Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City Motorbike Trip: Day 2 - Yen Cat to Phong Nha

I woke up in Yen Cat at 5am, ate breakfast, and did some push ups for exercise. Then I packed all my gear and filled my water bottle. By the time I hit the road it was 6am and it was still dark outside. It wasn’t long before the sun came up and the road was clear of cars. The first 3 hours of riding was smooth sailing. I went about 60-70 km/hour and had great views.

I was listening to classic rock on my headphones while riding and I had a moment that reminded me of a Vietnam war movie. Barbara Ann came on and I was cruising through the landscape of North Vietnam. I saw palm trees, rice paddies, little Vietnamese houses and mountains going by to the sounds of the Beach Boys. All I needed was some dog tags and green fatigues and it could have been a scene from Full Metal Jacket.

There are so many things you have to monitor in order to be safe on a motorbike trip. The biggest one in Vietnam is other traffic on the road. People will pull right out onto the road in your lane without ever looking at you. One guy entered the highway going the same direction as me and he never even looked to his left before he turned onto the highway to see if I was coming. He drove right into my path so I held the horn button down, braked, and swerved to avoid him. It’s so scary that at any moment, if you aren’t paying attention, someone can pull out in front of you. The road requires your constant, full attention.

Also, oncoming busses are quite dangerous. There were several times when I had to get completely off the road and come to a stop in order to avoid being hit. As you get off the road as fast as possible, while decelerating from highway speed, there are so many dangers. Of course, there’s the oncoming vehicle that will hit you if you’re in the way. It has no way to avoid you because it’s passing another bus and it can’t swerve away in the other direction. Then you have the motorbike’s limitations. My bike didn’t handle very well. It would skid easily and it was top heavy with luggage. If I wasn’t careful, I could crash while trying to decelerate and steer away from the oncoming bus.

Then you have the shoulder. The condition of the shoulder is just a matter of luck. It might be dirt or gravel, which is unstable and may cause a skid, but not too had to drive through. There could be large rocks that could destroy your bike and cause a crash instantaneously.

There might be cows, chickens, goats, dogs, or pigs in the way. There might be bushes, trees and vines to complicate the issue. All of the dangers have to be identified, evaluated, and responded to within a matter of seconds. It’s not fun. It’s terrifying. The oncoming busses were the reason I wouldn’t want to try this trip again. I’m glad I did the trip one time, but I wouldn’t want to do it again and again. It’s just not worth the risk.

You have to consider the weather. When it rains, the road is slippery and you can’t stop very quickly and you may skid if you try. Water on your visor, glasses, or eyeballs affects your visibility. I was glad to have my big helmet to protect from the elements.

Animals are another concern. Dogs run out into the road directly into your path. I would have hit a dog if I didn’t slow down, swerve, and honk my horn. Dogs often walk across the road. There are buffalo, cows, chickens, goats, and pigs too. I had several incidents with cows in the road. If I hadn’t slowed down dramatically, swerved, and given them space, it could have been ugly. You often see men with a big bull pulling a wooden cart carrying wood or other products. These are generally slow and easy to avoid, but they obstruct the road so if you aren’t paying attention they can surprise you. People in to road are common, but they’re not too much of a concern because they stay out of the way for the most part.

You also have to worry about the road itself. There are lots of potholes, cracks, and bumps. Sometimes the road is narrow, uneven, or covered in loose gravel that can cause a skid. You have to pay attention to the road all the time. There are also big heaves that bounce your bike and may cause a crash if you’re not ready for it.

Your gear can be hazardous as well. Is it strapped on correctly? If not, it could cause problems when it falls off your bike.

You also have to worry about your own physical and mental acuity. If you get too cold or too hot, you have to correct that. If you get tired or if your joints hurt, you have to take care of your body. Mentally, you get tired. You want to cover a lot of distance but you shouldn’t ride when you’re too tired. If you stat to doze off, you’re asking fro trouble.

At 9:15 am I felt like I was getting tired so I pulled over and laid down on my bike and fell asleep for about 20 minutes. Then I woke up and kept riding.

I covered a lot of distance during the first half of the day. I almost ran out of gas once but I pulled into a motorbike repair shack where they sold gas in small glass bottles. I paid 100,000 dong to fill my gas tank there. That was a mistake. I should have got a little gas there and then filled up at a gas station. Doing that could have saved me about 20,000 dong (1 dollar).

My goal was to reach Dong Hoi. When I was a few kilometers form Dong Hoi, I noticed a white guy on a motorcycle at a service station. I pulled over and said hello and asked if he knew any good places to stay in Dong Hoi. He said I should follow him and go back in the opposite direction with his 2 friends to Phong Nha Farm Stay.

I followed them to the farm stay and it was really beautiful with a view looking out over rice fields with mountains in the background. Vietnamese people with conical hats were out in the rice paddies. There was a swimming pool, a bar, a loft, and a restaurant. There was a really chill vibe at the resort.

The price to stay at the farm stay was $35 per night. Above my budget. They told me I could stay at a nearby hostel (Easy Tiger) or a smaller farm stay (Pepper Mill). I went to the Pepper Mill Farm Stay because I thought it would be a more relaxed environment. The people at Pepper Mill were really chill and encouraged me to stay there. I met the owner, Ben, and a bunch of other travelers.

Ben asked me if I wanted to play guitar and sing at the farm stay where I had gone first. I said yes. I took a shower and went back to Phong Nha Farm Stay. I met an Irish couple. The guy looked like Evan from the TV show Greek.

I played about 8 songs on guitar and then they gave me free dinner and a beer. Then I got up and played another 7 songs. People seemed to like my songs. The team that discovered the Phong Nha Cave was in the restaurant and the listened to my play guitar. Ben asked me to come work as a guitar player. What a tempting offer.

Ben had been living in Phong Nha for the past 8 years. Within the last 3 years, the largest cave in the world was discovered and Phong Nha became a world class tourist destination. Ben’s life changed from low-key and slow paced to that of a local celebrity and owner of the major tourism business in the area. These days he meets people from all over the world, all the time. Ben encouraged me to stay in Phong Nha for another day to explore the area.

I went back to Pepper Mill farm stay and talked to people around the campfire for a little while before going to bed.