The border crossing into my thirteenth country on this trip was easy. In a parking lot just across the border, the Vietnamese bus was waiting to bring us to Hanoi.
In Hanoi, we had to depart the bus somewhere, there was no bus station and the streets were not listed on my map. In retrospect I can say that the place was more than ten kilometers away from the apartment of my couchsurfing host Bao. Bao is a nice but also very busy man, he had, despite studies, English courses and a small import business of his, found some time to introduce me to Vietnamese culture.
On the second day in Hanoi I was on an important mission. About a month ago I came to the conclusion, that I could not let this great trip end by spending two months at the beaches of South East Asia. At least not from one touristic center to the next. After some research I discovered that some Vietnam tourists buy motorcycles to explore the country. Technically this is illegal as long as one does not have a Vietnamese driver's license. Moreover, there is no insurance. But usually the police doesn’t bother tourists.
My mission was therefore to buy a motorcycle in Hanoi. The reliable two bikes from Honda were not love at first sight. Therefore I followed the sometimes irrational line of my trip and bought an orange Minsk. Minsk motorcycles had been an important part of the vehicle fleet in Vietnam for a long time. They are practically indestructible and big and strong enough for almost all transport requirements in Vietnam. However, the Minsk is largely a part of Vietnamese history, because they combine a high level of gasoline consumption with a legendary unreliability. Therefore in addition to my Minsk I bought a large plastic bag of spare parts.
After I had bought my bike, I was able to move freely in Hanoi. My impression of Hanoi changed. Before, I was tied to the district in which Bao lived and the tourist center old town, then I made my across the city traffic. There are many great places in Hanoi. The traffic on the roads from a pedestrians point of view looks terrifying. From the perspective of a motorcyclists after a while it is great, as long as one is not to scare easily. For motorcycles in urban areas basically no traffic rules apply, traffic lights can be ignored, bigger vehicles should be respected.
The sights in Hanoi were quite good but not outstanding, so I leave them out at this point.
On the fourth day, the day of my departure, I kick-started my bike at 8 o’clock and got on the way out of Hanoi. After five Kilometer still in Hanoi monsoon rains stopped me, so I had an extensive breakfast. Then I bought a rain jacket and made my way to the mountains to Mai Chau. At about 10:30, I crossed the city limits of Hanoi.
In Hanoi, we had to depart the bus somewhere, there was no bus station and the streets were not listed on my map. In retrospect I can say that the place was more than ten kilometers away from the apartment of my couchsurfing host Bao. Bao is a nice but also very busy man, he had, despite studies, English courses and a small import business of his, found some time to introduce me to Vietnamese culture.
On the second day in Hanoi I was on an important mission. About a month ago I came to the conclusion, that I could not let this great trip end by spending two months at the beaches of South East Asia. At least not from one touristic center to the next. After some research I discovered that some Vietnam tourists buy motorcycles to explore the country. Technically this is illegal as long as one does not have a Vietnamese driver's license. Moreover, there is no insurance. But usually the police doesn’t bother tourists.
My mission was therefore to buy a motorcycle in Hanoi. The reliable two bikes from Honda were not love at first sight. Therefore I followed the sometimes irrational line of my trip and bought an orange Minsk. Minsk motorcycles had been an important part of the vehicle fleet in Vietnam for a long time. They are practically indestructible and big and strong enough for almost all transport requirements in Vietnam. However, the Minsk is largely a part of Vietnamese history, because they combine a high level of gasoline consumption with a legendary unreliability. Therefore in addition to my Minsk I bought a large plastic bag of spare parts.
After I had bought my bike, I was able to move freely in Hanoi. My impression of Hanoi changed. Before, I was tied to the district in which Bao lived and the tourist center old town, then I made my across the city traffic. There are many great places in Hanoi. The traffic on the roads from a pedestrians point of view looks terrifying. From the perspective of a motorcyclists after a while it is great, as long as one is not to scare easily. For motorcycles in urban areas basically no traffic rules apply, traffic lights can be ignored, bigger vehicles should be respected.
The sights in Hanoi were quite good but not outstanding, so I leave them out at this point.
On the fourth day, the day of my departure, I kick-started my bike at 8 o’clock and got on the way out of Hanoi. After five Kilometer still in Hanoi monsoon rains stopped me, so I had an extensive breakfast. Then I bought a rain jacket and made my way to the mountains to Mai Chau. At about 10:30, I crossed the city limits of Hanoi.
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