So this is it! Seventeen-hundred kilometer in four weeks, Hanoi to Saigon. It has been a blast. Cycling in Vietnam has been such a pleasure, I would definitely do it all over again.
This was the first long-distance cycling trip I have done, and I definitely picked the right country to do it in. Whether for seasoned cyclists or beginners like me, Vietnam has all the right things for an enjoyable experience: nicely maintained roads with wide shoulder lanes, bus and truck drivers who know to pass cyclists with a comfortable margin, hotels and guesthouses that can be found in the smallest towns, the food and drink stalls next to all the roads, and the curious but friendly locals.
With the cycling part of the trip over, it is a perfect ending to take the train, the Reunification Express, back up to Hanoi. As the north-south train line roughly parallels Highway 1, the train ride will retrace my cycling trip in reverse at an accelerated pace.
With my bike handed over to its next owner, I now am really traveling light, with only my panniers and a small backpack to carry. I get to the train station with plenty of time for the 2300h departure. Getting on the train and finding my berth on the hard-sleeper carriage, I stow my bags and make the bed.
The hard-sleeper car has six berths to each enclosed compartment. The carriage is very clean and is similar to hard sleepers in China. But because Vietnam has narrow-gauge tracks, the trains are narrower than trains in China, thus lacking the fold-down seats in the corridor.
I share the compartment with an older Vietnamese couple who are also going to Hanoi. As the train pulls away from the station at exactly eleven o’clock, I get ready for bed. I will spend the next two nights and one day on this train.
I spend the next thirty hours reading and looking out the window. At quite a few places, I recognize the stretches of Highway 1 I rode on only a couple of weeks before. At Hai Van Pass between Danang and Hue, I get a different perspective on the breathtaking views of the South China Sea and the mountain from two weeks ago when I rode to the top of the pass.
The train pulls into the Hanoi train station at 4:30 a.m. Still sleepy, I stumble down the train into the chilly morning and get a ride on a motorbike to Hanoi Backpackers’ Hostel.
And so I am back to where I started four weeks ago. I have one day to spend here before flying to Singapore tomorrow.
This was the first long-distance cycling trip I have done, and I definitely picked the right country to do it in. Whether for seasoned cyclists or beginners like me, Vietnam has all the right things for an enjoyable experience: nicely maintained roads with wide shoulder lanes, bus and truck drivers who know to pass cyclists with a comfortable margin, hotels and guesthouses that can be found in the smallest towns, the food and drink stalls next to all the roads, and the curious but friendly locals.
With the cycling part of the trip over, it is a perfect ending to take the train, the Reunification Express, back up to Hanoi. As the north-south train line roughly parallels Highway 1, the train ride will retrace my cycling trip in reverse at an accelerated pace.
With my bike handed over to its next owner, I now am really traveling light, with only my panniers and a small backpack to carry. I get to the train station with plenty of time for the 2300h departure. Getting on the train and finding my berth on the hard-sleeper carriage, I stow my bags and make the bed.
The hard-sleeper car has six berths to each enclosed compartment. The carriage is very clean and is similar to hard sleepers in China. But because Vietnam has narrow-gauge tracks, the trains are narrower than trains in China, thus lacking the fold-down seats in the corridor.
I share the compartment with an older Vietnamese couple who are also going to Hanoi. As the train pulls away from the station at exactly eleven o’clock, I get ready for bed. I will spend the next two nights and one day on this train.
I spend the next thirty hours reading and looking out the window. At quite a few places, I recognize the stretches of Highway 1 I rode on only a couple of weeks before. At Hai Van Pass between Danang and Hue, I get a different perspective on the breathtaking views of the South China Sea and the mountain from two weeks ago when I rode to the top of the pass.
The train pulls into the Hanoi train station at 4:30 a.m. Still sleepy, I stumble down the train into the chilly morning and get a ride on a motorbike to Hanoi Backpackers’ Hostel.
And so I am back to where I started four weeks ago. I have one day to spend here before flying to Singapore tomorrow.
Hanoi Scenes II:
Guarding Motorbikes
Baguette Vendors
Reading in Front of Vietnam's First Emperor
Joy Rides
Chatting at Dusk by Hoan Kiem Lake
Taking a Nap
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