26
December, Cam Pha to Tuan Chau Island, 45km
Hien
Giang Hotel 200,000VND
Before leaving Cam Pha, we visited the Cao Son
Lu’u Thuy temple visible from our hotel room. On the upside,
our road ran almost flat between Cam Pha and Tuan Chau Island through scenery sometimes
made dramatic by karst outcrops. On the downside, almost the entire distance
was built up and heavily trafficked, requiring constant, tiring vigilance; and drizzle
turned kms of coal-dust into black gunk, making for a second, considerably less
novel, day of filth. Our only climb of the day was onto and over the Bai Chay
suspension bridge in Halong City. A second long bridge, this one low over
shallow water supporting oyster farms, took us onto Tuan Chau Island, departure
point of the local ferry to Cat Ba Island, tomorrow’s destination. A word on
traffic: A major plus of biking in Southeast Asia is that two-wheel vehicles
far outnumber four. This means that four-wheel drivers are totally aware of and
careful about two-wheelers. As the rules of the road here are ... er ... more
fluid than those to which we are accustomed at home, vigilance is required on
our part even though we are totally confident about the driving ability and
spatial skills of the average Vietnamese. People do travel on the wrong side of
the road if this will get them to their destination more quickly; people do
turn into traffic without looking, expecting those already on the road to
follow the only immutable road rule we have been able to distil: if it is in
front of you, don’t hit it. Here is something I wrote after our first visit to
Vietnam in 2009: “The traffic in Vietnam is virtually indescribable. Literally
millions of scooters and bicycles vie for road space with trucks, buses and
cars – the two-wheel vehicles far outnumbering the four. There seems to be only
one rule of the road: If it’s in front of you, don’t hit it. No matter what. So
a young girl, talking on her phone, her face obscured by her long hair, steps
off the pavement directly into your path without checking for traffic at all.
Don’t hit her. So a man cycling ahead of you with 8m of plumbing pipe over his
shoulder turns off the road. Picture the pipe now swinging across the road and
into your path. See it? Don’t hit it. So a woman transporting mattresses on the
back of a scooter is overtaken by a lumbering truck which is overtaken by a
faster truck. Between the two trucks squeezes a man transporting yellow flowers
on his scooter – his body surrounded by a halo of yellow. Picture all four
coming toward you on your hired scooter, leaving just enough space for you to
ride – if your spatial skills and nerve are good enough. See them? Don’t hit
them. See the boy pulling onto Highway 1 on his autocycle, his right hand on
the throttle, his left holding a cell phone to his right ear, his left foot
lifted nonchalantly to adjust his rearview mirror? Don’t hit him. See the
family of six on the scooter? None of them wearing helmets, the little ones
wearing Father Xmas hats? Don’t hit them. Got it? Good.”
Cao Son Lu'u Thuy temple
Cao Son Lu'u Thuy temple
Cao Son Lu'u Thuy temple
Cao Son Lu'u Thuy temple
Cao Son Lu'u Thuy temple
Cao Son Lu'u Thuy temple
Cao Son Lu'u Thuy temple
Bai Chay bridge - Halong City
Bai Chay bridge - Halong City
Tuan Chau island oyster farms