Travel in the time of Tết and Covid

During Tet holidays this year, from 7th Feb-15th Feb, I embarked on my 2nd long distance motorbike journey through Vietnam, this time going to the enchanting north eastern provinces. For 9 days I travelled from Hanoi through Vinh Phuc, Tuyen Quang provinces to Ha Giang province and then travelling around from Ha Giang to Yen Minh, Dong Van, Lung Cu, Meo Vac, before moving to Cao Bang province where I visited the Bang Gioc waterfalls and Pac Bo. From there I travelled to Bac Kan province to the lake Ba Be national park before heading back to Hanoi via Thai Nguyen province.

This trip proved to be very different compared to going from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City last December down the coastal route.

First, these provinces are still off the standard tourist map, which means the tourism infrastructure is still nascent and the services are wanting in both quantity and quality. The cities and towns are small and remote and for miles and miles between you’d find small villages, maybe just a cluster of few huts.

Secondly, being hilly regions, the travel time is longer and more demanding on my concentration, my body and the motorbike, and I could only cover 1500 kms over 9 days compared to 2500kms in 10 days along the coast. It’s important to reach your next stop before dark, it’s really dangerouns to ride in the dark with no street lights and at most places not even the flourescent markers to guide the vehiles on turns. And as I realized the daily mileage being low for the constraint of finding a decent stopping point, and being tired at times, I had to give up some of my plans and go slower.

Thirdly, this was time from Tet, and being my first Tet in Vietnam (last 2 years I travelled abroad during the break), I underestimated the level of shutdown I could expect. And it was real lockdown, shutter down level with hardly a face visible at times especially on Tet day. And what it meant was a challenge in finding accommodation and finding food.

Fourth, this was in the midst of another wave of Covid in Vietnam, especially in the norther provinces around Hanoi, which meant checkpoints at every provincial border, people being wary of travelling strangers (to the extent of not allowing me to come close to them, or come inside their shops). If this was the level of care and compliance undertaken by the population elsewhere in the world, compared to the level of cases, the crisis would have been significantly restricted.

Fifth factor which affected me was that I caught a spell of really bad weather for a couple of days. While I was sure of sunny skies and sweet chilly February weather, this supposedly being the dry season, I got caught into 2 days of worst spell of heavy rains which affected not just those 2 days but haunted me during my offroad ventures after that as well with the trails becoming muddy and slusshy and becoming really dangerous to ride on. Bike fell 6 times and I fell twice (sorry bike!) and some of my joints are still hurting.

Despite all the difficulties, and being a test of my body and my spirit, this was a singular and memorable experience. The beautiful landscapes, the pleasant chill, the solitude was refreshing and reinvigorating. I am grateful that while the world grapples with restrictions, I got a chance to travel and see this beautiful country, and that it is safe to travel alone as a foreigner even in remote parts.

I plan to ride to all the 63 provinces over time. Almost halfway there. Cannot wait to get on the road again!