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Continue with Red Spider Group motorcycling 16-day in Vietnam. This entry told their days in the centre and centre highland of Vietnam. Let check it out!

Saturday January 23rd
Today was a day of many experiences. We rode from Dong Ha to A Luoi, via Khe Sanh, the famous and deadly USA base in the mountains of mid Vietnam just south of the DMZ. We started our ride in a shower, then a steady rain and then a downpour. Clearly today was our most challenging ride of the trip in terms of the weather.

Ethnic people village, Khe Sanh, Vietnam

We arrived Khe Sanh after a long and wet ride. All of us recall the name Khe Sanh, one of the toughest and worst places for any soldier of either side during the VN war.  The ride up was steep, cold and wet.  Upon arrival the sun came out and at least started to dry out those of us who did not have rain gear.  We visited the war museum there. It had an impression on all of us but probably Bruce Wingman the most.  We saw the Huey helicopters like the one Bruce Wingman Gouldsberry jumped out of and we saw pictures and stories at the museum that were heartbreaking.

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HO CHI MINH HIGHWAY, Vietnam — If relentless American bombing didn’t get him, it would take a North Vietnamese soldier as long as six months to make the grueling trek down the jungled Ho Chi Minh Trail. Today, you speed along the same route at 60 mph, past peaceful hamlets and stunning mountain scenery.

The trail, which played an important role in the Vietnam War, has been added to itineraries of the country’s booming tourist industry. Promoters cash in on its history, landmarks and the novelty of being able to motor, bike or even walk down the length of the country in the footsteps of bygone communist guerrillas.

Women on bicycles make their way along a section of the newly built Ho Chi Minh highway near Vinh,Vietnam. David Longstreath, AP

Many sections of the old trail, actually a 9,940-mile web of tracks, roads and waterways, have been reclaimed by tropical growth. But a main artery has now become the Ho Chi Minh National Highway, probably the country’s best and the largest public works project since Vietnam War ended 30 years ago.

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An unforgettable trip on Motorcycling in Vietnam is expressed by Barbara Weibel. She had to “open up hips” to enjoy her long voyage on bike with her guide, Dzung (Dung in Vietnamese).

I am dedicating this portion of the post to my good friend and Yoga teacher, Mary Jo. You see, in Yoga, we do hip openers – a series of asanas (poses) that are designed to help open up hips that have become tight from sitting behind a desk all day long. Well, Mary Jo, I have discovered a new hip opener asana. It’s the “sitting astride a motorcycle all day long” pose. Mind you, it’s been MANY years since I even rode a motorcycle, much less spent an entire day on one. My guide for the day, Dung (pronounced Yung), arrived at 8:30 yesterday morning and I haltingly climbed on behind him for our trip into the countryside. After an hour of being seated in a spread-eagle position my hips began to ache – I mean really hurt, like they were going into a spasm. I was too embarrassed to ask him to stop, so I just breathed into it like we do in Yoga and about five minutes later I felt my hip muscles totally relax. Wow! From that point on I was able to enjoy the trip.

Yang Bay Waterfall

Our first stop was way up into the hills to see the Yang Bay waterfall. It’s an impressive cascade over giant granite boulders, alternating with serene pools for swimming. Since it has been raining off and on the last couple of days the granite boulders were damp but we slipped and slid our way to the top of the waterfall anyway. At the top, Dung had intended to cross over to the other side via a small wooden footbridge that was strung from boulder to boulder. When we reached the bridge he looked at it, then eyeballed me, and said we’d better go back the way we came. No doubt. That little rickety bridge would never had held my weight. The Vietnamese people are TINY beyond belief. I would guess that most of the women weigh less than 100 pounds.
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