We’re Off
Yesterday was a trial run. We gathered for a one hour introduction to our ‘steeds’ and a dressing down of our responsibilities.
Like the flock following the goose, off we headed into the jaws of Hanoi’s traffic. Dodging wagons full of birds,
scooters, pedestrians, trucks etc we made our way along the shores of the largest lake in Hanoi.
Finally got back to the hotel safely and today off on our first full day cycle in the country.
How to get around Hanoi
Up until yesterday, we walked miles every day. Lots of stops at cafes, museums, street stalls, galleries and benches. It’s been quite exhausting as maneuvering the sidewalks and roadways is a challenge as the scooters use the sidewalks as parking zones pushing pedestrians out onto the street to dodge the cars, buses, trucks and scooters.
Yesterday, we decided to do a scooter tour of some of the unique and local dining spots. A little reluctant to put our faith in a young scooter driver we headed out into the mayhem. I kept telling myself that in the 6 days we have been here we have never seen an accident so we should be OK, and we’re.
I thought pehpaps it best to show a short video of what it was like on the back of the scooter and a picture or two of the street scene.
IT’S NOT FLAG DAY, BUT….
Am not sure if it’s propoganda, a holiday, or just something that is here, but there are flags everywhere.
The Long March
Another day of slogging throught the streets of Hanoi. It’s more a dash through an episode of the Squid Game. If you survive you get to move on to the next episode but if you don’t survive then you might get lucky to be be sent home on a stretcher.
Connie says that for every car on the road there are 100 scooters. They are everywhere – they are parked on the sidewalks so one has to walk on the roadway. Crossing a street is like being a skittle and the ball is rolling towards you. The only advantage you have over being a skittle is that you can try and move out of the way but that doesn’t always work. Today we survived.
I think it was another 12 mile walking marathon taking us past all sorts of stores. It appears that goods are sold in clusters. That is, walk down one street and it specializes in Christmas ornaments. Walk down another and they specialize in Ao Dais. I wish there was a map that dilineated the areas where products were sold. However, I’m not buying anything except food! I hunt for the galleries and museums but being Monday many of them are closed.
However, we started off the day in a gallery around the corner from where we are staying. It was a photo exhibition displaying the work of Andy Soloman. He lived in Vietnam about 30 years ago, took pictures of lots of people and then recently returned and took photos of them again holding pictures that had been taken in the past. Beautiful black and white photos and fascinating.
we walked and walked and walked stopping every once and a while for a coffee and/or cold drink and finally collapsed back at the hotel at 1500hrs trying to gather strength to head out for dinner and another walk around the lake.
A great day.
Vietnam
Yes, we are on the move again. This time a cycle trip from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh. Then a couple of weeks to explore the Mekong and head up to Siam Reap and Ankor Wat. At least that’s the plan and so far we’ve made it to Hanoi so hold tight for photos and a few stories.
First off was a gruelling 16 hour flight to Singapore from Vancouver and then another 3 hours to Hanoi with a 1/2 hour break at Singapore airport – definitely not for the faint of heart. One nice point to make though was the transfer from Air Canada to Singapore Airlines. They had added Christmas wreathes to the cabin sides – attention to detail that make flying a little more pleasant and small things make a difference.
First day – up at 0400hrs for a walk around the lake to see people practicing tai chi and take advantage of the early morning cool temperatures. Then breakfast and a 4 hour stroll with a stop to watch pickleball then on to the infamous train tracks to sip a beer and be pressed against the walls as the train passes by – tourists do strange things!!
Back to the hotel by 1400hrs and slept to 1930hrs and off to the Jazz Bar. Back by 2400hrs and here I sit typing on the balcony of our hotel room. Are we crazy?
That’s it for day one!
We’re Back
1896 miles (3,051km)
278 litres of diesel fuel
10.9ltrs of fuel per 100km
Average fuel cost = 1pound, 54pence/litre ($2.69/ltr)
Total fuel cost from the trip – CDN$747.82
Okay enough is enough – we had such a good time despite the gray skies, scotch mist, narrow roads, harrowing roundabouts (I’m still a promoter for more roundabouts here in Canada), dense hedgerows and too many cathedrals!
Before leaving Scotland we had one more visit with cousins. Heading south we ended up for a night in Oban, a major departure point for ferries leaving for the west coast islands of Mull, Jura etc and the ports with names like Castlebay, Coll, Colonsay, Kennacraig etc. None of these can I pronounce properly and if I were to take a ferry I probably wouldn’t end up where I wanted to go as my pronounciation of Scottish dialects is so bad. However, they all look beautiful and I could wander for years through these islands but would rather do it on my 100 foot private sailboat which I don’t have.
We were headed for Tayvallich and a cousin’s cottage (where the heart is). It’s east of the island of Jura, another island I could easily spend some time on. The west coast of Scotland would easily be a great cruising ground for a sailboat. The only drawback would you need a lot of time if you want to see it in sunshine!!
It was too short a stay, but time was running out. Mike and Pally were kind enough to put us up for a couple of nights and provided great meals, hot showers and a place to do laundry. Even though the pictures show sunshine it took 2 days to dry our laundry!! ie. wasn’t exactly sunny for too long.
Tayvallich was the last stop in Scotland, and the long trek south started. We still had a few more stops to make and Lincoln was the first. It has one of the most amazing cathedrals I’ve ever seen and that includes many I’ve seen in Europe.
Next stop – Cambridge. My father had graduated from Cambridge and I had never been so here was a great opportunity. Thinking we were headed to a university town like we see in North America with expansive park like setting we were shocked to see the circus like environment of Cambridge.
Tour buses, market stalls, tourist shops all mingled with spectacular university buildings. Hundreds of people mingling on the streets, tourist hawkers selling everything from tea towels to walking tours. We took it all in stride, enjoyed the food stalls, wandered the narrow streets crowded with protestors in support of the Palestinians, and left.
Our last stop was in Peterborough to visit an old cycling friend. Unfortunately, I lost my pictures on this section so have nothing to show for the stop but I do have my memories, at least for a short while longer (age takes it’s toll).
Last stop before heading home – Warsash. Time to take the van home and say our goodbyes.
My cousin, Jill, lives with David who worked with my uncle in the yachting hardware business and later went out to manage a company called Polycast. It was David and Jill’s van that took us to Scotland.
A few extra photos:
Time to leave. First the car journey from Southampton then on the painful 10 hour flight over the Arctic to Vancouver.
Arrival back home was late Wednesday. One day to recover and then on Friday it’s the beginnin of the June Victoria Classic Pickleball tournament. An attempt to win a medal failed but we but did come 4th!!
Where are we going, where have we been
It was time, after visits to Dundee, Edinburgh and Inverness to head out to the wilder places of Scotland. Here is a very rough representation of our routing:
Currently, we are just north of Carlisle but still in Scotland. Actually very close to Lockerbie which most people will remember due to a plane bombing many years ago.
We didn’t make to John O’Groats but that’s OK. It just leaves something to return to in the future! Apparently, the thing to do in the caravaning community these days is the ‘Scotland 500’ which is a circle route going north from Inverness to John O’Groats and then over to the west coast and back down to Inverness. According to relatives their advice is don’t do it! That just makes be want to do it even more!!
Anyway, that’s not what we did as we simply didn’t have the time and so we headed out to the west coast and did an almost circle. We made it out to the west coast to see the most amazing beaches and wild headlands as well as astounding park areas with towering green mountains.
Here’s a little photographic taste of some of the places we went:
INVERNESS
An interesting small city of some 45,000 people. It is the eastern end of the Caledonian canal that splits Scotland in two. It provides an easy way for commercial and recreational boats to transit across Scotland either east to west or vice versa. It was built in the early 19th century.
We liked Inverness, not only for the size but also for the way the River Ness and the Caledonian Canal defined the city. Not only did we take in some music, but treated ourselves to one of the few dinners out on our trip. Not to focus on the costs in Britain these days, but that one dinner out set us back 100 British pounds!!! No, we didn’t drink a lot!
Inverewe Gardens
Near to Gairloch on Scotland’s west coast lies this incredible garden that dates back to the mid 1800’s. It was started by Osgood McKenzie but is now owned and run by the National Trust of Scotland.
We hit the garden at the right season as many of the azaleas and the rhododendrons were at the height of bloom or just past.
Balmoral
For those of you who don’t know what Balmoral is then you obiously read anything about the British royal family – lucky you!!
Balmoral was one of the many homes owned by Queen Elizabeth and apparently her favourite.
Being in the Highland district we decided to drop in and see how the place looked. Since the death of the Queen, King Charles has taken on a bit of a restoration job turning it into what he hopes is a money maker – yes, he apparently needs some cash.
What we found on our visit was that the focus is primarily on and upgrade to the gardens and, secondly, a facility for a cafe and gift store. It has not been open to the public for long, and the opening is only for the gardens.
Here are a few pictures:
Sage on sail 