My world walk blog - Vietnam #3
My world walk blog - Vietnam #3
I
was walking north-east along Vietnam's route 1. It's a busy highway,
bustling with impatient truck and car drivers and constant motorcycle
riders popping along on the hard shoulder that I was walking on. The
highway goes all the way to the Hanoi, the capital. I'm not going that
far. I'm more or less going to hug the east coast all the way to China.
Here as in many other Asian countries, it's the law that pedestrians are obliged to walk with the traffic to their backs. It's astonishing how this is considered safer and how so many people are brainwashed into thinking it to be. I never tell people what to do in their own country but when I explain that while walking towards traffic that I can see a bad or inattentive driver who could be talking or texting on their mobile phone. Then I would have time to jump out of the way. Instead of them coming up behind me and on the same side of the road when I can't see the drivers face. I always get the same answer. "But the driver can see you and you have to trust them!" (lol)
Here as in many other Asian countries, it's the law that pedestrians are obliged to walk with the traffic to their backs. It's astonishing how this is considered safer and how so many people are brainwashed into thinking it to be. I never tell people what to do in their own country but when I explain that while walking towards traffic that I can see a bad or inattentive driver who could be talking or texting on their mobile phone. Then I would have time to jump out of the way. Instead of them coming up behind me and on the same side of the road when I can't see the drivers face. I always get the same answer. "But the driver can see you and you have to trust them!" (lol)
To be honest when the driver coming up behind he may see
me. To my mind, the real danger is with overtaking drivers behind them.
A lot of these bikes travel on the hard shoulder and when
its pretty busy people are surprised to see me walking towards them. As I
don't want to cause any accidents I feel in that situation it's best
for me to walk on the other side with the traffic at my back but just to
keep checking over my shoulder every few seconds.
Being a pedestrian I sometimes attract unfair attention
from the police too. Sometimes I get stopped and I suspect that had I
been riding a bicycle they wouldn't have stopped me.
Actually only last week in Laos I was stopped. I was about
18km before Lak Sao and about fifty from the Vietnam border. I didn't
want to write about what happened until I left the country.
A police car pulled up and one of the four officers asked
me to walk on other side of the road with the traffic to my back. Fair
enough and I obliged. What he attempted to do next was bizarre. Upon
spotting my Irish tricolour flag he tried to rip it off my cart. So I
stopped him and just pushed the flagpole down. Then he tried to rip it
again so I decided to take it completely down and put it away. I walked
for my two days without it in Laos and if you check the photos at the
border you will see it missing from Karma, my cart. How crazy is that
and the name of the province is fittingly called Bolikhamxay, What a
load of bolix! I'm not sure if it is because Laos is a communist
country.. Normally I fly the host's countries flag too but I didn't have
one. It's usually difficult to find one.
By the way for those that may be interested. By far the most police stops I have encountered in my lifetime of travels was in the USA. There it was constant and they usually run a background check too. Its the only part of America I don't look forward to. On my walk and in almost six months in Russia I had only two stops and not too many either on the road in China. In China, it was usually in hotels.
By the way for those that may be interested. By far the most police stops I have encountered in my lifetime of travels was in the USA. There it was constant and they usually run a background check too. Its the only part of America I don't look forward to. On my walk and in almost six months in Russia I had only two stops and not too many either on the road in China. In China, it was usually in hotels.
Anyway, back to nicer things.
Back here and on the road, I stopped to take some photos of
some talented sculptures who were busy carving out some amazing Virgin
Mary and other religious statues. I was in awe of their expert work.
When I finished my 32-kilometre days walk I couldn't find a hotel as it
was the holiday weekend. I walked further on down the highway and a
worker who worked in a late night restaurant/petrol station said that I
could lay my sleeping bag there for the night and have a shower. Thanks
to these wonderful workers.
Back out on the road and towards the town of Cau Giat, I
stopped to chat to some workers who were hanging up some Ho Chi Minh
pictures for the independence weekend.
Following the end of the war, on 2 September 1945 and then
the 'August Revolution', Ho Chi Minh proclaimed the establishment of the
Democratic Republic of Vietnam (North Vietnam) which eventually joined
up with South Vietnam.
Eventually, after 29 kilometers I reached Cau Giat town. As
I planned to chill out for a couple of days I got a really nice hotel
at a great rate and went across the road for a pizza. I was excited by
this luxury after so many meals of rice and noodles. Can you imagine my
face when a tiny six-inch ham and cheese pizza arrived on a small side
plate! Problem solved as it only cost two euro! "I'll have two more
please!"
I had the whole restaurant to myself and then a huge group of parents and their children walked in and I was surrounded by curious children all pointing and waving. A great afternoon. Now to watch the All-Ireland football final which kicks off in a few minutes. My team Dublin and the defending champions take on Tyrone. Dublin has won it the last three years. Come on the Dubs
Update: Dublin won their fourth title in a row!
24,753 kilometers for 709 road days.
I had the whole restaurant to myself and then a huge group of parents and their children walked in and I was surrounded by curious children all pointing and waving. A great afternoon. Now to watch the All-Ireland football final which kicks off in a few minutes. My team Dublin and the defending champions take on Tyrone. Dublin has won it the last three years. Come on the Dubs
Update: Dublin won their fourth title in a row!
24,753 kilometers for 709 road days.
No comments:
Post a Comment