Vietnam biking adventure
Discussion
Looking good.
Stay warm! Reminds me of my visit to Northern Vietnam during a cold snap - we froze in our flimsy backpacker gear and all the cold weather gear you buy was Vietnamese size and somewhat unsuitable. With snow falling we ventured into bars and cafes where every third of fourth chair had had the cushion removed and replaced with a pot filled with burning coals - lovely heat and balls to the noxious fumes!
Stay warm! Reminds me of my visit to Northern Vietnam during a cold snap - we froze in our flimsy backpacker gear and all the cold weather gear you buy was Vietnamese size and somewhat unsuitable. With snow falling we ventured into bars and cafes where every third of fourth chair had had the cushion removed and replaced with a pot filled with burning coals - lovely heat and balls to the noxious fumes!
AceOfHearts said:
One slightly depressing sight from this bit of road was a caged lorry packed full of dogs, at least 100 of them all piled on top of each other. Presumably heading to dinner tables in Hanoi.
On a final food related note, on the way to Ninh Binh we stopped in a small town in the middle of nowhere for some food. We were feeling adventurous and opted for fried sparrows, but I ordered a backup of 'steak' incase it was really grim. The sparrows arrived, I managed to stomach 3 before giving up and then my steak arrived...
Google translate had let me down.
What translated to steak was actually steamed pig brains. To be fair it tasted like a nice pate but by that time my appetite had been well and truly lost.
So reminds me of my trip.On a final food related note, on the way to Ninh Binh we stopped in a small town in the middle of nowhere for some food. We were feeling adventurous and opted for fried sparrows, but I ordered a backup of 'steak' incase it was really grim. The sparrows arrived, I managed to stomach 3 before giving up and then my steak arrived...
Google translate had let me down.
What translated to steak was actually steamed pig brains. To be fair it tasted like a nice pate but by that time my appetite had been well and truly lost.
We were heading NW towards Sapa and the lads I was riding with were getting fed up of the normal thin noodle soup every day, so said they’d lookout for somewhere that had a charcoal/wood grill going, where we’d be sure to get some meat.
Sure enough we saw one and stopped to eat. The lady had 4 clearly different meats in bowls ready to grill, so we asked what they were. Cue a 2-minute game of charades where we made animal shapes and noises until she confirmed the first plate was pork.
We then moved onto the other offerings, 2nd was pork, 3rd pork, last one pork too!
We ordered a selection to be grilled, which surprised her, as we ordered for the thre of us, enough to feed the entire village apparently, and it was all very good, and made a great change.
Two weeks later, returning our bikes to the hire shop in Hanoi, and chatting to the staff about our fantastic adventure,
‘Did you eat dog?’ one asked.
She saw the look of shock on my face. ‘You won’t see it on the menu much in Hanoi, because they cater for tourists more here, but up where you’ve been, it’s very popular’
Then it dawned on me ‘Yes, I think I did’ I replied slowly.
Glad your 'off' was only relatively minor. You can be a long way from proper medical care out there.
AceOfHearts said:
Forgot to update milage. From Khe Sanh to Hanoi has been 736km so total is now at 4078 
I am relaxing for a week in Hanoi before exploring the North any further. I have been planning my next adventure which although not bike related should be interesting!
Great funn, as long as it lasted.I am relaxing for a week in Hanoi before exploring the North any further. I have been planning my next adventure which although not bike related should be interesting!
(((Dad says))) make sure, you bag it lad!
So to finish this thread off. Total distance ended around 4200km.
I got to Hanoi just over a week ago, did some sight seeing, boat cruise to Halong Bay over my birthday and I'm just waiting for my flight to Thailand.
I was planning on riding around the North for a few weeks but with the weather up here at the moment I know I wouldn't enjoy it, hence running to Thailand for a few weeks before heading to Japan. Sapa is currently icy and 2 degrees, Hanoi is around 15 so not ideal (although better than home)
I had no luck selling the bike to a backpacker so ended up taking it to a local mechanic where I got 2,000,000 dong for it (£65), although a little disappointing it still worked out a very cheap way to travel for 3 months, I will work out the total cost another time.
Goodbye Vietnam!
B52 in Hanoi
I got to Hanoi just over a week ago, did some sight seeing, boat cruise to Halong Bay over my birthday and I'm just waiting for my flight to Thailand.
I was planning on riding around the North for a few weeks but with the weather up here at the moment I know I wouldn't enjoy it, hence running to Thailand for a few weeks before heading to Japan. Sapa is currently icy and 2 degrees, Hanoi is around 15 so not ideal (although better than home)
I had no luck selling the bike to a backpacker so ended up taking it to a local mechanic where I got 2,000,000 dong for it (£65), although a little disappointing it still worked out a very cheap way to travel for 3 months, I will work out the total cost another time.
Goodbye Vietnam!
B52 in Hanoi
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