Today is sunny and hot. The road is dry and in fairly good condition especially along the shoulder where the little motorbikes ride. I left Hue City just after 8 for a 176 k ride to Dong Hoi which is a beach town with a small harbor.
After I clear the city I find myself riding with open fields on my left side leading to layers of hills with mountains with sharp peaks behind. The fields are bright green and the mountains in the distance are bkue-grey. To my right are palm trees and occasionally sand dunes that are 60 feet tall and have ground cover and scrub growing on them.
The kilometers roll past uneventfully through towns, roadside villages, and open areas. The sun is pretty relentless and I am glad to have a long sleeve sunshirt and sunscreen on my hands and face.
Today there is a head wind with a bit if a left front quarter component that's stiff enough to move the little bike. Definitely more wind noise and when passed or passing on the right you feel the winds blast when you come out of the shadow of the vehicle on the left ( truck or bus). It gives you something to think about.
Rougher road equals more need for a break so I stop for a tea break after 1 1\2 hours and again for a leg stretch with about 33 k left on the day.
When I pull in to Dong Hoi I can quickly see that there are many hotels and I choose one about 1 k from the beach that has a view of a picturesque canal that leads to the harbor. My room looks South along the canal which has quaint streetlights along the right bank stretching for 500 meters or so. There are hotels, coffee shops and restaurants lining both sides of the canal. Not so bad a view. Later I walked to the beach and watched the fishing boats going out to sea for some night work. Back to the hotel with some supplies purchased from a local market and watching soccer on TV before turning in early for another day's riding. Easy life.
Tomorrow to Vinh, 196 k.

written by  Mike_Veine on June 19, 2013 from Dong Hoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Top Gear Adventure 2- Vietnam Boogaloo!
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Very much a 13th day with several incidents of bad luck and unfunny stuff happening.
This morning I left Dong Hoi at 6:30 am. I was up early and never unloaded the bike at the hotel so I just had to pack my toiletries and get dressed and out the door. I rode for an hour and stopped for coffee at a very busy sidewalk shop which was between a Honda Dealership and a Yamaha Dealership. It looked like the salesmen and a few mechanics from both shops were swapping gossip before work. When I arrived I was the center of attention. It is hard to get used to the stares, but they seemed friendly enough and there were smiles as well. I heard someone say My which means American.
I ordered coffee and an older gentleman at a table near the back gestured that I could sit with him. At first I thought he might be the owner because he was sitting with the young man who worked there so I thanked him and sat and he poured me some tea from the pot on the table. We didn't chat, just sipped our tea and after my coffee was served he paid for his drink and shook my hand warmly and gave a "good morning" greeting and left. I shifted chairs to sit with a view towards the street and I saw a man from the front table by my bike and then the bike was over on its side and the man was gesturing to me. I picked it back up while he sat down with his buddies and watched. The clutch handle was hanging off broken at the stem. I shoved it back into place and there was enough stem on it so the clutch cable tension kept it in place and working. Also the left turn signal housing was damaged.
It was clear that I wasn't going to have someone step up and be responsible so I smiled and went back to my coffee. You can bet that if I knocked over a bike there would be hell to pay!
I paid and left soon after with a bit of a sour taste in my mouth and not from the coffee which was excellent- too bad.
Then it was back to the ride, still 150 kilometers to go! Riding consists of three speeds mostly: third gear thru town and traffic, sometimes second briefly around road construction and bad congestion. I was also in second while I was part of a kilometer long parade of bikes with everyone flying a Vietnamese flag. A Police car with lights flashing led that, no clue what it was about!
Most of the time you are in fourth, Top Gear, either cruising at around 50 kph when cars or trucks are close or running almost flat out, up to 70 plus kph in the wide open areas with light traffic. The bike is very responsive and decelerates quickly when you back off the throttle or downshift to engine brake. Because of the wide areas for bikes on the shoulder you can pass slow traffic on the right or the left making sure to leave yourself a reasonable out left or right. So you ride with traffic, pass traffic or are being passed 75% of the time. You also need to watch for the traffic passing in the oncoming direction especially around bottlenecks like construction zones and hills. So you are too busy on the bike to take good looks at the scenery and you really appreciate the times when it is wide open and you can take a look around. The rhythm of the drive can be fun as well with the weaving and mixing with the traffic, but you need a break every couple of hours at least.
At my next break I pulled over to an umbrella shaded area where a sugar drink machine was. They use the machine to press the slim canes and mix in juice as well. The young man who made it set it on the small plastic table while I was walking around stretching my legs and when I went to sit down I kicked the table and most of my drink went to the concrete! More 13th day woes!! I tried to ask for another, but sadly couldn't get my point across, so I sipped the quarter cup that was left and ate the ice. A young man at another table chatted with me briefly before his friends joined him. I sat for awhile just getting my focus back and then headed to the bike. I pushed the electric start and it turned over but wouldn't start. I tried this a couple of times and then checked the gas tank- it was empty! I thought I had at least another 50 k left but the bike had other ideas I guess. The young man I had spoken with was leaving so I asked him if he knew where the nearest gas station was. He kindly pushed my bike with his and took me down the road out of his way I am sure to help me out! Finally a good omen. Filled up for 200,000 VND and back on the road with 80 k remaining. The rest of the trip was uneventful but very dusty and dirty with approximately 30 k of road construction passed through today so I was glad I wore the surgical mask.
Made it to the town of Vinh by noon and done for the day!
I will hunker down inside today and let Day 14 get me a little closer to the Top Gear Challenge end in Hao Lon Bay!

written by  Mike_Veine on June 20, 2013 from Vinh, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Top Gear Adventure 2- Vietnam Boogaloo!
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Up at 5:30 for breakfast just after 6.
On road just after 7. So much construction creating dirt, confusion and snails pace on the highway so I will take what comes today. Filled up with gas trying not to make the same mistakes twice. Stopped after 2 hours for coffee break. It looks like I could maybe make Ha Long bay tomorrow at the end of the day which would be awesome.
For coffee I found a place where the kids are watching cartoons- way more interesting than me so no stares for once. Seems like a very nice place and shady and cool. Already 90° out here.
At about 11 am I had an accident in Quang Phon. A taxi made a left turn in front of me and stopped in the road. Not enough time to dodge him, I was probaby doing 30 kph and I hit the rear brake and turned left I think. The rear tire slid out and I was on my right side sliding along the road with the bike trapping my right leg under it. I slid about 15 feet, did not hit the taxi. He drove away and several bystanders ran to me and lifted the bike off. At first I could not move, just wanted to lie there but I recognized this as shock so I let them help me to the side of the road. A man examined my scraps and put mercuricrom on them. I had a rip in my pants over the right kneecap and a large abrasion under that. Both heels of my hands had abrasions as well. I got one of the people to hand me my drink bottle and took a long drink to help clear my head.
The accident happened right in front of the Honda Dealership and one of the mechanics came out to assess the damage to the bike. The clutch lever and left mirror were sheared and hanging from the clutch cable. My left wrist is sore, but nothing seems broken. Gradually I got myself together enough to go into Honda and find the sinks to wash up in. They had good soap for the mechanics so I used that and slowly cleaned each wound taking care to get all of the dirt and grit out. The I got my large bag off the bike with the first aid kit in it and the iodine. I cleaned the wounds again with antibacterial wet wipes and then took the iodine outside and burned out each wound. Stung a lot. Sterile gauze over the knee and bandaids on both hands. Now clean and dressed I drank some more water and recovered. The mechanic said 2 hours for the repair. He was replacing the whole clutch housing with the light switches and all. After a half hour I was feeling a little better and went across the street for lunch- Chicken noodle soup, funny enough, I guess it can cure anything!
I decided to rent a room here, wherever here was and recuperate from my injuries a bit. When the bike was ready the very nice mechanic showed me what he had done and said it would be, " much better".
He advised me to take it slow at first, good advice. The repair cost came to 13 dollars. I started riding just as it started to rain and I saw a hotel sign across the boulevard and decided to pack it in.
Lesson learned, once bit, twice cautious.
I will practice some emergency stop scenarios tomorrow before I leave and get it automatic so I'm not surprised by this again!
Please don't worry too much, it was what it was and I am sore, but will heal. Thanks for your well wishes!
Mike

written by  Mike_Veine on June 21, 2013 from Quang Phong, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Top Gear Adventure 2- Vietnam Boogaloo!
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Well I am on my third day in Thanh How now. Originally I planned to leave this AM after recuperating from my injuries a bit, but a Tropical Depression was scheduled to hit right where I was heading today with high winds,rain and a possible storm surge I decided to just spend another day.
I don't feel much like exploring unfortunately and there really is not much to do in this town. I found a coffee house nearby yesterday and went back today and was invited to sit with the owner and his,wife while the daughter waited tables. It is Sunday here and business was definitely slower than yesterday.
We chatted for an hour with me mostly explaining where I had been and,where I was going. We all laughed when I said I was not going to China and the owner shook my hand,like I was making a very wise,decision. Funny! We talked about kids and the crazy drivers and somehow we understood each other about 70% of the time. It was fun just to hang out with them for awhile.
After that I went to a street food vendor and bought two oh her delicious steamed dumplings with egg and mystery ingredients. Very tasty, I had one yesterday and bought an extra one today to put in the fridge for lunch. We are on the edge of the storm zone so it was rainy and windy here off and on all day.
I read and relaxed, then tried to work on my language skills with my book. Also watched children's TV where they sing songs with the words printed below so I can get an ear for the pronunciation.
Not doing too well though, ordered roast chicken for dinner and they brought fried anyway. I sent it back. They brought out my rice and a bowl with greens in a broth and I was not sure if it was soup or a rice topping, I decided soup and ate some that way and it turns out it was. After a bit I was served a roast chicken leg and thigh and some sliced tomatoes and cooked garlic. Pretty good. You can tell the chicken is free range, skinny legs that were probably running around the yard this morning. Meat is very fresh here.
I made sure thank them profusely for the chicken, they could have easily pleaded my poor communication skills as the problem, but we all saved face on this one I think.
Packing up tonight and I will leave Thanh How tomorrow finally and see if I can get 100 k down the road or so. Modest goals and humbled traveler.

written by  Mike_Veine on June 23, 2013 from Thanh Hoa, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Top Gear Adventure 2- Vietnam Boogaloo!
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Well, my friends, I've made it to Ha Long Bay, a World Heritage Site and amazingly beautful place in our world.
I got here at 2:00 PM and chose a hotel on Cat Ba. the largest island in the archipelagos and also the home of a National Park where I intend to go hiking tomorrow.
According to Google Maps the most direct route to my currrent location is 1816 kilometers, but I did not take the most direct route so I am abititrarily adding 300 k for a total of 2210 kilometers or if you figure in miles, over 1300 miles thereabouts. I calculate I had 13 driving days for an average mileage of 170 kilometers or 100 miles a day.
That may sound easy with all day to do it, but sometimes the miles came hard, paid for with tension, sweat and blood!
Right now I am sitting in a retaurant across the street from my hotel watching the lights of the fishing boats on the water, the only sound carrying is the sound of a single piston engine working hard to put to sea. It reminds me of Croatia and the Aegean Sea and the family boat I went calamari fishing on- same engine, same lights, and reminds me that we are all knit together by our shared experiences. Fishermen are Fishermen wherever they are and the tools of the trade share more similarities than differences.
I notice this when I am rewarded with a smile when I turn a cup upside down or share my language book with the people I meet and we share a laugh at how I say the words, and they help me. I have been lucky to mostly meet people who don't mind a stranger who travels in a respectful way and wants to learn from them.
Like all good adventures, this one is just begining and changing at the same time. After chilling out in Ha Long for a few days and maybe a short cruise it will be off to Hanoi, another big city to put down some roots for maybe a month and take some real language lessons. Not sure why, but I think it is the challenge to be a better communicator and a better guest and host to the people I meet and the new friends I make that drives this desire.
There will be more beautiful places down the road and I will also try traveling by train and bus as well for the experience.
Thanks for sharing this trip with me and please check the blog for updates and I wil continue to share photos by email with you unless you sic your SPAM filter on
me.
So, on that bombshell, I say "goodnight to all of you, until next week!"

written by  Mike_Veine on June 25, 2013 from Ha Long Bay, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Top Gear Adventure 2- Vietnam Boogaloo!
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