Hanoi - Day 3

At eight o'clock we met Lee in the lobby. After a couple of beers last night Mr. Lee told us to call him just Lee. We got our passports back and went to a nice little street restaurant around the corner. We had cooked noodle bundles with amazing little frikadellen for breakfast. I think that's when I really woke up. Again, so simple and yet so gourmet. I asked for coffee, but there was no room for that. Coffee in Vietnam takes time, which is actually a good thing. 

So off we went. Riding a bike for longer distances is a test for all your senses. After a while you get a feel for the gears, you get familiar with the machine, the sound of the engine, the roaring. And once you get used to the constant factors, you'll notice little noises that are passing by. They pierce the air and disappear again. A hammering sound, the hissing of a gas bottle, dogs barking, children laughing, the coughing of a starting car, music from a shop passing by. They blend into a wonderous suburban concert. 

Every now and then we stopped at a gas station or a little scenerie. These breaks were brief, only a few moments to fill up our thirsty bikes, to stretch out our rusty legs, but they allowed us to catch glimpses of real life taking place. One time we crossed the street while Lee lit a cigarette. There was a group of people, some were sitting and some were slendering by. It was a sales spot with old women offering dried goods and lively chickens. They looked at us with curious eyes. 

At a gas station near Vinh we ate a Vietnamese snack, rice paper discs with peanut butter and nuts in between. We walked around chewing and a kid shot by on a scooter. He looked back and we waved at him. He gave us a huge smile, then disappeared forever. Another time we stopped at the side of a street. A truck had fallen over and lost its cargo. Children were picking up bags and bags of potato chips. A kid was running past us with excitement written all over his face.

We had lunch in a place with no name. It was somewhere in the mountains. After a long ride we were glad to take off our helmets. Sometimes you have to remove your jacket to realize that it's actually not that cold. The restaurant was a lonesome resting point with a nice view over a huge lake. The meal was amazing and felt like medicine. It prepared us for another couple of hours on the road. I wish I knew all the names to the places we've passed through. 

Outside of Ha Tinh we saw the ocean. It was a nice beach and it would've been much nicer if we hadn't followed a super scary cemetary for several hundred meters. Most of the graves had stones and flowers, but some were plain little hills with wooden crosses sticking out of the ground. Lee had planned for us to spend the night in a hotel nearby. Explaining to him that we wanted to maybe try the next bigger city was one of the hardest parts of the trip so far. 

We drove back to Vinh, and drove back through complete darkness. One false move and we could've extended our trip by several days in stationary custody. One hole in the street and the story would have gone a lot different than what you read in these lines. Fortunately, we made it back into the city and spotted a nice little hotel. We stopped our bikes and turned off the engines. I walked up to Giwoun and shot him one of the truest high-fives I've ever given out in my whole life.