Today we are exactly halfway through our sabbatical. From start to finish we have 200 days of holiday. Today is Day 100. What a ride it’s been! But it seemed we had another fun ride ahead of us…
We have decided to travel from Hue to Hoi An – about 150km – on the back of motorcycles. Mr Tung and No 10 (yup – that is what he wanted to be called; hopefully not referring to the number of accidents he has had) from EasyRiders came to pick us up bright and early. The weather was overcast and it looked like rain. Suddenly I was not that keen on spending a day on a motorbike. Adrie, on the other hand, could not contain her excitement.
Our bags were strapped onto the back (it made for a useful backrest) and Adrie had a huge smile on her face, so I was left with no choice. Into the morning rush hour traffic of Hue we sped…
One problem announced itself not 500m after we started. Hue’s roads are widely potholed and there is a lot of roadworks about. This, coupled with my 90kg frame, plus the 20kg from my bag, meant that every bump completely bottomed out the suspension causing me to almost bounce off every time. Tung’s solution was to pump up the tires – I was not convinced.
Me looking quite nervous
Another problem – there are no traffic rules in Vietnam. There are traffic lights and lines on the road, but no one ever takes any notice of either of these. There are apparently over 40 million motorcycles in Vietnam and we had now joined the scrum. Dashing in and out of side streets, in between buses and cars, in the middle of the throng of bikes and pedestrians on wet streets. I was a little freaked out. Maybe it was because my mother, who was once a casualty nurse and saw many results of bike accidents, drummed into us that we should never ride a bike. Maybe it was because I looked at Tung in his biker clothes and jeans and then at my bare legs in shorts and wondered who would come off worse in an accident.
But my biggest problem was how to hold on and where to put my feet. With every bump my feet slipped and I had visions of serious burns from the exhaust pipe. I also didn’t have anywhere to hold. I certainly didn’t want to bear hug Mr Tung. We were intimate enough already as I slipped forward with every bump and now my groin was firmly embedded in his back.
Mr. Tung seemed quite pleased with the situation…
We headed out of the city and I relaxed a little simply because the countryside was so amazingly, distractingly beautiful. The dark black sky contrasted perfectly with the green rice paddies. The mountains were misty and the road was now smoother.
The highlight of the ride was most certainly the Hai Van pass – a 21km ocean mountain pass. When it was featured on Top Gear it was referred to as “a deserted ribbon of perfection – one of the best coast roads in the world.” While it is not so deserted these days with all the bike traffic, it is truly stunning going around the hairpin bends with an amazing ocean backdrop.
The other stops along the way were less memorable. There was Elephant Springs – a series of pools and waterfalls in crystal clear mountain water. This was too tempting for Adrie not to have a swim.
China Beach in Danang – pretty but we didn’t stay long. The weirdest stop was Marble Mountain – a rocky outcrop with a series of caves that housed the most tacky marble carvings in the known universe hewn out of the mountain itself but surrounded by red and green strip lighting. You can really just give that one a skip.
Our stop for lunch was interesting. We pulled up alongside a street vendor’s little café. We got delivered a plate of unidentifiable food that was surprisingly delicious. Although given that my stomach and I had only recently become friends again, I was not sure what sort of “peace offering” I would have to offer it after this meal.
We made it to Hoi An in one piece – the bikers were actually remarkably safe drivers and we genuinely enjoyed our road trip, but were excited to be in the beautiful city of Hoi An.
Dream Team – Mr. Tung and No. 10 delivered us safely to our hotel
Day 100 – what a good way to spend the day. This road trip was kind of a metaphor for our whole trip so far. We started the day slightly nervous and hesitant, not knowing what to expect. Thereafter, it was rushing headlong through a strange city at breakneck speed discover strange, weird and wonderful things along the way. Everything was eventually followed by a more chilled out countryside.
I started to relax a little as I travelled but my bum hurt from all the sitting (much like on some of our plane journeys). We tried some strange food. We saw some cool things (like the rice fields and the Hai Van pass). We saw some really tacky touristy things (like the Marble Mountain) and ended the day chilling out by the pool and drinking cocktails with not a care in the world. Like the rest of our trip, it seemed to go way too quickly.