2
January, Phat Diem to Thanh Hoa (intersection), 53km
Tan Hoa Guest House 250,000VND
(also available by the hour)
We rode the QL10 between the town of Phat Diem and the
city of Thanh Hoa. A secondary road running east of the north-south AH1 highway
which links Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC). A back road, sometimes wide,
sometimes narrow, sometimes noisy, sometimes quiet, meandering through small
towns and rice paddies and across pontoon bridges spanning brown rivers. Many
shops were closed today, but people still operated their shop-house businesses
and worked in the fields and sold produce at the markets. During Vietnam’s
battle for independence from French rule, bicycles were used to transport
hundreds of pounds of munitions and supplies through the jungles and mountains of
the north. The bikes were too heavy to ride. Instead, they were pushed along
narrow paths, steered with two lengths of bamboo: one attached upright near the
saddle, one attached horizontally to extend the length and therefore
reachability of the handlebars. This method of transporting heavy goods from
one place to another is still used by Vietnam’s poor and we saw several
examples today. For the last three days we have seen many restaurants offering
both dog and cat meat to diners, and seen both species, hairless, splayed and
displayed for sale.
Phat Diem
Phat Diem
Between Phat Diem and Thanh Hoa
Between Phat Diem and Thanh Hoa
Between Phat Diem and Thanh Hoa
Between Phat Diem and Thanh Hoa
Between Phat Diem and Thanh Hoa
Thanh Hoa intersection
Dog / cat eatery
Dog / cat eatery
Dog / cat eatery