Day 3: To Ride or to Photograph?

• From - To: Trang An Viewpoint Homestay – Tai Dam Homestay

• Distance: 137 km, 3:00h

• Routes: QL12B, Ho Chi Minh Road, QL217, CT02

• Accommodation: Tai Dam Homestay, Double Room with Garden View with a fan, 25 Eur per night, with breakfast. Dinner extra 150K VND (5,90 Eur)

As the Vietnamese themselves explained, the French colonists taught them many good things, including how to make thin, large pancakes (crepes). For breakfast, I enjoyed pancakes with bananas and honey, sipped strong coffee with condensed milk, swam in the pool, packed my things, secured them to my Winner, and embarked on a journey through karst hills, swamps, and endless tropical greenery. In the first hour, I traveled only about 20 km – captivated by the scenery, I stopped after nearly every turn, pulling out my iPhone to capture the surroundings. Soon, I realized that stopping every hundred meters made little sense – the views around each bend were even more breathtaking than the last. I couldn't possibly capture all this beauty in photos. After all, I wasn’t there to create a photo album of every turn...

The journey was truly impressive. Due to heavy rains in the weeks before my trip, some roads were underwater. Several times, I had to alter my route on Google, which clearly lacked information about the inundated roads. I witnessed locals leaving their scooters at the edge and rowing boats to their homes. It appeared romantic to me, but perhaps not to the locals.

A portion of my journey that day took me onto the famous Ho Chi Minh Road. My part of the road spanned only 34 km, but many enthusiasts travel nearly 2,000 km on it from Hanoi to Saigon (Ho Chi Minh City) or vice versa. This journey lasts 2 to 3 weeks and is more touristic, but I too plan to undertake it someday, as I certainly aim to return to Vietnam.

On the third day, I spent about 3 hours riding, but a total of six hours on the motorbike. Even slower than the first hour, I navigated the final 11 km on a winding village road that ran through rice farming villages and verdant fields. Late August to early October is one of the most beautiful times in Northern Vietnam when the rice fields are ripe and locals gather the harvest. They bundle the hand-cut rice into thick bunches, attach them to scooters, and transport them to the village. It’s a tranquil, repetitive dance of people in conical hats, utterly enchanting.

The final mile to the guesthouse was a steep ascent up a hill. I appreciated the Winner’s engine power and how well a motorbike with a manual gearbox handled this kind of journey. Thankfully, it was dry, as wet concrete could have been slippery.

Upon arriving at Tai Dam Homestay, I regretted that the sun was already setting behind the mountains. The enchanting sunset views were quickly veiled by the evening's darkness. The hosts offered a generously prepared dinner table, around which gathered a group of travelers from the USA and Australia also staying at Tai Dam Homestay. We engaged in conversation, played Uno, and, without any intention of staying up late, soon retired to our rooms.