Make a Uie Louie!

 

trying to stay warm while my motorbike undergoes "operation #1"

trying to stay warm while my motorbike undergoes "operation #1"

December 23 

As it turns out “tomorrow” (Day 2 of the motorbike tour of North Vietnam) was not better.  In fact, it was fraught with problems.  In the first place, the already cold temperatures became even colder.  I don’t know for certain, but I would guess it was between 10 and 12 degrees Celsius (that’s low 50’s Fahrenheit).  I’m by no means a lover of cold weather as my father and brother are and all I could think of only thirty minutes into starting the trip that morning was “How much longer until I can find a warm hotel?”  I was absolutely miserable.  

Eric and I could not agree on which road to take to get to Sa Pa.  And then my motorbike broke down.  We had stopped in front of a Y in the road trying to figure out where we were and which fork to take.  After figuring it out, we were ready to head on again, but apparently the Fonda was not.  She simply refused to start.  We found a motorbike mechanic (“xe may” in Vietnamese – a sign that was, unfortunately, going to become as familiar to me as “hotel”) who spoke no English but was happy to try to fix the problem.  He deduced that the battery was the culprit and simply recharged mine for two hours and then reinstalled it.  At least motorbike fixes are generally cheap. This one only set me back 30,000 Dong (about $1.75).  But we were stuck in this little town for the night.

 

Exploring a foreign country by motorbike is generally a sheer joy for me.  Feeling cold and miserable doesn’t really fit into that joyful equation.  Eric wasn’t as bothered by the cold as I was so I felt terribly guilty admitting to him how miserable the bitter chill was making me, particularly since it had been my idea to head up North and try to catch the good weather window before the cold closed in.  Apparently, that window had already closed.  

my loving family who made my Christmas

my loving family who made my Christmas

It was impossible for me to enjoy two weeks of motorbiking in these cold temperatures and I apologized to Eric profusely.  We reluctantly agreed to head back to Hanoi and continue the trip South toward warmer weather.  We were both obviously very disappointed as Sa Pa, the area we were now forgoing, is reputed to have gorgeous scenery, interesting hilltribes and exceedingly friendly people.  I was crushed not to be able to go there, but just knew I wouldn’t enjoy any of it if I was shivering my way through.  Early fall was the best time to tour Sa Pa so we agreed to postpone our trip through that portion of Vietnam.

 

My motorbike started perfectly the next morning and we arrived back in Hanoi on Christmas Eve.  One upside of our U-Turn back to Hanoi was that we had internet access on Christmas and I was able to Skype with my family, including my brother’s future in-laws (or in-loves as they say).  That was easily the highlight of my Christmas.

62 comments

62 Comments so far

  1. DON July 21st, 2010


    MedicamentSpot.com. Canadian Health&Care.Special Internet Prices.Best quality drugs.No prescription online pharmacy. Low price pills. Buy drugs online

    Buy:Lipothin.Advair.Cozaar.Nymphomax.Female Pink Viagra.Buspar.Aricept.Female Cialis.Wellbutrin SR.Zocor.Lasix.Benicar.Acomplia.Prozac.Ventolin.Amoxicillin.SleepWell.Seroquel.Zetia.Lipitor….

  2. DWAYNE July 21st, 2010


    Medicamentspot.com. Canadian Health&Care.No prescription online pharmacy.Special Internet Prices.Best quality drugs. High quality drugs. Buy drugs online

    Buy:Seroquel.Cozaar.Female Cialis.Zocor.Nymphomax.Advair.Lipothin.Prozac.Lasix.Zetia.Buspar.Aricept.SleepWell.Female Pink Viagra.Ventolin.Lipitor.Benicar.Amoxicillin.Wellbutrin SR.Acomplia….

  3. Battery August 30th, 2010
  4. JONATHAN September 5th, 2010


    CheapTabletsOnline.com. Canadian Health&Care.Special Internet Prices.Best quality drugs.No prescription online pharmacy. No prescription drugs. Buy drugs online

    Buy:Cialis Soft Tabs.Viagra Super Force.Cialis Super Active+.Soma.Cialis.Propecia.Levitra.Viagra Super Active+.Tramadol.Viagra Soft Tabs.VPXL.Maxaman.Zithromax.Viagra.Super Active ED Pack.Cialis Professional.Viagra Professional….

  5. CLIFTON September 6th, 2010


    CheapTabletsOnline.Com. Canadian Health&Care.Special Internet Prices.No prescription online pharmacy.Best quality drugs. High quality pills. Buy pills online

    Buy:Prednisolone.100% Pure Okinawan Coral Calcium.Synthroid.Accutane.Petcam (Metacam) Oral Suspension.Retin-A.Valtrex.Human Growth Hormone.Zovirax.Nexium.Zyban.Mega Hoodia.Arimidex.Lumigan.Actos.Prevacid….

  6. NELSON September 7th, 2010


    CheapTabletsOnline.Com. Canadian Health&Care.No prescription online pharmacy.Special Internet Prices.Best quality drugs. No prescription drugs. Buy drugs online

    Buy:Cialis Super Active+.Levitra.Viagra.Soma.Viagra Super Active+.Maxaman.Viagra Super Force.Zithromax.Cialis.VPXL.Cialis Professional.Viagra Soft Tabs.Cialis Soft Tabs.Tramadol.Super Active ED Pack.Propecia.Viagra Professional….

  7. JOEY November 11th, 2010


    NEW FASHION store. Original designers collection at low prices!!! 20 % TO 70 % OFF. END OF SEASON SALE!!!

    BUY FASHION. TOP BRANDS: GUCCI, DOLCE&GABBANA, BURBERRY, DIESEL, ICEBERG, ROBERTO CAVALLI, EMPORIO ARMANI, VERSACE…

  8. CARLOS December 18th, 2010

    ████████►BUY CIALIS◀████████…

    ▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲▲…

  9. DERRICK December 24th, 2010

    Cialis discount

    Buyno prescription…

  10. KARL December 25th, 2010

    Abilify

    Buygeneric pills…

  11. WALTER December 27th, 2010

    Abilify@official.site” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buyno prescription…

  12. CLAUDE December 30th, 2010

    Allegra@official.site” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buygeneric pills…

  13. DANIEL January 4th, 2011

    Zocor@official.site” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buygeneric drugs…

  14. TIM January 4th, 2011

    Ultracet@official.site” rel=”nofollow”>.

    Buynow…

  15. LEE January 10th, 2011

    cephalexin@use.now” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buygeneric drugs…

  16. ERNEST January 12th, 2011

    purchase@effexor.now” rel=”nofollow”>.

    Buyno prescription…

  17. COREY January 21st, 2011

    Depakote@official.site” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buygeneric meds…

  18. JULIAN January 21st, 2011

    depakote@400mg.now” rel=”nofollow”>.

    Buywithout prescription…

  19. GABRIEL February 3rd, 2011

    Benuryl

    Buywithout prescription…

  20. DONALD February 4th, 2011

    Zyrtec

    Buygeneric drugs…

  21. SEAN February 4th, 2011

    Zyrtec

    Buydrugs without prescription…

  22. DON February 4th, 2011

    xeloda

    Buynow…

  23. PHILIP February 4th, 2011

    xeloda bleeding

    Buygeneric meds…

  24. DAN February 4th, 2011

    zovirax acyclovir

    Buydrugs without prescription…

  25. REX February 5th, 2011

    Zoloft

    Buygeneric drugs…

  26. DENNIS February 6th, 2011

    Voltaren

    Buyno prescription…

  27. JAMIE February 6th, 2011

    Zyrtec

    Buygeneric drugs…

  28. HERMAN February 7th, 2011

    Xenical

    Buynow…

  29. WESLEY February 7th, 2011

    Vitamin E

    Buynow…

  30. RANDY March 4th, 2011

    Vitamin B

    Buygeneric drugs…

  31. VICTOR March 4th, 2011

    kids tylenol recall

    Buygeneric meds…

  32. ALLEN March 5th, 2011

    Yaz

    Buygeneric drugs…

  33. WARREN March 8th, 2011

    Rogaine

    Buydrugs without prescription…

  34. NORMAN March 8th, 2011

    Rocaltrol

    Buygeneric drugs…

  35. ANDY March 9th, 2011

    Pulmicort

    Buywithout prescription…

  36. WARREN March 11th, 2011

    Risperdal

    Buydrugs without prescription…

  37. JOSE March 30th, 2011

    Purim@Purim.Purim” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buygeneric pills…

  38. CORY April 1st, 2011

    Rogaine@Rogaine.Rogaine” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buynow it…

  39. BENJAMIN April 1st, 2011

    prozac@is.great” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buygeneric drugs…

  40. BRENT April 1st, 2011

    Buygeneric pills…

  41. GLEN April 2nd, 2011

    .

    Buydrugs without prescription…

  42. ANTONIO April 2nd, 2011

    purpose@of.advair” rel=”nofollow”>.

    Buygeneric meds…

  43. DEREK April 2nd, 2011

    can@you.take.aleve.and.darvocet.together” rel=”nofollow”>.

    Buywithout prescription…

  44. HOWARD April 2nd, 2011

    can@you.take.aleve.and.darvocet.together” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buygeneric drugs…

  45. WILLARD April 3rd, 2011

    if@you.are.allergic.to.ceclor.can.you.take.augmentin” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buywithout prescription…

  46. EDDIE April 3rd, 2011

    how@long.does.abilify.stay.in.your.system” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buywithout prescription…

  47. DARREN April 3rd, 2011

    how@to.get.quinine” rel=”nofollow”>.

    Buywithout prescription…

  48. JULIAN April 3rd, 2011

    bulk@coral.calcium.powder” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buygeneric drugs…

  49. EDDIE April 3rd, 2011

    does@clonidine.and.lamisil.interaction” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buywithout prescription…

  50. BERNARD April 4th, 2011

    sexual@side.effects.of.lexapro.vs.paxil” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buynow it…

  51. CLAUDE April 4th, 2011

    aciphex@vs.nexium” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buygeneric drugs…

  52. CODY April 5th, 2011

    prevacid@childrens.chewable” rel=”nofollow”>.

    Buygeneric drugs…

  53. WARREN April 5th, 2011

    pulmicort@or.xopenex.first.when.using.both” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buyit now…

  54. RAMON April 5th, 2011

    lidocaine@generic.name” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buygeneric pills…

  55. JOSE April 6th, 2011

    abilify@urges.results” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buygeneric drugs…

  56. KARL April 6th, 2011

    Buygeneric drugs…

  57. ALFRED April 6th, 2011

    where@to.buy.acai.berry.zen” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buyno prescription…

  58. CLIFTON April 6th, 2011

    fml@internet.lingo” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buyit now…

  59. ANDY April 7th, 2011

    folic@acid.hpv” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buyno prescription…

  60. SCOTT April 7th, 2011

    oral@gentamicin.supllements.and.horses” rel=”nofollow”>…

    Buygeneric drugs…

  61. BRETT April 7th, 2011

    somnolence@and.geodon” rel=”nofollow”>..

    Buywithout prescription…

  62. TED April 7th, 2011

    ..

    Buynow it…

Leave a reply