Friday, 19th October 2007
Hanoi, Vietnam
Still looking good after 10 days.
A picture tells a thousand motorcycles.We departed Vinh after breakfast at 7.30AM and headed north for the Vietnamese capital, Hanoi. Road conditions were not particularly good. The highway to Hanoi is lined non stop with housing and businesses so there is never a break from heavy car, truck, bus and motorcycle traffic. The road was mostly single lane and this made it difficult to make good time. The casual driving habits of the Vietnamese provided us with some ‘hairy’ moments.
The landscape was flat, in the main, indispersed with unusual granite outcrops. Crops of rice and wheat were in abundance. Lunch was provided at an enormous Vietnamese restaurant on the road. For the first time on the Rally, the meal was disappointing.
The drive through the streets of Hanoi was a special experience for those of us visiting the city for the first time. The number of motorcycles on the road is simply beyond belief. Our Viet guide explained that we were not traveling during peak hours when even more motorcycles would be on the roads. Leslie and Poh Heng were the drivers for this stage. They coped with the extremely difficult driving conditions very well. We reached our hotel at about 3PM. Distance traveled today was 298 kilometers.
Tonight we are staying at La Thanh Guest House, a Government run 3 star facility. Our team spent the afternoon relaxing or walking the streets of Hanoi. Our fearless leader, the Big Cheese, spent his time attending to his e-mail correspondence. Dinner was provided in one of the hotel’s function rooms.
This is our last night on the road. Tomorrow we cross into China and make our way to the finish line at Nanning in the Province of Guangxi. Restrictions on the movement of the large Rally bus during morning peak hours meant that we must rise at 4.30AM and clear the city by 6AM. We are all very excited about our last day on the road. A big official welcome for the Rally has been planned and it is clearly going to be a big day for everyone.
“For the past 10 days, Team Singapore, Motorsports (TSM) had continuous opportunity to experience different places and challenges. As these daily affairs became routine, team members started looking for new ‘excitement’. Ernest has gotten sick of my sleeping habit (read snoring) while Aki-boon had repeatedly requested for Bingo to be his room mate. Thus, changes were made in order to keep team spirit high but not dry. And, I must add, we are still talking to each other”
Leslie Chang, Chief d’ Mission, TSM.
