Zen and the art of Motorcycle Maintenance

Len (Tien - renamed by the Vietnamese)
Day 1 continues

Homestay dinner with a Dzao family at the end of a great day riding.  Dinner has many of the elements we've grown used to over the last few days, with one addition.  "What's that?" asks Mark.  "French fries" was the translated reply.

Matriarch of family arrives at table with a large pitcher of water but surprising small cups to drink from.  Quickly learn the Dzao words for "skull" and "bottoms up".   Repetition makes perfect.
Retire for night.
Motorcycle diaries Day 2
My day begins on an optimistic note at 12:03 am when I realise that there is a good chance I will lose that extra 3kg I've gained since the last big trip.  Realism then sets in as I face the prospect of a long and uncomfortable night.  One hour and three toilet trips later and I'm already well on the way to my target.
Vow never to eat French fries again (3:00 am).
Seem to have forgotten the Dzao words for "skull" and "bottoms up".

Worst is over by 5:00 am.  Wonder if T-shirt lady could sell iPho T-shirts in Lower Hutt.
And the bike ride?  Spectacular company and very amicable scenery.
in the first bit of mud I get things badly wrong and have a good tank slapper going for a few seconds.  At times like that having empty bowels is not all bad.  Recovered with only my pride damaged.
Very tired by the end of the day.  Could do with a new arse too.
Suspect I'm still a little under-par.  Have been a bit confused all day.  But at least food is staying in now so should be back to my best by tomorrow.  

Mark
Wonderful evening with the Dzao family staying the stilt house - one big room eat in the centre and sleep around the edge. I would note that we did not finish the pitcher of water above as when we explained about hung over kiwis driving motor bikes in Vietnam it was decided would be safer for the Vietnamese if we stopped.

Day 2

Writing this sitting in Ha Giang beer in hand ( second actually) and several dead insects around us. Day started with Banana Pancakes, pancakes with fried banana inside with honey to go over the top. We then walked down to the local lake, Thac ba Lake, and a boat ride for 20 minutes just to get a feel for the culture around the lake. Then onto the bikes and away we go - a few minutes into the day and my day nearly comes to an end, the mind body co ordination has not kicked in totally and going around a corner one forgets to brake and deaccelerate. I think each of us have had a little experience during the day which has reinforced the fact that not all the old skills have come back.

Lunch - I think I am becoming the trip food commentator. Fried noddles with vegetables and beef - cooked while we sat next to the wok and watched it happen. We missed the secret ingredient which seem to give this a flavour way beyond what was expected. ( Even Toby would have enjoyed this).  

Ross Comments
Another great day.  We are seeing a really friendly, rural side to Vietnam as we ride the back roads.
Will leave the words as I wand to get the pictures up on the web tonight.  Try
https://picasaweb.google.com/ross.bidmead/VietnamByMotorbike02#

Motorcycle diaries Day 1

Woke-up in a cold sweat.  Was dreaming I'd been trying to sell "iPho.  Made in Vietnam" T-shirts at the Lower Hutt Riverbank market and no one was buying.  They didn't get the joke.  Genesis of the dream was the previous evening when we each purchased said T-shirts after a highly amusing negotiation with a very engaging Vietnamese woman.  Pho is a noodle and broth dish which is very popular here.  I would have preferred to be dreaming about the lovely lady who had sold them to us rather than the T-shirts - pity you can't choose your dreams.  
We did manage to buy three $3 T-shirts for only $5 each and a $3 wallet for only $10 so I think our bargaining skills are pretty sharp.  If next time we try to negotiate before consuming several beers they might be even sharper.
After Pho for breakfast we packed and headed off to the motorcycle tour company to get on the road.  All went smoothly until it was discovered that the horn on Mark's bike wasn't working.  Horn's are the first essential for any Vietnamese vehicle so a half hour wait ensued while horn was fixed.  The first 20 min riding was exciting (to say the least).  Decades since we last rode, unfamiliar bikes, different side of the street and big city traffic.  And of course the Vietnamese have very liberal interpretations of the road rules.
Eventually we made it out of the city by way of some back roads and then out into some awesome scenery.
Am typing this in an idyllic setting - pond in front, then rice paddies in a small valley, palm trees at the end.   Mark and Ross in the showers, my turn next.  Mark has just emerged, so over to him.

Len

Just getting out of the city was a major achievement given we had no knowledge of the road rules ( I do not think the locals know them either ) or maybe there are just non.  Given - as Len commented - that none of us have been on bikes for a few years it was a relief to find that all the reflexes still worked and we could change gears, brake and do most of the essential things required to ride a bike. Some skills such as dodging pot holes and large trucks took longer to get working.
Vietnam for those not familiar is a country over run with motor bikes and in Hanoi extremely expensive cars. The food is incredible, probably some of the best in the world. The day prior to departing the highlight of the day was the lunch, rice pancakes wrapped around diced pork,  shrimp and vegetable spring rolls, and pork wrapped in betel leaves. Rice pancakes are made by grinding up rice into a flour like consistency and then making these wonderful crisp pancakes. Dinner followed the same excellent standard and other than sitting almost on the seat on pre-school plastic chairs, was a self cook on a table Bar B Que. This consisted of beef, goat, lots of onion, garlic and a few vegetables along with wonderful french bread.
So day one completed I am sure tomorrow we will wake up knowing a whole range of muscles we have not had any knowledge of for many years. My one advantage I think is that unlike the other two skinny, underweight individuals I am travelling with some extra padding in places most desirable for motor cycling.
Mark

Ross's piece
Has been a remarkable day.  Used a few weeks supply of adrenalin, which always lends a crispness to memories.  Roads varied from odd stretches of dual carriage way to long spells of roadworks with gravel and deep potholes.  Pleased I have been out on the mountain bike a bit.  Our 160cc Honda road bikes have seen plenty of action in the past but are in good nick and while a lot heavier than a mountain bike, seem well suited to these roads.
Road hazards include buffalo carts, loose buffalo, calves, kids, dogs, limousines and attractive women cycling with parasols (prioritising attention being a core part of safety).  Passing plywood factories drying sheets of freshly cut timber by the road, brick factories and numerous  rice paddies and corn fields our trip up the Red River had constant distractions that we gradually gained confidence to look at.
Tonight we are staying with a Zao family in their stilt home.  The Zao are one of the ethnic minorities in Vietnam.  It promises to be a fun night.

Ross

Hanoi Preparations

Sitting on a street corner in the old quarter of Hanoi with a beer watching life go by is a very relaxing introduction to Vietnam.  It's 10pm and 21 hours since I arrived at Wellington Airport. Tired from travelling it seemed sensible to unwind for a few minutes before attempting a time zone confused sleep.

The "bar" is a set of low plastic stools on the pavement that overflow onto the road -until the police come around and they move back to the pavement for 5 minutes.  20,000 dong buys a beer - it sounds a lot but it's NZ$1.25 and it's a large beer.  The traffic going past is very different from Courtenay place at 10pm, but maybe intentions are quite similar.  There are lots of young couples on bikes.  The women looking smart in very short skirts and the men looking very confident.  A few old women cycle past slowly on old upright bikes, wearing coolly hats and often with large loads they are expressionless. An occasional cyclo goes past touting for passengers, but no-one seems interested.  There are almost no private cars going past but there are whole families on a single small motor bike. Dad at the front, eldest child next and mum on the back carrying the baby.

The pavement bar has more locals than foreigners with people ordering food from adjoining pavement food sellers, who are set up with charcoal and gas cookers producing noodles, spring roles and other popular food.   A woman wanders through the patrons offering what looks like cold spring rolls, but no-one is interested.

A young guy with a bright red bandana around his forehead introduces himself as Lee.  He tells me he is from Northern China and that he is planning to travel for several months, with no need or interest in settling down.  Maybe this is a new breed of Chinese traveller, or maybe it's bar talk.

This morning we strolled the streets of the old quarter.  Breakfast was the traditional noodles, served with thick dark coffee in a restaurant beside the lake.  By day the traffic is very different as commerce takes precedence.   There are small motorbikes carrying loads of concrete blocks, others with gas bottles stacked high and some with such large bundles of flowers that they look impossibly top heavy.  Motor bike taxis are everywhere.  It is not uncommon to see women riding side saddle on the back.   There are a surprising number of new cars around (or rather very few old cars).  These new cars include more Porches  than I've seen in Wellington and a new looking Rolls Royce, which did not appear to need licence plates.

We treated ourselves to lunch in an upmarket restaurant and had a delightful meal of spring rolls, rice pancakes, duck and beef with a couple of beers each and for less than the beers would have cost at home.

Tomorrow we leave Hanoi and start our motorbike tour.  We have been down and checked out the bikes (160cc Honda road bikes) and sorted the safety gear.  Unlike the locals we will be wearing crash helmets and knee and elbow protectors.  The bikes are far from new, but they look well serviced.  We have been putting considerable effort into understanding the road rules.  So far the only clear one seems to be "might is right".  Chaos seems to reign at intersections, but the traffic actually moves quite slowly and everyone seems to stay calm.  While in South America the roads often seem dominated by aggressive male egos behind the wheel, here there are almost as many women at the handlebars as men, and they seem very calm.  For all the apparent confusion the traffic flows remarkably well.

Ross