Indochina(Vietnam) - Post No 12: Ha Long Bay to Hanoi 160km

30 November 2010

I think you've heard enough of me bitching about the traffic and road conditions. Even with all the near misses we had, we've made it this far with only Hanoi left on our tour of Vietnam. Naturally you'd have that feeling of "hey, we're gonna make it" and of course wham! that's precisely when something happens.

Leaving Ha Long Bay

I was riding with the group when I felt I was going a bit too fast, so when an intersection came I pulled off to become the marker as a way to slow down, i was joined by Abg Din and we know there's 2 more riders behind us. We waited for a while and Abg Din felt something is wrong as they shouldn't be that far behind, so I called the last man only to hear the dreaded words "aku jatuh"(i fell). 

Abg Din went ahead to assist while I made calls to the front group before heading back as well. So I was riding solo to the scene when a bus decides to overtake a lorry(they just come out whenever they like remember) pushing me to the small lane on the right (it's left hand drive country), as the bus passed i made my way to the left in order to avoid a cyclist, but of course that's the precise moment that he decide to move to the left as well. It all happened so fast as the tip of my handlebar clipped him on the elbows causing a violent slap of the bars as i overcorrected. In my mind I was going "oh god, please don't let me fall", in reality i think i only managed a "oh god" before i'm on my side sliding down the pavement with the bike on top of me.

Passerby's came to assist me to lift the bike as i lay pinned and pushed the bike aside, my thoughts was to move slowly as i try to assess whether i've injured myself but everything seems to be in working order. In the thick of being surrounded by soooo many people who stopped (an accident will do that anywhere in this world) but more here because a big bike was involved, the first question that they asked me was........"how much?"(while pointing to the bike). OhForTheLoveOfGod!!! seriously?!

By this time Mus is trying very hard to B+

I suppose this was the low point on the trip as even though we went as a group when something did happen I was alone and so was the other rider. Help was not immideatly on hand as it took time for some riders to come back. However, it's a testament to how strong these bikes are and highlights the importance of protective gear as we both joined back the group to continue our way to Hanoi.

Nisa - Malaysia restaurant in Hanoi

By the time we reached Hanoi all I wanted to do was to grab a quick dinner and sleep, went to Nisa a Malaysian restaurant....yes i already miss my teh tarik and sambal belacan. Ben, the owner was impressed to hear that we rode all the way from KL and wanted to host lunch for the group the next day. Hey! we're not gonna say no to free food...

*Fuel Consumption
1. Hanoi 181.7km 110,000VND 6.5liters
2. Hanoi 70.2km 50,000VND 3.04liters