Stage 3: Thanh Hoa to Cau Giat (80km)

Stage 3: Thanh Hoa to Cau Giat (80km)

We were up at 0900 and went for breakfast at a nearby noodle soup place.  The girl who served us was very curious about our trip and about life abroad in general.  She told us that she'd travelled within Vietnam but didn't think she'd ever go beyond.  Most people we'd met so far asked about the quality of life abroad and more directly about money.  She also wondered how much people earned in the west and we explained that earnings and also the cost of living were generally higher.  We also explained that differences in quality of life also lay in social services, which were non-existent in Vietnam.  She spoke of people she knew who had married in order to live abroad and we concluded that being in a relationship for money and not love was probably not a happy place.

Graham had left us a note saying he'd departed early at 0500 to press on to try to reach Vinh 140km away.  Our plan was to push on towards there and see how far we could get before it got dark around 1800.  After loading up our panniers, we left the hotel in hot sunshine around 1000.

Riding out of Thanh Hoa, we stopped by a roadside shop to buy some 'nem chua' (fermented pork roll) which was the speciality of the region.  A snack to go with the beers we'd treat ourselves at the end of the day.

A quick roadside pitstop

Some of the roads had broken surfaces and the hard shoulder was basically a dusty strip by the side of the road into which we were pushed from time to time by charging trucks and coaches.  They sped up behind and warned you with a horn blast to move out of the way before steaming past.  The use of the horn was not to let you know of their position, but rather a warning to move as they were coming through at speed.

On the straight and narrow

We stopped at a small roadside place for lunch and found the owner friendly and open.  He told us how he'd lost his leg in a road accident in his previous job as a truck driver.  He spoke about the lack of insurance in Vietnam and the dangerous disregard for traffic laws.  We'd already seen how the drivers of larger vehicles along Highway 1 drove as if nobody else on the road existed.  His experience highlighted the lack of social services and compensation in Vietnam for victims.

Lady frying sweet potato cakes for our lunch

Transportation even slower than us

We saw children riding bikes in their tracksuit like school uniforms, many under shade from the sun.  It was common to see people covered up to save themselves from becoming darkened by the sun.  In Vietnam, darkened skin is indicative of lowly jobs such as farming and pale skin is considered much more attractive.  Those we passed whilst playing in front of their homes waved and shouted enthusiastic hellos.

With about 75km to go to Vinh, we stopped for a drinks break.  It was about 1630 and after checking our bearings we realised that we wouldn't reach Vinh before dark.  The drinks stall owner told us that we could reach Cau Giat about 15km away.  She was friendly and we spoke to her at ease, comparing the number of people in our respective families.  Like almost everyone we met she was curious about us, our trip and our lives abroad.  I noticed that she spoke with a Hue influenced accent.  In fact, the accents had changed noticeably since we'd left Thanh Hoa, one of the last northern central provinces.

We reached Cau Giat's paddy fields under cloudy skies which meant slightly cooler conditions.  Linh, a 13 year old schoolgirl who was keen to meet foreigners and practice her English followed us as we stopped to check our bearings.  She had lofty ambitions of becoming the President when older and spoke very good English for her age.  We asked her about local hotels and she directed us to the Quynh Luu Plaza a little further down the road.  We debated if she'd even get to ever leave this small town despite her potential as we continued on towards the hotel.  I had the sad feeling that her provincial life would probably hold her back but we had wished her luck all the same.

That evening we saw the first instance of a Saigon beer, an indicator that we were moving away from the northern provinces perhaps.  The short walk back to the hotel along the road showed that nightfall didn't slow the traffic flow of trucks and their near constant horn blaring - Highway 1 did not sleep.