Carving a mountain into a road with hammers and chisels

I'm a bit behind in my blogging, so will start using days of the week for those of you reading new posts as they go up...

Saturday morning, after our usual breakfast of phổ and a mini-loaf of the wonderful, light bread that is surely a legacy of the French occupation long-suffered by our hosts' ancestors, we headed southwest from Đà Lạt to pick up the shortest route north.

Speaking of legacies, I'm still trying to figure out what legacy the Americans left after our approximately 20-year intercession here. I've narrowed it down to the destruction of forests and ecological devastation of Agent Orange; Eurasian children (also, no doubt, from the French and others, so no); or the oh-so-endearing terms g__k and z___head that should be thought of as most of us now think of the n-word. Did I leave anything out?

Our morning goal was to stop a "Crazy House" on the way out of town and then head for one of the many waterfalls shown on my map.
    (Photo by Annika--I didn't hike down)

Apparently the people we asked how to get to Crazy House have the same definition for "easy-to-find" that many companies use for "intuitive"... It's easy once you know it. We asked, "Crazy House?" and kept hearing, "it's that way" or "it's just down the road" accompanied by a pointing of the hand. We never found it and since the girls were very excited about waterfalls, I gave up and we left Đà Lạt. The description I heard of "Crazy House" is Gaudi-meets-Sesame-Street, rather than supply a hyperlink, I will let you DuckDuckGo it. As a HUGE fan of Gaudi, I'm afraid that if I look it up I will be very disappointed I didn't search a bit harder.

Almost as soon as we left town, we hit major road construction. As in mud, not pavement or even gravel, along with weaving and dodging to avoid earth movers and construction vehicles in addition to the normal trucks, buses, vans, and cars. It was significantly more challenging than what we have come to accept as "normal" Việt Nam traffic where increasing size increases both power and right-of-way. I hardly flinch now when a truck or bus barrels down on me from the opposite direction only to shift a little at the last moment. The most exciting so far was when a truck cut in front of me to avoid hitting another truck head on, and missed clipping my helmet by about 6 inches... and I just jigged and kept on riding. Three weeks ago, had that happened at home, I would've pulled over to the side of the road until I stopped shaking.

New the end of the construction, there were a couple dozen workers literally breaking granite boulders using only hammers and chisels. We pulled over to take a short break, and Philine took this photo:

   

At one point, the square headed woman (a.k.a. my Garmin nav unit) took us down a narrowing two-lane road. After less than a 100 meters, we pulled over to check them out because the road was only 1 to 1-1/2 lanes wide due to vegetation creep. 

The larger view on the GPS showed that this was indeed a shortcut so we went ahead. It wasn't. We dead-ended at a small encampment at the edge of the lake that had covered the road. We turned around and headed back to the main road, following the road itself instead of listening to the square-headed woman. For now.

Here's a photo of the lake as we crossed, taken from a bridge just a kilometer or two from where we'd attempted the shortcut. I'm pretty sure you can see where we dead-ended just a few minutes ago—it's the small open spot on the edge of the lake just above the penultimate structure on the right of the frame.Those are floating homes, not flooded ones.

As we rode on, we encountered a few of the Easyriders of Việt Nam; easily identifiable via their vests, bike markings, and the fact that they have a farang riding behind a native. Easyriders takes tourists on motorcycle tours, either on the back of a bike with a guide, or with a guide riding ahead and leading the way. After waving hello a few times, we stopped and talked to them during one of their rest breaks. When we said that we were going to Buôn Ma Thuôt, one of the guides suggested that we stop at Lak Lake (
Liēn Son) with them, instead of going all the way to BMT. He even suggested a hotel, so we agreed to meet them there.

After another long day's ride (click here for the map), my back is killing me, and there's no massage in this town. It's funny how people react when I told them I want a real massage not a boom-boom massage. Yes, that's one of the versions I've been told about :-) The hotel manager in Đà Lạt apparently did not believe me. She said that the only massage she could find for me would be an overnighter. I passed, even though I really needed the massage… on my lower back.

Off to bed... 

Spoiler alert... Tomorrow we get to Buôn Ma Thuôt. 

Sand Angels

I'm unsure how to even start... having never suffered from triskaidekaphobia, I had to look up the spelling. After this past Friday, 13 December 2103, they may have a point.

After a very nice respite at the beach, we loaded up, headed out, and got about 2 meters.. and very possibly less.

Annika, Philine and I had decided that the locals riding motos on the beach looked like something we'd enjoy, so we headed for the sand. Has anyone seen my common sense? I'm unsure where it is, but I know it's nowhere near me and apparently hasn't been since I arrived in Việt Nam.

As I've written previously, my Yamaha 125 is a nice little bike. Did I mention that it's little? Add me and my 40 kilos of gear, and I'm constantly reminded of the circus bear riding a tricycle. Even the bear would know better than to ride an overloaded bike into sand unless it's hard-packed—especially when it's running on street tires! My bike, obviously smarter than I, immediately decided to make a sand angel.

With my leg twisted underneath it. No worries, the only thing damaged was my dwindling pride.

The resort owner, trying very hard to keep a straight face, ran down to help me regain my feet and upright the bike. No harm, no foul, right? I immediately went back to hard scape, right?

Uhhhhhhh...

If we've had more than a couple in-person conversations, you've heard me talk about the two things that both women and have and that men have too much of. Each of them is constantly trying to take us (men) off the planet. You maybe already guessed that I'm talking about Ego and Testosterone.

Since I didn't find my common sense while face down in the sand, ego said, "Minor set-back; no one got a photo; we're good." So my ego maneuvered the bike to a more firm (yet not FIRM like the sand at the water's edge) area to launch my beach ride... and I went down again... then a third time.

Had enough? Of course. Not.

By this time I'd made it to hard-pack and Annika and Philine were there also. Upright. So off we rode...

After about a kilometer or so, we were unable to find a route back to the road, so we turned around and got out of the sand 50 meters north of the resort—with the help of the owner AND after two final sand angels. The resort owner is probably still laughing...

Call me Charlie Brown... or is it Barney Fife?

Now that we're on asphalt, we can make up some time by taking a route that even Garmin did not know... And we did, until Philine noticed a slight wobble in Annika's rear wheel. Annika said that she had been feeling something recently, so we pulled over at the first mechanic's shop we saw… which was less than 100 yards away. My guess is that it would be hard to go 10 km here without seeing at least one sign advertising Honda motorbike repair. It's not necessarily that they need fixing a lot, it's that they are omnipresent. The bikes that the girls are riding were actually made in Việt Nam. The mechanics were at first skeptical, especially after they put Annika's bike up on the stand and try to wobble the wheel. When they found nothing loose, they dismissed us and went back to working on the bike that they been working on when we arrived.

It took some insistence and a phone call to Hung for some translation, but we finally got the mechanic to test-ride her bike. He didn't go 50 meters before he turned around, came back, and immediately started disassembling the rear wheel. In well under an hour, he had the wheel reassembled and the bike running just fine. Total cost for diagnosis and repair: US$3.50.

Even better, we found out from the locals that were about 16 km off the road we wanted to be on. We back-tracked and scurried for Đà Lạt. Click here for today's map, including the wrong turn.

The rest of the day's ride was pretty much a blur... and when we arrived in Đà Lạt, the first thing I wanted was a massage!

Unfortunately, as I write this almost 3 days later, I don't even remember if I got one...

Next stop, Buôn Ma Thuôt...

On the road... then on the beach

Fair warning... I'm writing this while watching the ocean surf roll in on a beach just north of Mui Ne.

I began the day with a 6 a.m. swim in the Pacific.

Then, once "the girls" got out of their room, we cut apple, pineapple, watermelon, banana, and a fruit whose name we don't know—all purchased last night for less than US$2—for our breakfast. After a while, we noticed out tongues were tingling and decided to go light on the pineapple. It's going to be a good day when you start with a fruit cornucopia on an otherwise deserted Vietnamese beach...

At least a couple of you are thinking, "Girls? What girls? Wasn't he doing this solo?" Yes, I was. Past tense. If you're thinking "the girls" is not PC, please take a minute to remove the stick before reading on... :)

As reported last time, I took a couple extra days in HCMC for motorcycle repair and scabbing-up. I also got a street side sandal repair and shine,

talked with a few locals (note how the baby is mounted on the scooter),

and watched from across the street as the bar girls await customers...

   (Photo courtesy of Terence)

Also in that interval, Mr. Hung introduced me to two young women (Philine and Annika) from Germany who were about to depart on a journey similar to mine on rented 100cc Honda Wins and with ZERO hours on a motorcycle. They had decided a couple days earlier to do this as part of their four-month holiday and had zero preparation or supplies. Until I met them, I thought I was adventurous!

We talked for a while and I must've scared them a bit because when I invited them to join me for at least the first part of my trip, they accepted with virtually no hesitation. Now my solo trip was a party of four.

Four? Oh, yeah... Hahn, the woman I met who, along with her sister, cleaned and dressed my wounds last Saturday, had agreed to act as interpreter on the trip to Hanoi. Although I studied the language before leaving, the lessons were in the Hà Nội dialect which is different than the HCMC dialect. Add that to what I'm sure is my abysmal pronunciation of a tonal language, and I'm pretty sure they're hearing something indistinguishable from Urdu. After eight days, I'd gotten the basics, but the expats I'd met suggested lining up an interpreter and it would be worth the $75 per week expense... If that is how it had worked out. The night prior to departure, Hahn went home to pick up clothes, etc. and never returned. She also took the iPhone 3GS that I'd bought to replace the POS Altell phone I brought from home and a total of just under US$500. Since I'd paid for a room for her at my hotel, I didn't know she wasn't coming back until the next morning—when I got to rush out a buy ANOTHER damn phone. So much for friends of friends of friends! AND I've got to be less trusting, which really sucks! Now back to three...

Tuesday morning a little after 9, Hung led us a km or so from the shop, where we picked up the highway out of HCMC. We were off! Off our nut, as the Brits might say...

I should mention here that Hung had taken them out to learn the basics, and when I asked about low-speed maneuvering, they wanted some more. So Monday afternoon we rode about 15 minutes out of town and found a quiet road where I gave them basic instruction on low--speed maneuvering, head turning (chin pointing), and a bit more. Stop laughing! 

(Note to those of you wondering why someone might be laughing--go back to the first post entitled "The Beginning")

Did you know that there's a moto ferry outside HCMC? Neither did we. It cost about 50 cents US for the three of us and, unfortunately, it was too hectic to pull out a camera or phone for a quick snap. It felt a bit like Hong Kong's Star Ferry, but more utilitarian, no polished wood in sight, and motos instead of people. Unlike the ferries at home, there's no time to get off your bike and no room to walk around if you did. For those unfamiliar with either of the above two references, think LA rush hour gridlock room to maneuver while on a boat.

On the other side of the Saigon River, we headed south and east, then eventually turned northeast. After about a five hour ride that included a stop for lunch, we reached La Gi. During a refueling stop, I called Gee and got basic directions to the hotel where he lives and were we would spend the night.

Once in La Gi, we realized that we had overshot, so we turned around. We missed a turn and ended up in unfamiliar territory; downtown. This point, we stop and ask for directions. The problem was, no one spoke enough English understand what we were asking. This would probably be the time to mention that all of our cell phones were dead. We had left them on for the entire trip, and figure that the constant searching for signal completely drained the batteries. I asked a shop owner if I could use her electricity to recharge my battery enough to make a phone call (all in gestures with a few poorly-pronounced Vietnamese words thrown in for good measure). After I was finally able to call Gee, it took about five minutes for him to show up and lead us back to the hotel, where he negotiated a very good deal for us.

Click here to get to the ferry and here for the other end of the ferry to La Gi without the getting lost part. I had to do two maps because Google won't recognize that you can cross the water via the ferry.

Yesterday morning, after breakfast with Gee, we hit the road again. The first day was about 105 km including wrong turns. Day two was about 111 km including wrong turns. Did I mention earlier that road conditions keep us under 35kph most of the time (~20mph for the metric-challenged).

Without my GPS, each day would be a lot longer with a lot more wrong turns. At least so far, road numbers and directional signs at minor intersections are quite uncommon in Việt Nam. It seems that most people know the route, so it's only a problem for us farangs. 

During a brief rest stop in Pan Thiet (see parking lot [Gui Xe] photo above), Philine and Annika looked for a GPS, but were unable to locate one (pun unintentional). I told them they are more than welcome to travel with me for as long as they like, though I'd imagine some point we will have different ideas as to what's next and I don't blame them for being wanting to be able to strike out on their own without fear of getting too lost. If you're going to make a similar trip, save yourself HUGE aggravation and purchase the SD chip for your Garmin GPS. It is worth many, many times what they charge for it.

Our goal for the day was Mui Ne and we overshot it by 10 or so km while looking for a specific hotel mentioned in our guidebooks. We again backtracked and, using the GPS, found a gravel road off the main road that led to a road we never would've otherwise found. After turning down one resort for $30 per night, our second stop found us at Suoi Nuoca, aclean resort with minimal frills and a very friendly host and hostess who speak no English.
Note: This is NOT "Jibe's Suoi Nuoca Beach Club" that shows up on an Internet search. I think you have to search for this gem in the real (non-virtual) reality. Click here for a map that will get you close... it's also the map of today's route.

Here's the chair 40 feet outside my $12.50 per night room:
We almost immediately decided to take a bit of a break and stay two nights. There's absolutely nothing to do on-property but be, and it feels good. Dinner last night was a kilometer or two down the road and very good. Dinner tonight, we don't know yet. That's too far in the future {smile}.

Please excuse any typos, I am on holiday. I would appreciate it if you point them out to me, though.

Countdown Stopped; Launch Delayed... Because I LAUNCHED

Mid-afternoon Saturday (add 15 hours to PST, 12 to EST to get time here) I was taking a scenic ride through HCMC and was, for the first time ever while riding, wearing only a t-shirt, shorts, and my favorite Keen sandals. Thank goodness my toes were covered, because I was going about 25-30 kph (15-18 mph) when a family of three on a moped cut in front of me... then stopped dead in my path. They were less than 50 feet away, so I dumped the bike rather than hit them. As about six locals rushed over to lend me a hand, including turning off the bike, up-righting the bike, picking up keys (more on that later), and checking to make sure I was okay, the offending moped took off.

Once I collected my wits (at least as many as I had that day) I did an assessment… two road-rashed knees, as well as my right elbow, hand, and foot were the first things I noticed. I took off my helmet, and didn't notice any marks. With six other points of contact, I somehow managed to keep my head off the ground. If you're keeping track, you may have noticed that I only was the five points of contact. The sixth was brought to my attention when one of the locals handed me three keys that had been on a new keychain attached to my belt loop. I looked around and found a semicircle fragment of the keychain—all that was left. Apparently, the rest of the key ring was ground down in the slide. I'm going to keep it as a souvenir, because the road rash will eventually heal…

I considered including a photo of the rash on the elbow, and then thought better of it. 
 

You're welcome.

The good news is, that with a little bit of repair the bike will be back in excellent running condition; I guess it's even more important that with the exception of a few 2 in.² patches, I am whole... And they will disappear, though I may end up with a new scar or three :-)

Today (Sunday) was supposed to be the beginning of the motorcycle portion of my trip. With the need for repairs to the bike and the couple days it will take for everything to scab up, I now plan to leave Tuesday morning. In case you're wondering, I'm not riding the bike again until it's fully repaired.

The day started out a lot better. I sat with Cong and my Reise maps of Việt Nam before breakfast and he helped me map out my real world route and time frame. It's gonna take quite a bit longer than I thought to get to Laos (pronounced Lao on this continent)...

Path will be: HCMC to La Gi (home of G)—Mui Ne—Dalat—Buôn Ma Thôut—Pleiku—Hoi An—Đa Nẵng—Dong Ha—Kỳ Anh—Thanh Hôa—Hà Nôi.

Without layover days (Hoi An/Ha Long Bay/Hà Nôi/Sa Pa) that's three weeks! If only I were traveling with a translator <smile>. I'm working on it...

In only one week here, I've already stopped asking—for the most part—what is in the food put in front of me—and I know I've ingested beef or beef broth at least twice. After 39 years without beef, pork, or chicken, that's quite an admission. The good news is that there is no factory farming here, so the slaughter is probably more humane. I'm less than thrilled about this change in diet, but it could be a LOT worse. Who knows? In three weeks I'll surely be closer to an omnivore than I have been since 1974!

The First Three Full Days

It's been quite an interesting three days. Almost as soon as I got here, my brand-new T-Mobile cell phone, purchase specifically for this trip, stopped working. I finished a call; pick up the phone 20 minutes later make another call; and suddenly neither the microphone or the speaker worked! This is BRAND NEW Altell Evolve from T-Mobile and it is now toast. No, it was neither dropped nor otherwise mistreated. One minute it worked, and the next, it didn't. 

This means that the first full day of my adventure was spent first trying to get this POS fixed, and then in search of a new phone. This time (with translation assistance from Hoa, I bought something with which I am familiar... a used iPhone 3GS. I guess I should be grateful that it happened in HCMC rather than in the boonies. I couldn't even call customer service because I can't use my phone and the only number that their website has is a toll-free 800 number that is only good from the US. I contacted them via the on-line "Customer Support" line and, after about 25 minutes of round-and-round, I was told that since they can only ship a replacement phone within the U.S., I am on my own with this one. I thought I was saving money, and now it's cost me an additional $130 and, more maddening, a full day-plus out of my trip. Oh well, it certainly could be worse.

Both Monday and Tuesday afternoons, Ann's friend Khai graciously took me around town on his motorbike, showed me many of the sites and even buying me a bowl of phỏ. He's a very nice guy and a good tour guide. Thank you, Khai!

As mentioned in a previous post, the streets here are full of bikes with a few cars running just of keep it interesting. Hoa, a mechanic from the bike shop, gave me a ride to the hotel Monday night and called it a "people river". So well-put that I'm going to appropriate it :)

Most of the last three days has been spent at Flamingo Travel, sorting everything out for the rest of my trip. They've been extremely helpful, and I highly recommend them to anyone who will be on a bike in Việt Nam, whether you're renting or purchasing. After trying out a number of options, I decided to purchase a red 2010 Yamaha YBR 125cc for US$1300. They are doing a bit of work on it and awaiting the paperwork from Hanoi. For $25 a local craftsman fabricated a new seat that will put me 15cm higher and give me a much more comfortable leg position.

A year ago I wasn't even thinking about motorcycles and later today I will own two! LOL

The test rides gave me my first experience as PIC on the streets of HCMC today... WOW! It's actually fun! As well as a bit nerve-wracking :)

It's hard to say enough good things about the crew at Flamingo Travel. They have treated me like a valued customer and an old friend since I first walked in the door. They've even invited me twice in three nights for dinner and beer! Correction, beers!

This was dinner Tuesday night, sitting in the shop. Why walk to a restaurant when you can have the food cart across the street deliver? Hanging around the shop also allowed me to meet a few ex-pats who have lived here quite a while. Charlie from New Zealand, Terence from England (who took this shot), G from Canada, and a few others. All great guys and quite helpful when it comes to information and planning on the next stages of my trip. Left to right are Muy (pron. My), Charlie, Chong (Chon), Dy (Dee), me, Hoa (Hwa), and Hung (Hoong).

The original plan was to leave Friday (tomorrow), and then Hung, the owner, invited me to stay through until Sunday because they are hosting a street party Saturday night. I am, of course, very anxious to get started on my trip. Even so, I'm waiting until Sunday. That will also give me time to explore HCMC on the bike

As I predicted earlier, as soon as we made the deal on the bike and even before it's officially mine, I've added a 12v outlet, a large case on the back that will hold my helmet and lock securely, as well as mounts for the Spot Connect and my GoPro Hero3 camera. It already had side racks, so I bought a few bungee cords to help secure everything during the trip. With a good amount of torque for a 125, I'm sure it will carry me well

At one point on Tuesday, we needed to go back to the seat fabricator, so I rode with Dy sitting on the back... IN SÀI GÒN TRAFFIC!!! He speaks very little English, so I didn't bother telling him that he's the first person to ever ride on the back of a bike that I am piloting. He's a good sport and we both survived, so all is well :-)

Yesterday I received my official legal Vietnamese driver's license!

It expires in 2016, so I guess I'm going to have to come back :-)

Thanks again to Chris @ FT for facilitating this... Gee told me yesterday that he tried to apply for a license late last week and they (licensing office) told him that they are not currently issuing them, so I applied just in time!

RIP Mitzi, circa 1999-December 2, 2013

I

Mitzi is free now... and I miss her...

She came to me a scared, twice-rejected little thing and blessed us with her love, acceptance, and bliss for almost nine years. Even Mouse was unable to ruffle her!

She recently lost 1/3 of her body weight and when I left on Friday, I knew I would not see her again.I I told her I loved her, and let her know that it was okay to go. She's now at peace and pain-free and will live in our hearts until the last person and feline who met her is also gone.

Thanks to Kathy, Nick, and the crew at Steamboat Animal Hospital for taking great care of her for me and helping her make the transition easier for her.

Thanks to Mitzi for coming into our lives and loving us.

(Note: In the photo above, Mitzi has her paw on my shoulder – she always wanted to touch you. It was very endearing, and probably what I will miss most about her.)

ARRIVED!!!

Now to find my steed... and remember the bits of the language I could have studied more.

Caught a cab (@ U.S. prices) to my first hotel and saw what I've only read about... There are motos EVERYWHERE! They run in packs that remind me of a school of fish in that they move almost as one unit and there is inherent safety in numbers. My cab driver used his horn at least twice per block and it seemed to have virtually no effect on the riders. 

 

Yes, that is a garbage bin being towed by a Moto... 
It's attached with a 5th wheel-type pin set up.

The roundabout as seen from my hotel window

After a quick shower, I changed $100 to 2,125,000 Vietnamese dong and headed out on foot to feel the city... 

It feels very alive; quite fast yet slow; many, many farang (foreigners); touts for massages, food, and more—sometimes I got "Hello Mister, you want nice girl?" after I said no thank you to a massage or a rental Moto. I'm pretty sure they mean "fun".

A little later, Huong's friend Ann came by the hotel and carried me on her scooter to grab some phỏ (pron. "fa") and send a few minutes at a Moto shop with nice new bikes that look like mini-versions (<=175cc) of what you'd see in the U.S. The salesman quoted US$3000 for an India-made Suzuki and US$2000 for a brand I never heard of made in China. Both of them were fairly adamant that the Chinese-made bike was to be avoided. The prices seem pretty high, but then I am a farang :-) and it was his first number. He then said (with Ann translating) that I was would not be allowed to buy a new bike, even for cash, unless I could show local employment. Will discuss that on Monday with the guys at Flamingo Travel.

Ann bought me a nice cup of peach black tea—literally black tea with three slices of peach in it—on the way back to my hotel. She is very busy with work and school, so is unable to assist me as I would like. She will talk to a friend of hers about showing me around town more and helping me, if needed, with the bike purchase.

After Ann dropped me off at the hotel, instead of going inside, I decided to walk around for a bit. Even though I was quite tired from the 25+ hours of travel. I stayed within 10 blocks of the hotel, because I'm still trying to get my bearings and foolishly left without any way to get back if I wandered too far and lost my sense of place. 

I read about the rooftop bar at the Rex Hotel, and since it's only a few blocks from my hotel, I decided to check it out. It was fairly quiet for a Sunday night, so I sat and ordered a Tiger beer. It tasted like a lighter version of Bud Light and should've been called Pussycat beer (with emphasis on the first syllable). My little cat 5-lb Mouse could've kicked that Tiger's ass :-)

             -

                Mouse

After choking down the beer and some very salty peanuts, I wandered slowly back to the hotel where I called it a night at only 9 o'clock. It was 6 AM Sunday morning at home—more than 48 hours since I woke up in Olympia and traveled for more than 25 hours.

Tomorrow will be about looking for a motorcycle and finding another place to stay. This hotel is very nice, though too Westernized. Nothing against Marriott properties—I'm just looking for something with a little more character.

In case you're wondering, I turned down ALL the touts ;-)

On my way!!!

Finally, after months and months of planning and anticipation, I'm ON MY WAY!!!

House-sitter Nick arrived on time, as did my ride to the airport.

Am writing this while on the 14-hour+ flight from San Francisco to Hong Kong. After a couple hours in the HK airport and a couple more on a flight to HCMC, I'll check into the hotel and head out to explore the city's motorcycle shops. After much thought and research, I've decided to go with a new bike—hopefully a 150-175cc. You may remember from an earlier post that anything over 175 requires special licensing and many more bureaucratic hoops to jump through, some of which may be on fire. I'll pass.

Am pretty sure that after riding my KLR650, even a 175 will seem like a moped. As long as it gets me through my journey—and I don't have to pedal—it'll be great! It will also be much easier to maneuver and make a smaller target for the motorcycle-eating trucks I've heard so much about.

My friend connected me with her cousin in HCMC. She is coming by the hotel mid-afternoon to show me a bit of the city and has said she will help me in my quest for just the right bike. I'm hoping she also will assist me in getting any outfitting (panniers, etc.) I may decide to add. Those of you who know me also know that none of my vehicles are safe from tweaking...

Stay well...

Top Gear in Việt Nam

Been hearing about the BBC show Top Gear and finally watched a couple of their YouTube videos tonight...

I'm still LAUGHING!

Check these out:

Top Gear Vietnam Motorcycle Challenge Part 1

Top Gear Vietnam Motorcycle Challenge Part 2

Once I get to HCMC and find a bike, I'm heading for the shop where James got his helmet to see if they'll make one for me. 

Catching up...

Just finishing up another birthday... that the high point was getting some work done on the four-plus hour flight to Philly for work tells you what kind of day it was. The good news is that now I've completed my 60th lap around the sun, I'm looking forward to the upcoming year and especially this trip! 

Since it's been a while since my last post, there are a few updates to the preparation... I leave in 11 days...

Yesterday found me at T-Mobile, where I bought an Android phone and signed up for their $50 per month unlimited text and data, plus 20 cents per call back to the US or anywhere. The phone also does Wi-Fi calling for free—without using Skype or similar programs.  They offer service in Vietnam, Cambodia, and Thailand, so I'll be able to stay in contact a bit more than I'd thought... though I will most likely keep it turned off most of the time. It's about options...

Update on T-Mobile: They gave me a phone that doesn't f-ing work! After 35 minutes on the phone with "Tech Support", they decided that I have a bad SIM card... in a two-day old phone!!! Three days later, I received the new SIM card—and after another 40 minutes on the phone with Tech Support, they finally got it working. So far, I'm less than impressed with T-Mobile...

In addition to the SPOT Connect and associated Search & Rescue insurance coverage, I have a policy with Global Rescue that will get me back to the US (by air ambulance, if necessary), should I need it. As my good friend Nancy reminded me again on the phone tonight, this is a LOT more prep than I ever would've considered in my 20's... probably because I realize that I'm not bulletproof. Or is it that I'm no longer bulletproof?

Nope, never was. I have the scars and calcium deposits to prove it...

After enjoying a few YouTube videos others made on motorcycle adventures, I purchased a lightly-used Go Pro Hero 3 Black Edition camera on eBay and a few half-off accessories at a local motorcycle shop, including an extended-life battery. It does both HD video and stills; comes in a waterproof case; and mounts to the bike or helmet or just about anywhere. 

While reading a few trip blogs, I learned that, although many get by without one, it's best to have a Vietnamese driver's license. I bought a $10 ebook on maneuvering through the bureaucratic morass: Expats-Getting-Vietnamese-Motorcycle-Licence-ebook and before I got around to reading it, I read How to be legitimate in Vietnam by Chris at Flamingo Travel (chris@flamingotravel.vn). After a bit of correspondence about the license and various bikes, I sent him my documents yesterday. For $120, he'll have my Vietnam driver's license for me when I arrive. That's worth it to avoid the week of dealing with the bureaucracy, running around, and waiting I'd get to endure if I did it myself.

Chris will also get first shot at selling me a bike from his shop in Ho Chi Minh City. His main shop is in Hanoi, so if I am unable to find a suitable bike in HCMC, I now have another option—take a one-way rental from HCMC to Hanoi where there is a much greater selection from Chris and many others.

If you decide to buy a bike anywhere, there's a site called Cycle Ergonomics that will show you how you'll sit on just about any bike there is. The good news is that it looks like I'll be able to get comfortable on either the Suzuki 125 or the Honda 110. I'd love to buy a 175 or a 250, but they're hard to come by and anything bigger than a 175 draws too much attention from the police—and may not be allowed back in-country.

This brings us to Space-saving Folding Techniques. It claims that rolled clothes take up less space than folded clothes. Although I've heard this before, I'm still not convinced. I do believe Adrienne, who told me last week that once you have everything set aside for your trip, take out half. Use the space to bring home clothes, artwork, and more. Sounds like a plan!

Health Care Update

Following up on the almost horror story of the rabies vaccine (see the October 22 post), I just now pulled the trigger on my coverage for the first year of the ACA (ObamaCare)... and it's NOT with Group Health Cooperative.

The "Multi-State Plan Premera Blue Cross Bronze 5250 HSA" plan gives me a deductible (and maximum out-of-pocket) of $5250 in place of my current $2500 deductible and $10,500 maximum o-o-p. It also allows me to get primary care under my plan and within my network out of state--which is important when you spend as much time as I do out of state and've been on over 60 airplanes in five of the past six years! This network also includes my world-class neurosurgeon—no offense, Dr. W, but I hope I don't see you again—who is NOT in the GHC network.  AND, it allows me to keep using my HSA account and the $4300 per year in pre-tax dollars to pay for medical care.

Granted, my premiums are 50% higher than this year, but if that's the cost of opening up health care coverage to EVERYONE with no pre-existing conditions or lifetime caps, then sign me up and call me a Socialist. I'm also pretty sure that part of that increase is because in only 10 days I complete my 60th lap around the sun...

Who the hell starts riding a motorcycle at 59+ laps and goes on a solo 10-week ride across SE Asia at 60 laps?  

That would be me...

The next post will detail some of the new trip-related acquisitions. 

Until then, Namaste.

Quotes and Videos

As I prepare for departure in only 25 days, I'm checking and re-checking my lists, talking and emailing with people who've been to one or more of the five countries I'm planning to visit, and getting in a few last days of work...

I was also recently been reminded of two of my my long-time favorite quotations and came across (and up with) new-to-me quotes:  

     "If what you're doing doesn't scare you, you're not doing enough."
       —Tom Peters

     "No one ever went broke underestimating the intelligence
       of the American people."—HL Mencken 

     "If you go home with someone and they don't have books,
       don't fuck them."—John Waters

     "If it all goes well, I'm brave and adventurous. 
       If it doesn't, I'm stoopid... or worse... is there 
       anything worse than stoopid?"—John P (me)


Here are a few very good Việt Nam road trip videos with great scenery that I came across in my trip research:

Đà Nẵng to Huế

Hai Van Pass 

Hà Nôi to Sa Pa (cow at 0:54)

I was already going from Hà Nôi to Sa Pa and Da Nang to Huế, and I may've missed the Hai Van Pass road if I hadn't found the videos. Now I'm thinking about getting a GoPro Hero3 video/still camera to mount on the handlebars.

Additional gear info coming... scored a great deal on the Schuberth helmet integrated communications system; more on dry bags; Kawasaki weighs in; video camera or no; and more.

As always, I love to hear from you with questions or comments.  Thanks to fellow Seattle HUBB members for your thoughts and contributions.  Sorry I'll be out-of-town for the get-together...