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The days leading up to the trip have been so hectic. With months to prep I waited until the last week to truly get organized. I waited too long to get shots, so I wasn't able to get the vaccine for Japanese Encephilitis. "Just don't get any mosquito bites." Says the doctor. Ok.
The rest has been crazy. Without Jen I would be fucked. She helped me stay calm. She made lists, schedules, and food. I'm an idiot for putting all this off, and it gave me so much anxiety that I cried a few times. I also lashed out in anger while driving and punched the seat really hard a few times while screaming at myself. Driving around in circles between hardware stores was rough.
I should have checked Nick's gear list weeks ago and modified it for my needs. Some parts and gear are harder to get. Jen even drove to Berkely to get a spare derailleur hanger! Berkely! She did stop for coffee, and she loves Berkely, but isn't she incredible? She's amazing. I owe her a lot of flowers, milk tea, movie dated, fancy dinners, and Berkeley chill days.
I haven't let myself get excited about this trip. I've been too scared, nervous, busy, stressed to be happy. Jen and I have allowed ourselves to eat nice breakfasts so we can start the day off in a positive mood. Then it's run run run to get shit done. The nerves have been hard to deal with, but we got it done..... at the last minute. Holy shit! WE got it done.
Arrival
Somehow I goofed up my Vietnam visa. I cut my visa in half and glued it into my passport, which turns out to be a bad idea. I was pulled aside by a few officers and they kept repeating to me "Wrong visa." OK, then what's the solution? Is it wrong or did I just invalidate it by gluing it into my passport? After minutes of waiting in question as the officer behind a desk had my visa, I was given a new visa and charged $50. At least this delay gave Nick time to gather our bike boxes.Outside we found our driver who took one look at our bike boxes and paused, unsure of what to do. Then his buddy came over and both started laughinhg. No way was this stuff fitting into his car. I had called ahead to notify them that we'd have bikes with us. I guess that info didn't get passed along. After more laughing and a call to our hostel in Hanoi, the drivers figured it out. Each driver had a name card for their passengers, and the solution was to simply swap cards so we'd have a new driver. We loaded the bikes into the van and headed into town.
On the ride from the airport I was stoked to see motorbikes stayihng in the right lane. It looks to be designated for bikes only. I'm not sure what kind of freeway or highway this is, but I could ride this.
At Nexy Hostel we checked in and built our bikes right there in the loby with other guests walking by with curious eyes. Some were pretty surprised to hear of our plans. Most think it's pretty rad. Ya, we're pretty much badasses.
We settled in then hit the street to have our first meal in Vietnam. We were pretty hungry so we found a spot only a few blocks away. Oh. I was swindled by the donut lady first. 150,000 Dong for a bag of donuts. That was almost all my cash. Shit. We rounded the block to avoid doubling back, and I grabbed a new batch of foreign bills. Oh well. I made her week. Dumb American. I should have only spent 12,000 Dong. I was tired from travel and in culture shock, so Nick and I brushed it off and enjoyed our first of many bowls of pho.
Totally spent by the last 24 hours, we were in bed by 6:30. The 14 hour time change is rough.
