3 January,
Thanh Hoa (intersection) to Giat, 80km
Thien Ly Guest House 200,000VND
Setting the scene: The AH1, a double-carriage
highway with wide shoulders, the north-south lanes separated by cement barriers
to prevent the unruly from crossing willy-nilly. School’s out, so some distance
ahead of me around 20 or 30 kids are cycling home, filling both the shoulder
and the slow lane. Not far ahead of me, three girls share two bikes. They are
wearing their blue and white school jackets and carrying shocking pink bags
that read BAD GIRL. They are cycling side by side chatting and entirely unconcerned
about the trucks thundering by in the fast lane. Coming toward us on the wrong
side of the road are a man on a scooter carrying several six metre lengths of
metal piping on one shoulder, held there with his left hand, and a cow and her
calf. Put all these elements into the pot and stir... The girls unintentionally
spook the calf which skitters into the path of a juggernaut. The truck driver
brakes and hoots causing the calf to alter direction, skidding in her haste to
get off the road. The calf causes the scooter to swerve, the driver’s pipes
swinging toward me. I brake and alter course, heart rate accelerating, no doubt
instigating commensurate changes in my wake. What happens next? Nothing at all.
Everyone rights themselves and goes on their way. Another perfectly normal day
on Vietnam’s busiest arterial.
Between Thanh Hoa and Giat
Between Thanh Hoa and Giat
Between Thanh Hoa and Giat
Between Thanh Hoa and Giat