Start of trip || < || >

For details of the places I visited in Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, with GPS Coordinates, see my book Vietnam Caves.

For details on motorbiking in Vietnam and Cambodia, from buying and selling a motorbike, to border crossing, see my book Motorbiking Cambodia & Vietnam.

Day four, and today I hit a little bit of a low point. The speedo on the bike stopped working, The bike failed to start last night with the kick starter, the starter motor struggled to kick in, and when it eventually did, it took a lot of cranking on the engine to get it started. Added that I read that it now seems almost impossible to cross over to Laos with a Vietnam motorbike (from peoples posts i read) and in addition that this trip is costing me more than i planned for. Being only 2 days away form Saigon, I still had the chance to can it and go home.

The idea of the trip was, to see a bit of Vietnam, fulfill a dream of biking America (to expensive so i settled for Vietnam) and then write a book about the troubles of doing a trip such as this (hopefully in the long run recuperate my investment).

As a lay in bed, I realize how far i have come. Not just in places, but in trusting myself. I am a Taurus Sign, and we like to have things planned out years in advance, with a guarantee stamped on it. 🙂 Now, I am in a strange country, that i do not speak the langue and communicate with sign language and a lot of guessing. I have no idea where i will sleep or even eat tomorrow, I have limited funds and do not now how long it will last as each month’s sales on my books is totally different. I realize how much i have learned, not just about people, but about life and myself.

I realize that the only stability one really have, is that somehow, life will go on. And that the best way to move through life, is not being prepared for every problem on the road, and having every thing planned out, but actually, a kind smile, humiliation, the willingness to make it work, and being friendly to others.

At this point I hear a lion roar in my room, o sorry, nope just my stomach. So, I get a shower and head downstairs for breakfast. They have fish soup or eggs and bread roll, i take the eggs. To my slight annoyance, they bring the eggs with the yoke still runny, I hate that, so I ask them to kook it some more. This seems to be a standard thing in Vietnam, even the menu says sunny side up. And when you say turn the eggs over, the waiter just repeats okay, not turn eggs over. Get my eggs back, and they just scorched the top, but the yoke is still running all over the plate when you cut it. Deep breath, move on.

Breakfast area and lobby of hotel
Right, so the first thing on the agenda is to find a place to have a real breakfast. However, the bike had different ideas. The starter just does not engage. I can hear the solenoid clicking, but not a peep from the starter. The hotel owner is standing outside (she actually studied english literature) and asks what is wrong. I say that i think the solenoid on the starter is gone, and maybe the drive belt for the automatic as it judders sometimes (I have no idea how it should actually ride as it is my first time on the bike).

I ask her if she knows where a good mechanic is, since she rents out the same model of motorbike. She points me down the road, and since it is a steep downhill, i glide the bike down, but just for kicks hits the starter button, and the bike starts, silly ass bike. 🙂

The bike shop actually turns out to be a Yamaha dealership. I walk in and ask if they have an english mechanic. They get their head mechanic, and i explain that the starter does not want to engage all the time, and if it does, the bike is hard to start. (Only started giving the problem as i got into the mountains.)

He checks the bike, and off course the starter works, but the bike is hard to start, so he directs me to another place 1 km away. This turns out to be Yamaha’s main service centre. I get there and try to explain to the reception lady i need a english speaking mechanic. She just says follow me and goes to a telephone, speaks in Vietnamese on the phone, then gives it to me. I speak to a guy who says he is sending someone down to help me. 5 min later, the head mechanic that helped me before is there to translate. The one mechanic takes it for a drive, after the head mechanic had his drive, and they inform me that the air filter needs replacing and the carburetor adjusted. Also that the back shocks needs adjusting as it is set up for three people.

This was actually a funny part, as they tried to explain to me that my shocks are set to hard. So they bounced my bike’s back up and down, then another bike, showing the difference. I thought okay, shocks are done. So I ask how much? The mechanic looks a bit baffled, then asks the parts lady, and eventually comes back with US$120. I am like now way, I paid $350 for the bike, I will ride it as is. The other mechanic was already busy with the shocks and I say no no no stop. Then the head mechanic shows me not to worry, no charge. I am like, no way you are going to replace my shocks for free, but stand back and watch. After a while, I realize that he is loosening the adjustment nut, that pre compresses the springs.

Okay, so that is why the thing felt like a go-cart. 150 vnd later, all is sorted. Although the damn solenoid did not once give any indication of not wanting to spin the starter, you know how it goes when the bike just runs perfect in front of the mechanic.

Yamaha workshop, kudos to Yamaha in Da Lat, they are super nice and understanding, going out of their way to help me.

like a patient waiting for the doctor, the bike awaits a diagnosis.

Replacing the air filter and setting the carburetor.
Cool, with the bike running nicely (starter did not blink once, we will see tomorrow in the cold), i go and find a place to eat brunch as it is about 11 now. I have already realized that this town is a tourist distraction trap, and that even the small shops is expensive. Since I am writing, I need a nice place with internet to make the most of my time, and the expensive places with internet is around $1 more for a meal, thus i head to the other eating place on the lake.

One thing i have now learned is that even when you think you know what you are ordering, you never know what you are going to get. For a word that means a certain way of cooking in one country, means something totally different in another. And this is part of the fun. This is beef something, and turns out to be soup, very nice.

With the lion in my stomach satisfied, it is time to go exploring. I drive all over the town, and love it, as the streets are up and down hills, with very interesting buildings. There are a number of tourist things to do outside town, like the park i accidentally stumbled upon yesterday, riding a scooter up the pass, did that yesterday coming into town, and go see some waterfalls or ride a canoe in the river, not interested today. So i just drive around sightseeing.

At one point i spot a shop selling gloves, and head over to get me some, as i lost mine when i lost my main backpack in Cambodia.

Gloves is an absolute must on long rides. Not just for incase you come off, or the occasional rock or insect that hits your hand, but the sun here is relentless on your hands when you are 9 or more hours in the sun.

I decide to head over to a place to write a bit, and get some good news. One of the bike shops that does rentals and tours across the border, comes back to an email i send, giving me details of what border crossings are easier, and also what i need to cross. Hopefully it will all work out okay. as it is getting late, i head back to the hotel, pay my bill and then decide i am going to have a look at that speedo. I can hear the thing turn under the instrument panel, so i strip the fairing off, and jup, the cable’s nut was not tightened so the speedo cable pulled out. I reattach the cable, fasten the nut, and feel better now that the bike is running smoother, the speedo is woking, and i may be okay in crossing the border. Now if more people would just buy my books, it would be perfect. 🙂