Day 7 - on the road to Hoa Binh - Trial by fire: new bike, first tour, first time in Asia

November 1, 2024

Day 7 - on the road to Hoa Binh

Well, everyone, a pinch and a punch .......There may be a few of both in the days ahead.

We aimed to leave by 7 but it was 8 by the time we had gone for a bowl of congee, dropped into the bakery, collected our washing, tightened my chain, took leaving photos. It would have been nice to get a photo with Four but there's always things you fail to do on these trips.

We got out of Hanoi easily enough passing a museum with old tanks and US aircraft and stopping at lights among untold motorcycles. We took few photographs; we had other things on our minds - navigation, staying together, etc. We saw our first traffic bingle - between cars, and I let a couple of motorcyclists know that they're stands were down - a potentially disastrous error.

We stopped in Quach Oai for a coffee and failed to communicate "no take-away containers". We got the no take-away but still got the container!

Another new thing in Vietnam and a disaster anywhere.

Clash of cultures - Ian with K-pop MTV in the background

A scooter with a fine load of bougainvillea

A highlight of our day's ride was stumbling upon a migratory duck farmer - something that's disappearing. The idea is that ducks control insects, thin the rice, eat some weeds and eat the residual grains after harvest. Chemicals poison everything, including the ducks.

Soon we were into karst country - limestone eroded over millenia to leave isolated peaks.

Unfortunately, there's tragedy here too. Golf has invaded.

Yes, it's now a golf course. Where was the communist party when you needed them screaming about imperialist sport?

We pushed on in easy cycling conditions, bar the heat and humidity, watching the km to Hoa Binh drop.

Winston getting to the top of our first hill

We rolled into Hoa Binh in good time and headed for a hostel that we found by searching for hostels. We didn't find it and resorted to old tactics by asking "is there a hotel nearby"? We got an answer and then someone even took us to the Minh An hotel near the football field. It had a terrific "bonsai" outside while our top floor room had a shower to die for.

The beautiful game being played near our hotel

We saw many of these strangler figs in elaborate pots - pseudo Bonsai

Pickleball has even come to Vietnam 🇻🇳 Another imperialist sport?

The friendly dog under the table was the best part about our dinner place.

Today's ride: 78 km (48 miles)
Total: 235 km (146 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	4
Comment on this entry	Comment	0