I have parked on a small patch of open ground just at the side of the road and turned off the engine. I am surrounded by the dark silhouettes of the mountains, only a few scattered lights here and there down in the valley. Further down the road, the lights from trucks and cars play through the light evening mist. Here where I’m standing everything is dark and quiet, no houses, no cars, no people, just me and the sound of the crickets. I stand contemplating the darkness for a moment then I look up.
Up above, the sky is … Read the rest
The light is fading fast; the sky, though free of clouds, is not as bright blue as it was a few minutes ago, and the road lays in shadow. I take a quick glance in the rear view mirror, see the road unfold behind me and in the distance, the hazy outline of the city with the mountains behind it. And there, over the silhouetted peaks, the sky is blazing orange, shifting into pink at the edges. It’s only a glimpse, I have to turn my eyes back to the road, but for a moment I feel a kind of … Read the rest
We are in a small, waist deep pool far inside the the dark cave. The water is completely saturated with mud, sort of like a thick soup, and it changes the density so that we all become more buoyant. Floating on your back with your feet in the air is effortless; so is floating on your stomach, hands and feet out of the water, it almost feels like you are flying. This experience is so special I don’t think my words do it justice.… Read the rest
We are in a crevice branching off from the main cave. It keeps getting narrower as we walk and we wind our way past stalagtites, stepping over rocks and through mud. The sense of adventure is almost tangible…… Read the rest
Finally I am here, the real Ho Chi Minh highway. The disappointment I felt two hours earlier is gone, now all I feel is the excitement of being on this road, it’s smooth, it’s curvy in just the right way, and when the jungles along the side open up you get beautiful mountain vistas. It’s everything I hoped it would be.… Read the rest
The road is straight, relatively smooth and on both sides nothing but jungle. A quick glance at my GPS tells me I am on the Ho Chi Minh highway, that legendary road for bikers in this country and I am… a little bit disappointed. Sure, smooth roads and jungles are nice but I have read such good things about it and it doesn’t live up to the hype. I’ve been on equally smooth roads with much nicer views in other parts of the country, the road between Dalat and Nha Trang comes to mind. Oh well, I shall keep going, … Read the rest
I’m only a few meters from the entrance where a little bit of daylight spills in, and already it’s completely dark when I turn off my flashlight, I literally cannot see my hand in front of my face. I am truly in the underground, where human eyes cannot penetrate the darkness no matter how used they get to it. I don’t dare to go further in because there are no lights to guide the way and getting lost down in some old tunnels from the Vietnamese war is not a particularly appealing prospect. Instead I just stand here for a … Read the rest
Yesterday evening was a festival night and there were lots of people here. Today it’s back to normal, every day life and the streets are almost empty. A little while ago it was raining which kept people indoors. Now the rain has stopped but people aren’t coming out, not even the tourists. In the daytime this place is bustling with people but now it’s so empty. It feels so strange.… Read the rest
The street is lined with red and yellow lanterns enticing people in to the various shops and restaurants. Green lanterns have been strung across the street like pearl necklaces. The whole place is bathed in a soft multicolored glow, giving it a special atmosphere. Tonight a festival is in town and there are loads of people milling around, locals and tourists alike. There’s that happy feeling in the air that only a festival can bring about. Normally I would enjoy walking around looking at things but I’ve had some trouble with that lifeblood of a modern traveler, my phone, which … Read the rest
I’ve seriously had it with this incessant rain, like Samuel L Jackson in Snakes on a plane would have said: enough is enough! It spoils the fun of riding by making the road slippery, it ruins any photo ops offered by the gorgeous scenery I’m passing, but worst of all, I’m getting soaked despite my rain gear. It is utterly and completely miserable.… Read the rest
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