Day 16: Wartime history

Tuesday, 11/5/2024

I woke up at 6:00am.  Packed and got gear ready.  Put on mostly clean clothes, then the still wet riding gear.  The blow dryer could only do so much.

Went down to the lobby, but no one was around.  I had not heard where breakfast was going to be, so walked over to same place we had dinner, in case that was place, but it was closed up.

Came back to the hotel and in the lobby I heard a few of the guys and noticed them on a balcony on the second floor.  Went up a floor to find that was where breakfast was being served.

Also noticed outside that the sprinkles I had felt were now coming down more frequently; looks like a wet start today.

A simple breakfast and then back to the room to finish packing and bring everything downstairs.  Put on the rest of my damp gear, dropped the bag for the truck load up, and then went down to the garage to put stuff on the bike.  I left the jacket on bike and went back upstairs while the truck was being loaded.  

Soon after, I went back to the bike to wait till we were ready to go.  When rest of the group was there, I put the gear back on, and got onto the bike and away we went.

We headed back up to the main highway and then soon pulled over for fuel.

Then we headed out of town and headed west toward the coast.

We were following what was called route 9 during the war, a major road in the region coveted by both sides and fought along and over during the entire conflict.  The road runs from the coastal regions through the hills all the way to the Laos border, so was a vital access and supply route both sides wanted to control.

As we headed out of town, the rain came down really hard for about an hour as we moved out of the hills and into the low lands below.  The traffic was also quite heavy now as well.

Rain and traffic this morning!

We pulled off the main highway shortly after getting out of the hills and then stopped at a small café along the road in what appeared to be a moderate sized town.

We all went in to have our drinks while the mechanic pulled the rear wheel of Pierre and Tammy’s bike.

I did not mention before, but they were riding a larger bike, a Honda 500X, for most of the trip. While they started on same model bike as the rest of us during the off-road days, they had planned to have this larger bike for the two of them for the later highway sections.  They had swapped bikes our last night in Vietnam.

What this meant was that none of the spare parts we had fit the bike, and none were brought along for some odd reason.  For the last few days, the rear tire had been getting low every night from a slow leak.  Earlier they finally found the nail that was in the tire.

The nail was in a spot that should allow it to be patched, so the plan was to take the entire wheel into town with the truck, and hopefully get it repaired at a tire shop.  Once they had the wheel off, Long and Lap left to take care of that.

That took about 45 minutes and we all just hung out at the café while we waited.  During this time the rain had also stopped, so that was a positive thing.

Break while we wait for bike tire to get repaired.

Once they returned and put the bike back together, we headed back onto the roads and meandered our way through all the towns and villages on mostly back roads.

We reached the Ben Hai River, which was the DMZ line between the north and south factions from the time they separated in the 1940s till the end of the conflict in 1975.

We saw the rebuilt bridge that had been the original crossing and had been at the focus of the early separation, the south painting their side a different color, then the north doing the same color the next day to keep the symbolism of unity that the north wanted between them.

Recreated bridge that was over the river separating north from south.

There were also a few large monuments nearby as well, but I did not go visit them up close.  A few of the group did stay behind to do that when the rest of us rode onward.

One of the large monuments near the bridge.

We kept up the back roads and eventually arrived at the Vinh Moc Tunnel village right on the coast.

The small back roads make passing interesting.

This area preserves the underground tunnels in nearly the original condition as when the people lived in them for several years during the conflict to avoid the constant bombing.

Map of the tunnel system of Vinh Moc.

We walked into the park and at the theater watched a 30 minutes movie about the times and reasons why they moved underground in the many villages up and down the coast.  We then walked down a trail that passed some of the entrances, and a few of the air shafts, water wells and cooking vents.  Also there was a recreated surface shelter for anyone that was caught outside during a bomb run.

Trail to the various tunnel entrances.

We then stopped at a small museum containing many artifacts from that period as well, though some were out of the cases and being photographed by a team outside.

Some of the museum exhibits.

Joe and Pierre check out the big gun!

We then walked over and entered the tunnel system at entrance #3.  We moved through levels 2 and 3 of the underground complex in tunnels that were only 1.5 to 2 meters (5-6 feet) high and barely 1 meter (3 feet) wide in most areas, with lots of very small “rooms” dug off to the side.

Entrance to the tunnels (#3).

Not much room, not made for tall people.

Largest room in tunnel, leaders conference room.

Water storage well.

The guide explained the various functions as we went along.  Her father had actually lived in the tunnels back in those times.

Level 3, which was nearly 30 meters (100 feet) underground, was flooded with about 5cm (2 inches) of water, but it was all flowing like a river to exits along the walls and near the tunnel mouth, having been designed to do just that.

Standing in the conference room. (Photo by Tammy)

Be sure to duck often. (Photo by Tammy)

We came out at entrance #10 right on the beach, though it was actually on top of a cement sea wall about 4 meters (about 15 feet) above the water.  Not sure if the wall was original or added later.

Exiting at entrance #10.

Seawall outside the tunnels.

Group taking a break in the fresh air. (Photo by Tammy)

The ocean waves were crashing into the wall and looked very gray and angry today, guessing a storm was probably moving up the coast offshore.

We walked a bit and then climbed up the hill farther to find entrance #6 back on the 2nd level.  We followed it back to the main meeting room, then took a different tunnel to the exit at entrance #5 which was along the trail we had walked in on originally.

Entrance 5 where we exited at end of tour.

We returned to the parking area and had a few drinks before we left as it had been very humid and even warm in the tunnels (I was drenched in sweat now).

I tried to get the attention of some kittens playing inside the shop/home, but they just looked at me and kept playing.

Kitten! (Screen capture from video).

Back on the bikes we headed down a narrow local farm lane that came out onto a smaller highway after a kilometer (2/3 mile).

Narrow country trail back to the main road.

This road took us south along the coast, usually within sight of it, going through several small villages and towns.  We also crossed a few rivers along the way on some good sized bridges. 

Riding along the coast.

Crossing the Ben Hai River again where it meets the ocean.

We then arrived where I think we were supposed to be having lunch, however, it seems the place had been damaged during the typhoon the week before?

The building the guides were staring at was pretty much gutted.  So, we continued south and came to a long row of bars/restaurants right on the beach, but nearly all of them appeared to be closed.  However we finally found at least 1 that was getting ready to open, or was willing to open for us at least.

We parked the bikes under the roof of the building next door which was not open, and then Jerry took a ride out along beach. Then Joe and I walked out to the water’s edge to do some photos.

Walking in the surf. (Photo by Joe)

Waiting for lunch to be ready.

Our lunch consisted of large shrimp, boiled squid, rice and a few vegetables.  Very messy eating, and not really impressed with the shrimp, difficult to get at much of the meat.

We then returned to the bikes and headed south again.

The rain was done by this point and the roads were starting to dry up, which made the ride a bit less challenging and we could enjoy the view a bit better.

We stopped for fuel just after lunch in one of the towns before continuing onward.

2nd Fuel stop of the day.

We kept going south through villages on the narrow single lane roads, zig zagging through the area and navigating around several large puddles and even a few water crossings that appeared to be drainage washes.

The school kids always got excited when we rode by or stopped.

Few spots of water running over the road.

We moved through a larger town and then turned a corner and stopped.

The entire road and everything around it was under water.  After a few checks, we slowly moved into the water and along the road which was visible under the surface which never got more than 6 inches deep.

Entering the flooded roads.

Splashing through the water.

Now this is fun, help if they wouldn't drive down the middle!

These partially flooded roads went on for a bit, going in and out of flooded sections.

We were getting splashed and splashing others while we passed oncoming traffic and a few were intentionally passing, and splashing, each other within the group.

Just a little water on the road. (Image by Tammy)

Taking a break among the waters. (Photo by Joe)

Joe passing me with a huge splash. (Image by Tammy)

We eventually reached the edge of the larger city of Hue and continued to move among the heavier traffic to reach our hotel there.  As we neared the city center, the rain started up again, but only a light shower.

Taking another break before we got into the city.

Traffic was quite crazy as we got closer to the city center, but we eventually reached the hotel parking garage and then walked across the street to the actual hotel.  I got checked in and went up to my room on the 10th floor.  All of the riders except Joe were on this floor.  The truck arrived with our bags shortly after that.

Asia Hotel in Hue (taken later that night when rain had stopped)

Room for the next 2 nights.

I got out of the wet gear, and laid it and any other wet stuff out to dry.  Took a good shower to remove all the sweat from the day and to warm up some as it had gotten cold along this route.

Gathered up all my dirty clothes afterward and took them and my riding gear down to the lobby to put them in for laundry service.

I then sat with several others from the group in the lobby area for about 30 minutes before we headed out for dinner.

Sitting in the lobby.

We walked over a few blocks from the hotel and Tan, knowing we were getting tired of the same types of food, suggested we eat at this French bistro.  Those of us that had come along, Mark and Atti having left on their own to find burgers again, agreed immediately.

Long had originally had a local food place in mind.  He and Lap did go off and eat somewhere else after we got seated, only Tan staying with us.

The food was really good, though did not really see anything French about the menu.  It was more Italian if you ask me.  There were of course several Asian influences on the food, but made for a good change.

Sitting down for dinner.

After dinner we returned to the hotel and I got all my batteries on to charge, then went back out to find something to drink.

I found a small mini mart up the street and picked up what I needed, then returned to the room to have a drink while I wrote up the days’ events in the journal.

I was tempted to go out and check out this club just around the corner I could see (and hear) from my room that was cranking out some great DJ tracks.  But it had been a long day, so figured I could do that tomorrow as we will stay here for 2 nights.

View from room of Hue and the night club I thought about visiting.

Tomorrow we will go first thing in the morning to visit the old Imperial City nearby, and then the group will go out for lunch.  The rest of the day will be free to do whatever we choose.

The day after that we will take our last ride south to reach Hoi An where we spend our final night of the tour.

At that point I will start my 10 day solo trip as I work my way back north to Hanoi where I will finish my trip before heading home.

Goodnight.