In the lands

Riding a bike in Vietnam is trying to find a balance between quiet moments and the aggressiveness of the noisy road. But when driving as a family, this balance is more easily found.

In the cacophony of the road, traffic jams are a precious solution.

It is that we realize that no matter where we go, the horns will always be close to our ears. I have my headphones at all times because I find it too long to drive without listening to podcast. But that doesn't cut me off much from the ambient noise.

My father opted for the radical solution of orange earplugs!

And unfortunately, we are forced to follow the main roads because the secondary roads always end up coming back to them anyway. You might as well go longer distances to to get rid of.

However, my father adapts very quickly to all of this. He already stops himself to wait for me and offer me to eat pho on the side of the road. We don't have much choice on the dish, it's that or nothing! As in the majority of the countries crossed, the food options in the countryside are indeed often limited to a single option. It stays good, it's just what you eat three times a day, every day.

And yes, I said to wait for me. Even though I have been riding sick during the last year, the athletic father is even fitter than his eldest son ...!

Tam Coco

This is how we get to Tam Coc, nicknamed the Ha Long bay on land for tourists.

We take advantage of the calm of the place by taking a boat trip between the mountains.

In the evening, we put my cell phone between the two of us and we listen to a movie. I forget for a moment the trip, the horns, I forget that we are in a hotel room in Vietnam and that I have been crossing countries alone for almost a year. Then I remember with amazement that I am not on the family couch watching a movie “normally”.

After all these nights in tents, in dozens of hotels, with strangers, in the rain, snow and sand, I'm not even sure what normal is.

But maybe no matter where you are, the norm is to be good with your family. And that's what I feel right now with my dad.

Our guide paddles with his feet, Pops with his hands, and I like a princess with my camera.

Wedding on the heights of Tam Coc.

When we compare

We may find it difficult to drive in the noise and in the rain, when we look at the workers everywhere on the side of the road, it would be quite selfish to continue to complain.

Their feet in the mud, their backs bent, and their faces wet from the rain, they nevertheless greet us all with a smile on our way. Growing rice is no small task. Life in Vietnam is no small task.

The grueling work of growing rice.

Rice workers are everywhere near the path.