Chanting "Cao Bang" at the bus stop
Today is the day to go to Cao Bang! I hurriedly got up at the hotel this morning and checked out! I took a taxi to the bus stop Toan had told me about. It was much bigger than I expected, with all kinds of buses stopping there. It was like a train station, with buses going in all sorts of directions.
Anyway, I tried saying the word "Cao Bang" to all kinds of people to see what would happen. When people have no one to rely on, they end up doing things they wouldn't normally do. I think this really ties directly to the importance of environment. Maybe that's why people often say adversity is an opportunity. When you're in adversity you reach a state of "you just have to do it," so you do it.
While talking to various people at the bus stop I found a bus with a sign that said "Cao Bang"! When I asked, they said they had apparently just arrived in Cao Bang and the next departure was in about an hour. What the heck! I thought it was so late, but after waiting an hour I was able to get on the bus safely and it departed!
Despite picking up various people along the way, we arrived safely in Cao Bang! It took about three hours, so I thought it was surprisingly quick.
Green Rider
The hostel's name is Green Rider, and it's exactly the kind of place where you can rent a motorcycle and stay at the same time. Everyone staying here is someone traveling by bike. When I checked in, no one was there. Everyone had gone out on trips.
When you think of northern Vietnam, the Ha Giang loop around Sapa is very famous, but Cao Bang isn't well known yet and is said to be a hidden spot for backpackers. I only learned about it when I saw a friend doing the Cao Bang loop on Instagram.
I was hungry, so I decided to eat a banh mi nearby. The lady making the banh mi made it right away and it was insanely delicious. This was truly a handmade banh mi — banh mi eaten at a local street stall like this is really the best, I thought.
Planning tomorrow's route
When I returned to the hostel, a woman who was good at Japanese came over and we planned tomorrow together. Originally I had planned for someone to drive while I rode in the back, but apparently all the drivers had gone off on their own adventures and were absent. So I ended up having to drive myself.
She looked at the map and showed me the day's route, saying, "Go here, then go here next—this is good." I was so excited I could hardly stand it.
My first motorcycle trip ever! I had originally planned to go as a day trip, but if you want to see everything, a day isn't enough, so I decided to stay overnight. She told me a recommended hostel, so I decided to stay there for one night.
Try it and you'll get better
After getting the run-through of the route, I went to a nearby cafe to clear my head. The bike was either automatic or semi-automatic. They showed me a semi-automatic, taught me how to drive it for about five minutes, and then suddenly I was sent out onto the road.
But I got used to it quickly while doing it. Most of all, the brake wasn't in the hand but you brake with your foot, and the gear change is in the same place as the brake, so I thought, "What is this?" but it was surprisingly easy.
There is a lesson here too. In the end, you have to "try things." If you try, you'll get better over time. It's the same with anything. Anything. There is such a thing as getting used to things, so even if you're clumsy or bad at first, you'll improve as you go. So rather than overthinking, moving your hands and feet and doing it is the most efficient and quickest way to get better at anything.
An Italian adventurer
There was one other person at the hostel and he was Italian. Since it was just the two of us, I decided to take the chance to talk to him. I was really nervous at first. I wondered why it takes so much courage to start a conversation, but since it was a challenge I set for myself, I went for it. I said "Hi," gave my name and introduced myself. From there we talked about all sorts of things, and before I knew it we'd been talking for over 30 minutes.
He had apparently adventured through Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Uzbekistan, staying for something like three months. He had his own camp, so he could pitch his tent and sleep anywhere freely. He was a true-born adventurer. I thought he was incredibly interesting and I got a lot of inspiration.
He'd also adventured in Turkmenistan — apparently you could only go on a tour, but he was able to get a visa. It was expensive, but I think seeing a different world is an incredible value and it made me want to travel like that too. We exchanged WhatsApp and he told me to ask anytime if I needed anything. And he said, "If you come to Spain, come to Barcelona!"
Just by saying "Hi!" I was able to become friends to this extent, and it reinforced the lesson that being "afraid" often means there are "treasures" waiting on the other side.
Duck pho and Pocari Sweat
At night I rode the bike to buy a charger. I had left my charger in Lang Son, so at this rate my phone wouldn't hold a charge. I bought dinner at a nearby hostel-restaurant. There are various hostels in town, but it felt like everyone was here for the Cao Bang loop.
Everyone has the same goal and unconditionally takes on the challenge toward that same goal. I thought I really love that. Everyone doesn't know; it's an unknown world. Everyone is unconditional and everyone is the same. The feeling of taking on a challenge together with everyone is so exhilarating and uplifting. I really love that feeling.
After eating, I went to a famous pho restaurant. Since it's a very famous pho place in Cao Bang, I wanted to try it at least once. The meat used was duck instead of chicken, so it had quite a distinctive flavor. But that was characteristically Cao Bang. I heard duck is often used in northern Vietnamese cuisine.
After that I went to the supermarket to buy Pocari Sweat and bought plenty of it just in case, putting it in the bike's storage compartment.
After arriving at the hostel, I went to sleep.
