Hanoi to Dong Trieu

After hanging out in Hanoi for a couple of days and testing out my bike, I decide that today is the day to start the trip.

The plan so far: head to Halong Bay to the east, then south from there.

Armed with a book of detailed maps of the country and a Vietnamese phrasebook, I leave the comfortable surroundings of the Old Quarter and pedal out of the city. Before long, the crowds on the road thins out as I get on National Highway 1. This is almost too easy: beautifully paved blacktop with no potholes to swerve around, hardly anyone is on the road, and the cycling lane is safely divided from the center lanes. I find the comfortable pace of around 25 kmph and ride into the distance. After Highway 1 becomes an expressway, the traffic becomes almost nonexistent. The cycling lane is wide enough to be another traffic lane. I am really enjoying this now.

I stop at a roadside restaurant for lunch. With a combination of the numbers I learned on the flight over (Thank you Singapore Airlines for the little Berlitz tutorial), pointing at the phrasebook, and some gesturing, I manage to order a very tasty and filling meal of rice with scrambled eggs, fish, and greens. As I sit down, I notice that the ten people at the next table are staring at me and obviously talking about me. Is it my helmet, the panniers on my bike, or do I have a black streak across my face? "What are you looking at? I look just like you!" I think to myself, then smile and nod at them. After a couple of minutes, they turn around and go back to their meals, clearly having come to some sort of conclusion about me.

The afternoon ride is pretty noneventful. Along the way, quite a few people on bikes and at the side of the road yell "Hello!" and wave at me. A few kids chase after me for a bit. Yet a couple of other kids give me high fives. I feel like a celebrity!

As the sun is starting to set, I roll into Dong Trieu, a nondescript town along Highway 18. I check into a guesthouse, wash off the road grime, and have another session of arm waving and pointing to the phrasebook. Another dinner comes out. Halfway through, I realize I am eating the rice straight out of the serving bowl. So that's why they were looking at me funny earlier, I must've looked like a pig at the trough.

It'll be an early night tonight. Looking forward to tomorrow's ride.

Stats:
Distance: 86.8 km
Time: 3h 47m
Average speed: 22.9 kmph