Day 21: Mon 27 Feb - Hanoi

Temp:13 to 22C fine and sunny, with the ever present Asian haze. 

When I thought I’d finally got rid of that cough, it came back and some.  It gave me a had time throughout the night.  Although after taking a sleep-right about midnight I seemed to relax and sleep better.  

Didn’t see any of the gang at breakfast, I think that I’m the last one to leave.  Wasn’t feeling all that flash after breakfast so I just went back to my room and slept some more.  The day really dragged on, seemed to go on forever.  Apart from a walk around the lake I didn’t do much at all.   I just wasn’t up to it and didn’t really want to push myself physically.  

Went and booked a taxi for 5am tomorrow, paid for it and my outstanding room service bills. I asked if I could pay in AS$ and he quoted some ridiculous amount about twice as much as it should have been.  I said no, I’ll pay it by credit card, so he changed the amount to a more realistic one, but I insisted in putting it on the card.  I’m not sure if it was a genuine mistake or he was trying to rip me off.  I’m glad that I’d done the conversion in my room and knew what the sum should’ve been.  

Spent a bit of time sorting out my gear, disposing of a couple of things I don’t need and reading an e-book on my phone. I’m ok with that but I don’t enjoy it as much as a physical book.  

About 4pm I started to feel a little better so after some green tea I went outside wandering.  An interesting neighbourhood catering for both the locals and the tourists. Lots of foot massages available, can’t think of anything worse myself but some people must enjoy them going on the number of establishments.  The food available is mostly local non-westernised stuff which I wouldn’t like to chance.  The souvenir sellers are all over the place but they don’t hassle you like they used to do on previous trips.  I bought a couple of hats / caps for Stan, not big on souvenirs. 

I wasn’t that hungry, even though the last time I had eaten was breakfast, so I just picked up a sandwich and yoghurt drink from the corner store.  It did the trick.  

No pics today as I didn’t see anything new. 

Day 20: Sun 26 Feb - Hanoi

           Fancy shopping 

        Room service pumpkin soup and chicken 

        Fancy shopping 

                Sunset on the lake 
Temp: 14 to 24C very cool early pleasant later. Hanoi is certainly different than Saigon. 

Still coughing during the night but not enough to deprive me of the sleep I know I need to get over this.  Met up with Kev at breakfast again and chatted about cycle touring in Europe. Kev agrees with me, he won’t be doing anymore tours in Asia, just about seen the best available.  

Lingered over breakfast before heading out for another walk around the little lake.  The people out enjoying a near perfect day weather wise was outstanding. They love the little e-cars for the kids so there were 100s of these things driving around the closed streets.  

I was targeted three times by groups of kids practicing their English. They had set questions and would write my answers in a book.  They had safety vests on and name tags to show their school.  Their parents / teachers were always hovering nearby to protect them.  

Ended up in the Opera House area which is where all the “money stores” are located. Zero interest from me in that overpriced and overrated stuff.  

Managed to stay out till 11:30am when I decided I’d had enough and went for a sleep. 

Didn’t venture out again until dinner time when the worms started biting. Did another lap of the lake. Couldn’t find anything I fancied for dinner so went back to my room and ordered room service. 

               The markets were busy 

          A closed street being used as a play area

        Kids having fun in hire e-cars. 

        Hanoi Opera House 

A lovely old French era building 

 An outdoor photograph exhibition, stunning!

Day 19: Sat 25 Feb - Hanoi

Temp: 17 to 23C mostly sunny with a very cool breeze 

The cough was relentless last night, but I did manage some sleep regardless. Had a very nice coffee in my room about 4:45am and potted around till about 7am when I had a chat with Wens. Caught up with Kev at breakfast, good to see him back safe and feeling much better. I’m guessing he had the virus too but managed to shake it off on his own. 

Went for a walk around the nearby lake after breakfast, they had closed the road to all traffic (maybe a weekend thing) including motorcycles. What a lovely change, lots of families out with their kids enjoying the fresh air. It certainly was cool; thinking I should have been wearing a jumper.  I made it all the way around, but I’d certainly had enough by the time I’d finished.  

Had some green tea and slept on and off for a few hours. About 2pm I started feeling peckish so went out walking to find some food. Had an ice cream and yoghurt drink from the local corner store. Dessert out of the way I went looking for real food. Found a place that looked clean and reasonably priced. Had a seafood hotpot and orange juice. Very nice but when I went to pay it seemed much more expensive. Checked the menu and it didn’t include VAT, service fee, etc, etc.  Although it was still pretty good, under AS19 for a lovely meal and fresh orange juice. 

It was quickly starting to cool down, so as I didn’t want to get cold, I headed back to the hotel and a nice warm room. 

By the time I had finished my evening routine I was ready for bed. 

          Nice quiet streets 

          The lake temple 

                 Bridge to the lake temple 

          A govt building 

          View at breakfast 

                   Lake walk

                    Dinner 

                   Some old Chinese bloke

                     Lakeside 

         A real contrast from the traffic of yesterday 

Day 18: Fri 24 Feb - Hanoi

          These eight blokes hauled this big tank up from the ground with two ropes 

         My third room 705

         The men sat there on their phones while this young lady did all the concrete mixing with a shovel 

         The building. 

            Room service 

Temp: 17 to 20C and showers, I know where I’m staying. 

A very ordinary nights sleep, just can’t seem to stop the cough no matter how I sleep or what I take.  I suppose it will go away when it’s good and ready. 

This was the last day of the tour, everyone will arrive back here today for final celebrations and a farewell dinner.  Without me of course. By the look of the pictures on FB it was a great few days away.  It’s just a shame that I paid for all that food, (three meals a day, snacks, drinks etc), support, bicycle, accommodation and transport but never got to see anything.  I’m not sure what I will get back via travel insurance, we’ll see.  

Unfortunately I booked a few extra days on the end of the tour just to have a look around Hanoi again. I certainly would have preferred it if I was going home tomorrow. However this may give me a chance to shake off the last of the virus as I’d hate to be getting on the plane sick. Or worse taking it home to Wendy. 

Had a nice hot bath, did some washing before wandering upstairs for breakfast. The fruit was good but the rest tended to stick in my throat and bring on spasms of coughing, which doesn’t go over well these days. I sat as far from everyone as possible.  I do feel pretty bad still but the constant coughing is the worst part.  Don’t know why medical science can’t work out a way to stop it in its tracks. 

I decided not to go out at all today maybe that’s why I coughed last night. So I just relaxed, read my book, done some sudoku and slept.  About midday they rang to say my room, the third one (605, 806 & 705) was ready. They came and got me and helped carry my stuff.  Back to a small (normal) sized room without any external windows. At least I don’t have to move again until I leave on Tuesday morning.  

A bit of gear sorting helped to kill some time.  I’m praying really hard that tomorrow I will be improved, or at least stop coughing. 

About 6pm I suddenly felt very hungry so I ordered some room service, grilled chicken and rice with some bread. Didn’t get through it all but ate most of it. 

Day 17: Thu 23 Feb - Hanoi

           Temple on the lake

                  My room for one night 

           Temple entrance 

          My room 

            My room 

Part of the temple, I’d been there before (2010) so didn’t go in. 

Temp: 18 to 23C

Slept a little better last night but could hear myself coughing throughout the night, but it seemed like someone else’s cough.  Mucked about in my room until breakfast at 6:30am then went up to the 11th floor rooftop restaurant. 

Back to my room, more sleeping and taking it easy, just getting up for breakfast was a real chore.  

Felt like a wander around lunchtime so went to the nearby artificial lake which has a temple on it. Popular with the locals for getting pro-photographers to take a photo, there were dozens of them milling around.  After about 20 minutes I could feel myself waining so headed back via a corner store where I picked up a sandwich and some coconut water.  

By this time my new room was finally ready (due to a booking I had to move rooms for one day) .  It was a much bigger room with a small balcony, much better than staring at four walls all day.  Had my lunch and settled in, watched a building site across the street, about twelve stories, all being built with ropes and pulleys, not a crane anywhere. Although they do use them on the really big buildings. 

Couldn’t get the smart TV to work even though it’s the same as the one back home. The difference being the on-screen instructions are in Vietnamese. There’s a lot of rubbish on anyway and I bought a good book.  

Had a chat to Wens and then went to bed about 6pm.  

        Breakfast 

Day 16: Wed 22 Feb - Hanoi

Temp:17 to 24C very cool especially if you’ve got a temperature 

I have waited for this day since last Saturday, I might finally get some answers about what’s making me feel so bad.  Managed to have some fruit and yogurt for breakfast and left the hotel about 7am for a 8 am appointment.  Even though I was early they started the process straight away.  All very polite and efficient, but it was going to be a long day.  The nurse took my vitals and confirmed I had a temperature. In to see the doctor and the string of tests commenced, chest X-ray, malaria, dengue fever, flue and COVID.

Only one came back positive, as I expected, COVID.  I was badly dehydrated so over the next three hours they pumped buckets of fluids into me. It’s amazing how I neglect my fluids when I’m not eating.  Once it all kicked in I could feel myself getting a little better, albeit slightly.  The doctor came back to me numerous times during the day to check how I was going. It was all done about 2:30pm and after paying a $1,400 bill and collecting an armful of pills I caught a cab back to the hotel.  

I can’t thank Wens enough for organising all this from back home.  She did a fantastic job and as it turned out she couldn’t have done it any better. Thank you my Darling, love you.  

For the first time since Saturday I felt like a little wander around the block. A French quarter with lots of character, however it wasn’t long before I had enough and it was back to my room for a rest.  

Spoke to Wens before she went to 

bed and I’m just about ready for bed too.  

                      Getting fuelled up with fluids 

Day 15: Tue 21 Feb - Hue to Hanoi,

             Last night’s hotel 

        One the boats to boys cruised on

           Reception at the hotel last night. 
Temp: 18 to 24C 

Not much difference in my overall condition so I won’t be doing any of the local rides or tours around Hue. I’ll wait in my room till we’re ready to go to the airport for the flight to Hanoi.  I’ve finally decided to see a doctor as this has been hanging on too long and I seem to have a secondary infection in my lungs by the look of the stuff I am coughing up.  Hanoi being the capital city will have some good private clinics I hope. We fly out late today so it have to be tomorrow. 

The others have gone off riding and a river cruise. I managed to troll to the local corner store for some juice and now I’m bugged for the rest of the day. Trying to remain positive but it’s hard when you’ve looked forward to this so long only to have it ruined by the thoughtless of others.  I would fly out of Hanoi tomorrow if there were any available flights, but Wens has checked and there’s nothing available until the day before I’m due to fly home anyway.  So there’s not a great deal of benefit in that; considering what Qantas would charge us to change. 

When the gang returned to the hotel we all packed up our bags and checked out. Then wandered off for some lunch at a beautiful immaculate English / Vietnamese restaurant with a distinctive French style and decor. The food was superb, I had the chicken soup and a crepe with ice cream, hoping that both may improve my health. Very nice but still feeling very ordinary. I suspect it’s going to take the miracles of modern medicine, not Mum’s favourite cure all. 

We then headed off to the airport, but first we called at the famous Hue Citadel. I wasn’t up to going in but it seemed impressive from what I could see.  We continued our bus ride out to the airport, checked in and flew to Hanoi, about one hour. 

I couldn’t wait to get to bed as I was buggered. But then I spent an awful night tossing and turning, coughing.  Just wanted all this to end as I’m a very bad patient. 

                   The lunch venue 

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  My lovely  cold coconut water. Must be desperate for some photos when I’m post drinks 

          It’s all I see lately the inside of my room. 

Day 14: Mon 20 Feb - Hoi An to Hai Van Pass to Hue, ?? km

Temp:19 to 21C

Rode: 0km

Today was another miserable one for me, sitting in a smallish bus, feeling sickly, can’t even keep my head up to have a look at the passing scenery.  Watching the team ride away and conquer Hai Van Pass nearly reaching 100km for the day. 

Barely made it to my room, after doing nothing all day! I got orders from the head chef back home that I had to eat something. I hadn’t eaten anything since lunchtime three days ago. So I ordered some Spaghetti Bol via room service (actually Ken did it as there’s no phone in the room) and it tasted just like Vietnamese. I ate about a quarter of it.  At least I had some. 

Hopefully I will feel a bit better tomorrow. 

Day 13: Sun 19 Feb - Hoi An

Temp:20 to 28C, not that I went outside.  

Had one of the worst sleeps of my life last night. Coughing all throughout the night.  Luckily it’s a rest day as I wouldn’t be capable of getting out of bed I’m that ill. Although I have never had COVID this is showing me all the symptoms of it and some.  I was very concerned about the virus when I was trying to decide on this tour, but in the end I thought bugger the virus just do it.  Hopefully I’ll get through it ok. 

I was looking forward to seeing Hoi An, yes it’s touristy but also interesting. Not to be, I slept and slept all day and then all night.  Ken came and fetched me when it was time to leave in the morning.  

No photos today I was in no state to take any. 

Day 12: Sat 18 Feb - Quang Ngai to My Son massacre to Hoi An, ?? km

        Man watching his buffaloes 

           Lunch

         Lunch 

         One of the many fishing villages 

  

                  My Lai

                  Lunch 

Decorated conical boat

        A pretty lizard at the restaurant

            A Vietnamese ute 

       More decorated conical boats

        A very good diorama of the My Lai massacre 

       The Yanks also burnt all the buildings down-the name and age of each occupant is on a plaque 

               A man paddling a conical. 

Temp: 23 to 26C pleasant 

Rode 67km

Had an ordinary night’s sleep, coughing kept me awake and I wasn’t settled or comfortable all night.  Have a sore throat this morning; seems inevitable that I’m going to catch something when surrounded by sick people.  Yesterday afternoon I noticed that the driver had the aircon set to recirculate, so all this time we’ve been breathing each other’s air.  A couple of people arrived in the country already sick. Never mind I will remain positive and hope that it doesn’t hit me too hard. 

It was a short trip in the bus to the site of the My Lai Massacre, where 504 locals were murdered by an American Army Platoon stationed in the area.  The massacre, when the truth came out, caused a huge backlash with the public in Australia and America. I recall being spat on and called a baby killer as I walked down the street in uniform.  The Army then brought out a policy that everyone had to change into civilian clothes before leaving the base. This backlash may have ended the war sooner, hard to say. 

Back on the bus for another hour or so to start the ride. The hour actually turned into at least two hours due to a “big accident on the highway which killed 13 people.”  Then he added that the accident was a week ago, so go figure. 

Eventually found a spot to unload the bikes from the truck and off we went.  At the 55km mark and 3:30pm we stopped for lunch at a very local fish farm come restaurant. There were two types of fish, chicken, pork with greens and rice.  Fairly stock standard for over here. We sat in a rickety hut on stilts over the water.  Always plenty of food.  

The final leg of the day was a 12km ride through back streets and lanes to the hotelh.  The last couple of km was a nightmare with a million tourists out and about in the waterfront area where we had to ride through. Made it to the Hotel which is about a km out of town.  

I dumped my gear in the room and then walked back into town to get some cough mixture. Wens had sent me the details of the one I needed.  Like most places outside Australia they only sell it in tablet form. I know it’s not going to work immediately but it should kick in tomorrow, hopefully.  

Needless to say I had an early night.