Vietnam
Mixed feelings
Beautiful nature, always smiling people wherever you turn (this was probably amplified even more since I was there when New Year's was approaching)
Too much honking in traffic, even on quiet country roads.
There is no reason for such behavior in traffic. Traffic in Thailand and Laos worked perfectly, and nobody was using horns there.
Almost impossible to wild camp because people are everywhere.
Reminds me of some countries in Africa which I hated for similar reasons.
Guest houses are cheap, but the point of wild camping is to spend time in nature, and enjoy the sounds of birds, wind, and looking at the starry night sky.
Weather unstable, some days are cloudy, some foggy, some rainy, some sunny.
I had mostly sunshine for 2 months in both Thailand and Laos.
Quite a lot of air pollution on the coast and cities like Hanoi.
Lots of rubbish on the side of the roads. It was probably similar to Thailand and Laos.
Nowhere near as bad as in Africa but still a lot.
Cheap food available everywhere. Plenty of fruits and vegetables plus lots of Tofu for some good protein alternatives to questionable meat they sell on the side of the roads :)
After crossing border into China, while I was climbing one steep hill, I noticed somebody pushing a bike uphill in front of me, although at first I though it was some local guy.
Soon I as got closer, I realized this really is another bike traveler, and after he greeted me from distance I got my answer. His bike didn’t look like a standard bike with bags (which made me even more confused). He was riding a bmx bike, without breaks! As we stood on the side of the road, in cold rainy weather, we introduced our selves, and both were surprised to see each other! Its not often you meet another bike traveler in the middle of nowhere, especially in China.
He was from England and was riding across Asia for a long time already.
My biggest question at that moment was how can he have no brakes, and while he was explaining to me he wqs a bmx rider capable of all kind of tricks, we both realized (as we were freezing in this rain) this is not the time or place to discuss this :D
We continued descending this big mountain, because dark was approaching fast, and as we both wildcamped, we needed to find a shelter overnight in this new country for both of us (to protect us from the rain) and we only have half an hour of daylight left.
I also forgot the change my brake pads that day on the front brake (because they were nearing its end which I saw previous days), so on the actual descent, my pads disappeared and started rubbing on brake rotors and the whole thing literaly locked up, completely blocking my front wheel.
Next day I had to change my brake pads first, before I could even continue anywhere.
I was pretty scared I fucked up my front brake since the rotor was firmly stuck between brake pistons (it had hydraulic brakes).
Luckily rotor was only minor scraped and I managed to reset my brake.
We ended up in some construction site we found on the side of the road, where workers were staying. Whole place was so muddy, that the next day after getting back on the road, we had to clean our bikes from sticky red mud, before we could even continue descending further.
In the evening we didn’t even realize how muddy our bikes and shoes will be, but all we wanted was a shelter.
Next morning first thing we needed to do was find car wash to wash our bikes, to get rid of all crunching noise that was coming from middy chain and gears.
We continue to travel together for several days, until we finally split before reaching coastal town named Vinh.
I has to visit bike mechanic there (because of problems with m rear brake)
I never traveled long distance with somebody riding a bmx bike. This just shows there is no limit on what bike people use to travel the world. Any bike is good and you should just ride what you already own.
Almost
famous photo of my partner trying to give high five to girl on the
street while riding. I was late a second to catch not quite
successful high five.
Vietnam
brought smiles to our face because locals and especially children
were very keen to greet and welcome strangers!
Behavior
drastically different than in previous countries (Laos and Thailand),
where locals were mostly restrained in approaching strangers.
Needles
to say, with my height (204cm) it quickly become apparent to me that
everybody wanted to talk to me, being amazed how tall I am (most
Vietnamese were short built).
Temples
in Vietnam drastically changed to ones I got used to seeing in
Thailand and Laos.
Here,
temples were not just buildings, there was also lot of gardening
going on inside the premises and people were actively working on
managing flowers.
Unlike
in Thailand and Laos, it was very frequent seeing bicycles in Vietnam
and everybody were riding them (men, women, children).
As
I was approaching the town of Vinh, in the suburbs I fell in love
with such style of doors and fences in people houses.
It
was all reminding me of Japan.
Outskirts
of the town of Vinh, which lies on the coast.
I had a visit to bike mechanic there, because my rear brake was out of order.
I found somebody who was recommended on bike traveler forums in Vietnam. Bike shop was literally in somebody house.
At first I thought I have missed he location, but the woman standing at the door receiving a package from the postman, greeted me immediately and invited me inside. As I entered I still wasnt sure if I was at the right location, only to show first sings on bikes in one room, while the actual workshop was in the garden.
Then the man of the house approached (mechanic himself), I explained my problem (with mobile
translation of course) and he got immediately to work, while I could rest in the garden.
Woman brought me snacks several times as I was standing there, but things didn’t end up being so easy.
My rear brake needed fluid change as I lost some fluid while back in Laos trying to get rid of sticky pistons (the joy of hydraulic brakes!)
One of the pistons was literally stuck and mechanic probably worked almost two hours trying to do everything to get it working.
He changed brake fluid at least several times. But the brake refused to get back to normal.
In the end, he managed to get 80% of brake back (I thing there is still some air left in the system and he was pretty sloppy with his work).
Not only he left brake pads directly below the brakes where he was working, resulting in old leaking directly on the brake pads, but the also introduced some air bubbles as he was trying to bleed the system (fancy word for put new brake oil inside).
After brakes, he also cleaned and re-greased my bottom bracket that was creaking a bit.
It all lasted good two a half hours (which I couldn’t believe). I was eager to get out already.
In the end, he didn’t want any money for all the work. I still offered his some cash, from what he only took half of it and was happy in doing so.
Seems people here are so happy seeing strangers, than you literally get such a service on you bike almost for free!
You would never get such service in Europe (and you would pay big money for it). Yes, bug was a bit sloppy in his work, but I was more than happy with everything he had done and all that on the spot as soon as I arrived.
Temples in Vietnam were something else. Completely different than I got used to seeing. They were special, looking more like something where king of queen could live.
It was clear to me why people said, that in Vietnam, sleeping in temples (something I got used to in Thailand and Laos) was not really possible.
You must love the hat people are wearing in Vietnam!
I wanted to buy myself one but it would be awkward to carry it on a bicycle and would probably results in getting damaged or lost pretty quickly.
Funny
little electric cars everywhere!
Fancy fruits named Dragon fruit. I tried this in Thailand first time.
Although it was delicious, and in form similar to kiwi inside, I didnt found it worth the expensive price it comes with. Stil, its worth trying becuase of its fancy looks.
There
were some European looking churches in Vietnam.
Something
I never saw in Thailand and Laos.
Some
kind of war monument park.
Endless
agricultural fields everywhere in Vietnam. Wherever there is free
space, there is something being cultivated. And people are working in
those fields all day long.
Streets
filled with people selling fruits and vegetables, and other local
food.
Wherever
you go in Vietnam, you are guaranteed not to be hungry, as everywhere
on the countryside, there I literal somebody selling food on the side
of the road every 5 minutes.
Children in Vietnam were so welcoming, always asking “What is your name” or “Where you come from”.
The answer probably didn’t mean much to them, as many havent heard of countries like Croatia (where I come from) and even Europe sounded strange to them. Or they were just amazed seeing strangers from other side of the world, especially on bicycle.
And they weren’t shy of taking photos, (as it was frequently in Laos)
Not
just children, grown ups also wanted to take selfies with me.
All
the fields here are being field with water, as water canals run
everywhere around them, and people standing in mud up to the knees,
was a regular thing.
Its
one of those strange looking fruits and vegetables. This is called
Bitten melon. I have never tried this.
Northern
Vietnam (where I ended cycling after visiting busy coast) was also
very mountainous.
Known
fact was that the coast of Vietnam was super busy with traffic, so I
decided to spend most of my time in Vietnam in the north where
mountains are.
Hoping
for quiet roads turned up to be an unfulfilled wish for me, as
Vietnam turned out to be crowded with people wherever you go.
Aside
from cows, and goats, you can often see water buffalo in Vietnam
roaming the streets.
Cyclist
from Hungary I met one day close to Hanoi. He was on a long distance
trip .
He
was telling me how he likes spending summer at the island of Cres.
Busy
town of Hanoi.
Hanoi
was so large, cycling into the city took whole morning.
Also,
air polution in Hanoi (and sourroundings) so terrible that you cant
really recognize it from fog or clouds.
There
are some nice and modern looking parts of town.
Small
temples can be found everywhere. Some were so nice that would
literaly made you stop and admire the details.
All
kind of food can be bough on the side of the road in Vietnam
(including dogs!)
Personaly
I don’t eat meat much when I am on the road, but this chicken made
me drool.
Being
on the barbeque I was not afraid to eat possible a rotten meat, as
many meat sold on the street is raw (not cooked) or of unknown origin
to me :)
So
one day I stopped and bought it.
They
pack it with little bit of grenery and some sauce. It was delicious
but not a lot of meat overall.
Trạm
Tấu city
in Northern
Vietnam
Big
climbs started in northern Vietnam.
I
decided to spend my time in west part of northern Vietnam as east
part (Ha
Giang Loop )
was known for being more touristy.
Unlike
always sunny Thailand and Loas, changeable weather and rain in
Vietnam was normal and completrly unexpected for me. There were
cloudy days, sunny days, rainy days, and foggy days.
Lots
of things being transpored on motorbikes here.
You
will never see this in Europe :)
Have
you ever seen cows play football?
Graves
in Vietnam are often scattered all over the place, without certain
order and not contained withi what we call a “graveyard”
My
daily cockpit filled with fruits and vegetables.
The
amount of climbing in northern Vietnam was huge.
That
said, it was the same in Northern Thailand and Laos.
I
would have to analyze my riding data to get a clear answer (if its
possible) to where I have actually gained most altitude.
The
same goes for amount of descending.
I
have burned through several sets of brake pads in south east Asia
(but truth to be told, these pads were pretty bad copy of semi
metalic pads, and lasted only several weeks each, which has never
happened to me before). I havent expeced I will need to buy a bunch
of brake pads after only few months of traveling as I always start
with several spare ones on long tours.
In
Vetnam, I would have to ask children for a photo most of the time.
However,
sometimes they would stop and ask me :)
Washing
day. Nothing clean, right :)
I
have embraced what locals do and washed my clothes in some stream or
waterfall and dry it in hot sun.
Bananas,
probably most eaten fruit here, at least for me.
I
have been buying a stack of bananas almost every day since I arrived
in south east Asia. They are very cheap and most of the time come in
small size (not what we used to in Europe). And they are much sweater
too.
Sometimes
they had some dark looking hard seeds inside (which you had to spit
out), and had to be careful not to break your teeth on such bananas.
My journey in Vietnam ended up in the city of Lao Cai (which borderes with China).
Between Thailand, Laos and Vietnam, I would say Laos was my favorite, simply because it was the most RAW, those big moutnains in the north, treacherous roads deeply covered in dust, and plain villages with houses often built from bamboo and other tress, painted in gray and brown, from all the dust in the air.
Thailand felt more touristy, but also more “normal”, with many white people, especially in and around big and popular cities.
In Vietnam , I would say I met the least amount of white people (call it westerners), and this was especially true in the north west in the mountains.
Overall people in Vietnam are the most friendly and helpful I have seen in south east Asia. This of course comes with some caveats, because sometimes “no privacy” rule can be experiences, where people would approach you even when you are trying to eat or sleep somewhere in peace.
Dont let this discourage you, Vietnam was visually colorful, cheerful, filled warm and welcoming people with plenty of cheap and delicious food, wherever you turn.
My route through vietnam.
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