Ho-Chi-Minh-Trail

29th May 2010 A morning of packing was followed by an afternoon movie and general hanging around in Starbucks. Although we were able to leave our big bags at the hotel, we still had to carry our hand luggage with us and had decided a few days ago that it would just be best to be in one place for a while. The cinema seemed like a good option :). However, we had underestimated how busy it would be and failed to get tickets for anything besides the Prince of Persia, which was predictable but good. ...

5th May 2010 In early 1968, the American military base and airfield at Khe Sanh was the site of the bloodiest battle of the Vietnam War. Over a 2 month period the base was subjected to continuous ground attacks and artillery fire and US aircraft dropped 100,000 tonnes of explosive in the vicinity. The Khe Sanh Combat Base was never overrun but was completely stripped and dismantled before the Americans left. ...

4th May 2010 Today was to be our longest day on the bikes, some 240kms along the west Ho Chi Minh Trail. The Ho Chi Minh trail was a logistical system that ran from North Vietnam to South Vietnam. The system provided support, in the form of manpower and material to the Vietcong, and the North Vietnamese Army, during the war. The trail was not a single route, but rather a complex maze of truck routes, paths for foot and bicycle traffic, and river transportation systems. It started out as mud trails but was later paved. ...

2nd May 2010 The best and perhaps only way to get off the tourist trail and see the real Vietnam is by motorbike. This morning we met up with Quy and Tam, our Hue Riders who quickly secured our big packs to the backs of their bikes. We took the “Horrible Highway 1” from Hue to a place called Quang Tri. Quite a lot of the roadside here is just scrub, nothing really growing. This area was heavily bombed during the war and some of the most fierce battles occured here. As a result there are still quite a few areas with unexploded bombs and landmines. ...