day 67 - Hanoi to Hang Tram

Monday, 30 December 2013

We set off from Hanoi this morning after a fantastic 11 days. The staff at Calypso Suites made us feel so welcome and it was such a comfortable stay. Leaving the creature comforts of the room, not knowing what was ahead, was a little difficult but we felt the sense of adventure again propelling us forward.

Wanting to avoid travelling along roads we had already been, we made our way through the city to a road that would eventually lead us to the Ho Chi Minh highway. Like anywhere, Monday morning traffic in Hanoi was full-on and we really had to keep our wits about us as we made our way out of the city, weaving between cars, buses and motorbikes travelling in all directions. The temperature was about 12 degrees and we were very grateful for the warm fleeces that Jim had given us for Christmas.

(Leaving Hanoi in Monday morning traffic)

Once the traffic started to lighten up, we were able to appreciate the flat road and pick up a bit of speed. We were aiming for a town called Hang Tram, about 90km south of Hanoi. After only 20km, the surroundings began to take on a more rural feel as rice paddies and buffalo appeared either side. We passed through towns and villages, buzzing with people at the morning markets. We stopped for lunch after 60km and scanned the Vietnamese menu for some words that we recognised, eventually settling on good old noodle soup.

(Tall skinny buildings popping up and a large Church)

(A town in the shadow of a long mountain range)

(The lovely ragged limestone scenery continues in these parts)

Having had an extended rest from cycling in Hanoi, we felt our bodies starting to stiffen up at lunch. We arrived in Hang Tram early in the afternoon and found a hotel just outside of the town where we booked in for the night. The building seems to be no more than a few years old and is run by a family of five. They don’t speak any English but with our few words of Vietnamese and a bit of sign language on all our parts, we were able to get a simple, clean room and a good dinner of rice, greens, minced pork, omelette and a tasty fish soup.

(The Giang Son hotel where we will stay the night)

We will continue south tomorrow, with the intention of doing another 100km or so. We haven’t been able to find much information on the areas we are passing through over the coming days but our goal is to reach Hué in the next six days. We hope to be in a reasonable sized town tomorrow to bring in the New Year.