05.07.2004

Ba Vi

Posted by justin

The palette wars between bitter and sweet taste like an agreeable truce whenever you down the typical strong Vietnamese drip coffee with sweetened condensed milk.

No real milk - it probably comes curdled straight out of the udder; wooden telegraph poles would already be rotting in the forests, so cement trees as far as electricity needs; double-wrapped snacks deny miniature ants a feed...

It seems Mother Earth doesn't give a wide berth to the impermanence and impertinence of humanity around her girth. Measures have to be taken.

Anyway, the state of play yesterday was our 7am booked bus tour wasn't. It was the second-best thing to happen after the coffee, till that point. We ended up renting a bike, battling the hectic streets of Hanoi, and setting out 60 kilometres North-West towards Ba Vi National Park.

The single-sized road with double-sized trucks can generally be handled by hiding in the triple-sized pot-holes while the beasts rumble past.

Whenever we stopped in little towns for navigational encouragement it wasn't long before a crowd would gather offering charades-assisted advice, smiles, Vietnamese, and no English. Big noses definitely stand out off the tour trails.

Getting lost must be a pre-requisite to getting found, because when we finally had a local lead the way we took a dirt trail winding up and down and through villages and rice paddies glowing, vibrating, and pulsing in that lush, late-afternoon light. It was just one of those moments where your soul briefly opens up to tap some of that energy living in the scene before you.

We stayed overnight near the National Park and made it up to Ba Vi mountain today. At around 1300 metres it was a lot cooler than Hanoi, and just so refreshing to get out into the country ourselves.

Of course, once we headed back along the road to Hanoi there was a request for some liquid refreshments at Hanoi's Funky Monkey bar.

and tomorrow is another day.

Comments

Glad I looked at the photos - when you said you had rented a "bike" I had pictured a push bike - for a fleeting moment I had wondered if my brother was superhuman, clocking up 60kms through Hanoi to the countryside.

This bike doesn't look nearly so cool as David's, I must say.

Posted by: on July 6, 2004 06:55 AM

Wow what great day! You're right, the two mums are cheering along but also taking the journey with you, along with countless others. Photos were great - I almost felt like I was there - except I couldn't taste the cocktail! Loved that page of writing. Keep taking care. Bro sends his love.

Posted by: on July 6, 2004 07:51 AM

Both of you get back to work - it's Tuesday isn't it? Hard to keep track with so many days.

Yeah the little Suzuki bike we took just doesn't have the same aesthetics and grunt of the old Russian Minsks that you can hire round here.

Might end up hiring one to do a few days wandering round the countryside (really need something like a Minsk for bigger trips) - but tonight we're catching the night train up to Sapa to spend a few days chilling with the Hmong hill tribe. Yeah yeah.

Today's a little overcast in Hanoi and the first brief rains in about a week. So we're gonna hole up in this here internet cafe for the rest of the day and do some work and travel research on Laos.

Posted by: Justin on July 6, 2004 01:54 PM