Planes, trains and automobiles...and boats and rafts and motorcycles
This is what there is to look forward to - take off September 29th for Hanoi via San Francisco and Taipei, spending a LOT of time in the back of a 747 (unfortunately it's not business class this trip). Stay in the historic Metropole Hotel upon arrival in Hanoi. Relax, de-jetlag, see the city, then meet the Australian blokes and get the Russian-made Minsk motorbikes and go riding.
The objective is to go motorcycling in the mountains of northwest Vietnam. Why? Because four wheels move the body, but two wheels move the soul. Vietnam is a beautiful country…off the beaten path, so the trip should be a little out of the ordinary. I still have a lot work to do, and as Pirsig said in Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance, “The real cycle you‘re working on is a cycle called ‘yourself'."
We’ll head up through the mountains to the northwest of Hanoi on what’s called the Middle Road. The sights should be fantastic - beautiful karst mountains, heavily terraced slopes, swift rivers, waterfalls, floating bridges, ferries, and unique hill tribes. The route will largely follow the spine of the Hoang Lien Son mountain range. We plan to ride to Vietnam's highest road pass - the Tram Ton pass - which should offer spectacular views. Hope to enjoy some of the most amazing and unspoiled scenery Asia can offer.
New videos below: I took the first video clip one morning in Hanoi...I visualize it as a call to "workers of Hanoi wake up to glorious morning"! The second one was an intersection in Hanoi, taken from the back of "nummaonemotobi taxi", translated as "Number One Motorbike Taxi". You just hop on the back and get driven around to see the sights!
The roads should all be paved, except where they’re not...then it’ll be dirt, or mud if it rains. Speed is not the point - maybe we can average 30-35kph. There’ll be places to stay along the route - Mai Chau, Moc Chau, Son La, Tuan Giao, Lai Chau, Tam Duong, Sapa, Lao Cai, Bac Ha, Bao Yen and Yen Bai. You have to look for the words Nha Nghi (rest house), Khach San (hotel) or Nha Tro (inn). And you can plan on handing over your passport at the hotel, as they need to register it with the police. It's also common to be charged to park the bikes inside the hotel overnight. For el cheapos, there are always guest houses that have rooms with wooden beds, an outside toilet, and maybe a tap for washing! Electricity can be found almost everywhere. We’ll see what the restaurants have to offer...
After biking for about a week, the final leg of the trip will be an overnight train ride back to Hanoi.
