Zürich to Bern would be nicer and more fun.
This is just the time to explain some traffic situations. For driving in Vietnam you just have to forget all the rules you might have learned to pass your driving exam.
Stop - wait - watch - listen - go! Forget it. Just honk, go and listen…
Never overtake on the right side? Just go where you find space to go!
Don’t overtake before summits or corners? Just honk an go!
Stop when traffic light shows orange? Just honk and go!
Give the police a call when you see someone driving in wrong direction. Wrong direction? There’s no wrong direction.
Some people remind me of myself when I was younger and used to have a moped. This moped had to carry whatever was possible. Compared to the Vietnamese people I was an absolute beginner in loading a moped. Some people load things on their scooters we would rent a minivan for.
But my favourites are those people pulling a wheel barrow by scooter sitting on the drawbar. Sometimes massif loaded barrows with steel, wood or stones. I can only imagine what would happen if anyone of them had to break immediately…
Since we drove 1000 km again we had do do an oil change. In Tan Hung we found an official Honda representation we decided to do it here. After a while starring at our bikes three people squatting and discussing we realized they absolutely have no idea which screw they will have to open to empty the oil. Before one of them had the chance to come with the glorious idea to drill a hole I helped them and showed them what to do. Definitely not inspiring confidence. If it was my own bike I would have changed the garage for this duty.
We were both tired of riding and weren’t able to sit on a saddle any longer. So we decided to try to find a room in a nearby hotel. The receptionist told us to have a twin room left. After taking the luggage off the bikes she mentioned to have only a double room left. We love to share the holidays, the impressions, the food,… but we don’t feel like sharing beds. So we left and found an other Hotel about 750 m away. Aside from the very noisy aircon we immediately switched off it seems to bee OK.
The food and the people again made our day. Just around the corner there’s a restaurant. Probably a restaurant for truckers. Not able to speak a word in English they showed us their huge menu. We just pointed on two of the four pictures printed on the menu and ordered stir fried sesame shrimps and sweet and sour cat. It was our fist cat. Both were absolutely delicious and not comparable to anything else I’ve eaten before. Ordering beer actually isn’t a problem anymore. Hai Bia and you’ll get two beers. This time they’ve been running out of cold beers so the maid brought us a steel can containing two liters of beer. It reminded me of my brothers wedding serving Bud light. :-) In the end we payed CHF 1.95 for the beer.
The people were incredibly friendly and the chef and two guests wanted to take a selfie with us. After leaving the restaurant the chef run after us to shake hands. Though shaking hands isn’t a Vietnamese tradition they only do it with western tourists. For one person I regret to have met (at the other hotel) there are thousands of very nice people I would like to be able to understand.
