It's an adventure! We had to schlep our gear and bikes 1/4 mile across the China/Viet Nam border in single file order before getting on another uncomfortable bus for another five hour ride over more bumpy roads to Ha Noi. From Ha Noi, we rode an uncomfortable overnight train to Hue then again to Nha Trang. At the end of each day's cycling we had to ride uncomfortable buses to the end of day. That's how some people view their experience in Viet Nam. I had a blast!
The weather has been outstanding for a place many wanted to avoid because of the reported heavy rains and flooding. There was a threat of drizzle one evening, otherwise - clear skies; highs, mid 80's; lows, low 70's. I've earned some healthy(?) tan lines. And, heard enough "hallo's" and horns to last until I get behind the wheel of a car.
In Ha Noi, I went on a tour of the city including the Hanoi Hilton which held the American pilots shot down during the "American War" as they call it. Most of the displays showed the French colonialists mistreating Vietnamese political prisoners. Only one room showed photos of Americans being well treated, cooking their own food, reading mail and in church ... except one of the Americans photographed in church had his hand up to his face and his middle finger extended up his cheek. Our guide told us the Americans ate better than government employees getting 30 Dong worth of food rather than 18. During the bombing of Ha Noi, when the center part of the train station was destroyed, another bomb destroyed the nearby home of our guide.
If you read an article in a recent Adventure Cycling magazine, you'd think Ha Noi was filled with bicycles. That may have been true only a short time ago, but not anymore. Thanks to prosperity, now it's filled with motor scooters. Some streets don't allow bikes. In Viet Nam, the person who honks the most seems to have the right-of-way. There are no laws and often no traffic control. The honking is even worse on the highway.
The people are incredibly friendly ... and curious. When I heard a spoke snap on my bike, I didn't stop immediately but waited until I passed two riders fixing a flat just ahead. They had a crowd watching. Almost anytime I stopped, someone would stand and stare. By waiting until I was out of sight a hundred yards beyond, I was able to replace my snapped spoke in peace.
The poverty forces many people, especially children, to beg. I've never seen so much begging as in Viet Nam. It's really sad. At the Baskin & Robbins in Sai Gon (or Ho Chi Minh City) a double scoop costs more than a gardener makes in an 8-hour day. A massage costs $6-10/hour. A phone call to the U.S. costs the same amount per minute! Almost every time a price is negotiated here, after the service is performed, s/he wants more. It's annoying but sad.
Viet Nam is also a contrast in beauty. While towns and cities are dirty and crowded, the countryside and people can be beautiful. Terraced hillsides are aglow in the morning sun with different colored vegetation. Beaches stretch for miles along the ocean. Rice patties are a vibrant young growth green. Dragonfruit grows on a tree-like cactus. About the size a large baking potato with a red when ripe skin, its interior is white with black dot seeds and tastes like a cross between a melon and kiwifruit. It became popular at meals. I had a better crepe in Viet Nam than France. I had a better spaghetti sauce here than Italy. The spaghetti was more "all done eh" than al dente because only Italians seem to cook it just right.
Viet Nam has a growing economy and things should improve for the majority of its people. Wicker stiff backed train chairs, difficult to get visas, and some hotels built too quickly to last make parts of traveling to Viet Nam undesirable, but the overall beauty of the land and friendliness of the people make it a memorable country.
Keeping the rubber down and the spirits high,
Bruce