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The Bamboo Curtain Tour Day 17: Thanh Son to Hanoi 🏁

The Bamboo Curtain Tour Day 16: Mu Cang Chai to Thanh Son

The Bamboo Curtain Tour Day 15: Muong La to Mu Cang Chai

As I lay in bed at four-thirty yesterday afternoon, trying to defrost my feet, I gazed out the window at a patchwork of winter rice paddies. 

On one of these little brown handkerchiefs of land were three labourers. One was wading through knee-deep water, steering a rebellious plowing contraption. He was wrestling mightily with the machine, which seemed to have a mind all of its own. The water must have been freezing and the effort seemed immense. 

In an adjacent plot, two women were digging and hoeing the sodden, clumpy earth. They were going at it with an intensity I couldn’t imagine they could maintain for more than a few minutes. Shortly afterwards, I fell fast asleep. 

About an hour later, I woke up. I had two warm feet. I peered out of the window. The man with the anarchic plow had disappeared. The two women, however, were still thrashing away. One was now swinging a pickaxe, while the other was digging a trench with a spade. After a few minutes they swapped tools and launched back into it. Their energy was incredible. I was mesmerised. 

This is one of the indelible images I will take away from this tour. For it is one that I have seen repeated in a hundred fields and villages all across this wintry land. The constant activity, everywhere. Young, old, men and women. In every town and village they are shovelling sand into cement mixers, welding, hammering or chopping something. 

As I ride along, motorbikes speed past me, ferrying livestock and produce and furniture and all manner of items, large and larger still. To witness this prodigious work ethic and the irresistible energy of these people is exhilarating. And this is how I know Vietnam will surely prosper; through the drive, purpose and determination of these amazing, ordinary people. 

It was a cold, clear morning as I rolled out of Mu Canh Chai. Before long, the road veered upwards, as I began the ascent of the famous Khau Pha pass. As I climbed higher, the skies darkened, the wind stiffened and the temperature plummeted. Soon I was  enveloped in thick dark cloud. My hands and feet turned numb from the cold. I prayed it wouldn’t rain. My Ali G jacket was as waterproof as fresh blotting paper. 

We finally crested the summit in thick mist and headed down the mountain. The descent went on forever. I had to stop twice to shove my hands down my bibshorts to warm them up. A woman passing by on her motorcycle gave me a dirty look. 

Finally, I made it to the bottom of the mountain and dived into a cafe where a kindly woman warmed me up with hot coffee and a glass of boiling water. I drank the coffee and held the glass of boiling water in my frozen fingers, thus avoiding the need to stick my hands down my bibshorts again. She gave me a sweet, kind look. 

Once back on the road and warmed up, I pressed on, hoping to make it to Thanh Son before bedtime. After a stronger than usual effort, passing through a hundred kilometres of uninspiring scenery, I pulled into the town of Thanh Son, my destination of the day. 

A two-hundred kilometre effort has now left me with just ninety kilometres to ride tomorrow to reach Hanoi and finish my tour. 

I will savour this night, as I have savoured every day of this beautiful adventure. One more day to go…

Tomorrow, we ride!

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Dale Nottingham

The Bamboo Curtain Tour Day 16: Mu Cang Chai to Thanh Son

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SpinBike: “Old Wine, New Bottle”.

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The Bamboo Curtain Tour Day 17: Thanh Son to Hanoi 🏁

The Bamboo Curtain Tour Day 16: Mu Cang Chai to Thanh Son

The Bamboo Curtain Tour Day 15: Muong La to Mu Cang Chai

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