Day 37
After meeting another group of climbers who suggested that we go to Thakhek, we have made that our next destination. It looks like we can follow AH1 as far as Ha Tinh, 375 km / 234 miles from here and then taking Ho Chi Minh to Q12 to Laos. As we recently learned, AH1 is the longest highway system in Asia going from Tokyo to Istanbul. Needless to say there are a lot of trucks and buses, speeding and honking nonstop. This has led some cyclists to claim that it’s a terrible road to ride on. However, compared to what we road in Southern China it’s wonderful. The shoulder is generous, the concrete is smooth, and the scenery so far isn’t too bad either.
We made it into Bac Ninh at 1pm today and found a nice hotel tucked away in a quiet little neighborhood, with cafe’s and an outdoor food market. After spending almost 3 weeks at a truck stop motel in Huu Lung, we were both thankful to stop at this town. We enjoyed a coffee at a cafe, sampled some sweet and savory pastries from street stalls, and then inhaled a whole grilled chicken with rice noodles for dinner. It was a such a treat compared to the only restaurant that we found open for dinner in Huu Lung, where we witnessed our “chef” scratching his bare foot while taking our order of deep fried fish and pig hearts.
During our 3 weeks stay in Huu Lung, we found whole roasted dogs are sold in the market, and bakers and egg sellers pedal around selling their goods and finding their clients because they are so spread out. Most restaurants are only open for breakfast and lunch. While here in Bac Ninh, men and women are sitting around in suits, on a tree shaded sidewalk sipping coffee and chatting. I felt a bit like a hillbilly coming into the city for the first time, feeling all excited at the glimpse of city life again. Since we entered Vietnam the majority of our travel has been through isolated farming villages. Regardless, it was a great day to throw our budget concerns to the wind and to taste the delectable conveniences a modern city provides.