turn of events

during the last 20 kilometers of the 90 km stint from ha noi to ninh binh my right knee started up again. it feels like isolated, sharp bursts of pain underneath the bottom of my knee cap, presumably right where my femur meets (oh i have no idea what that other bone is called--it's a shin to me).

[for those of you who don't know this all started when i was working a 15-hour work day as an election worker. they graciously give you a one hour break for lunch (thanks king county!) and as i was rushing home on my bicycle to get food i slammed into the back of an suv that pulled out in front of me and then hit on the brakes hard after seeing a parking spot.]

i gave it one day's rest in ninh binh and then took my bike out for an easy day trip into the countryside with no luggage. look: there's beautiful karsts, electric green rice fields, government propaganda billboards, ancient temples, and, oh no, my knee again. crap. so that's really it now. if i keep this up i'm not sure whether i'll be able to walk up stairs anymore. this is exactly what i've been fearing most. no worries: i can walk around fine without pain, but after cycling a few kilometers it starts to act up again. there's no other choice: i have to stop bicycling (at least for now). my mood hit the ground with a dull thump.

lot's of people think i'm crazy for trying to bicycle this far, but i really do love it. i've already sacked away a cool 1,200 km and i want to do more. it's funny because i always thought it'd be the bike that wouldn't make the journey--not me. i'm crushed i can't follow through. the idea of sitting on buses and trains for hours makes me want to hide underneath the bed covers all day and night. depressed, i pedalled 15 km back to my room at the queen mini hotel. like a student asking information regarding tomorrow's test, i inquired about train and bus details to hue (where i think i can go see a proper doctor that speaks english). the bus leaves at 9am and gets in at 7 am. yeah. great. that'll be a blast. cramped in a bus seat for 22 hours trying to get some sleep while the driver blasts his horn at unsuspecting cyclo drivers and wildlife. hundreds of kilometers of countryside blowing away in the day and night. imagine what experiences i would have had there!

i resigned to my room, went to bed, and tossed and turned all night dreading the drastic turn of events my trip was about to take. irritated the next morning when my wake up call hadn't come through, i walked downstairs where the hotel staff was watching tv and smoking cigarettes. with 'good mornings exchanged', i asked about my wake up call. puzzled, they all looked at each other. "the bus. i was supposed to catch the bus at 9. that was an hour ago" i elaborated. "pm. 9 pm." "9pm" they corrected me. oh. well i guess that makes things a little better, i thought. i sat down, slouched in my chair, and ordered a coffee and beef noodle soup.

"how much is the bus anyway?" i pouted. "16 dollars" a man muttered. i almost spit out my coffee. i met another traveler the day before who said she had an open bus ticket for the whole country and it only cost $20. i looked at the man who spoke to see if he was being serious. the first thing i noticed was his teeth. they were almost all rotton or missing. but he was wearing one hell of a suit. white shirt, black cardigan sweater, black shoes, and the suit to match. "that's a bit steep, don't you think?" i said. "$8 for bicycle, $8 for you. in fact, your bicycle is so big, i'm not sure they can fit it under the bus. can you take the rear wheel off?" he asked, smiling. "yeah, i can do that." i answered. "what's your name?" i asked the man. "luong". "nice to meet you luong, my name is charlie" i introduced.

grumbling, i lapped up the soup. rice noodles, green onions, shallots, and thin slices of beef. it tastes good but it's hard to swallow when you're sad. a french couple came downstairs to rent two motorbikes. motorbikes, eh? now that's an idea. i cracked a smile. my mind raced with possibilities. luong handled the transaction with careful attention to the most minute details.

afterward i stepped outside and asked the nicely dressed businessman: "so how much do these things cost anyway?" "$5 a day" he replied. "no, i mean, how much to buy?" i pressed. unstunned he rattled off precise prices like a calculator for the four motorbikes sitting outside. the cheapest was a decade-old purple honda dream II scooter. it was missing a review mirror and the plastic case for the headlight was cracked and taped back together. this one had sure seen a couple of crashes. we took it for a spin and everything seemed fine. well, more than fine--ripping around on this little mobile could be lots of fun! i tried to bargain him down from 6,000,000 dong (about $400) but he insisted that he wasn't ripping me off, that it was a good price and refused to bargain. i told him i'd think about it and i went for a stroll.

along the way, i spotted the same model scooter i was thinking of buying. i asked someone nearby how much it costs to buy new. "16,000,000 dong" a woman quickly replied. satisfied i was getting a reasonably fair price for something--anything--that would save me from the dreadful bus ride i went back to luong and told him he had a deal. in perspective, $400 isn't too much--i've paid more for a set of vaccinations. if it lasts me all the way to singapore i'll save money from bus and train tickets. gas is cheap.

luong offered to buy my bicycle and after we agreed on a price ($25) we took my new scooter! to the repair shop for an oil change and thorough look-over. as we talked i got the sense luong has a strong business ethic. he paid for all the repairs, walked me through everything on the scooter and addressed my smallest concerns. if something breaks, if i can't cross the border into cambodia with the bike, or anything else, he'll buy the bike back from me and deduct rental charges from the original price. he even gave me his personal mobile phone number.

still bummed i'd be blasting along the roadside on an internal combustion engine and not my stylish, chinese, human-powered and eco-friendly one-speed, i revved out of town for another day trip--this time to see if the scooter--not my knee--would really work. along the way my spirits brightened. as i zipped past an unmarked dirt road i slammed on my brakes. stopped, i took a look around. i saw karsts dotting the countryside, small towns in the distance, bright green rice fields in spitting distance and extending as far as i could see. all was quiet except the soft put-putting of my scooter.

what the hell? i downshifted in first, whipped the bike around and set off down the unknown path. as i bounced around and over pot holes i thought: with this little bad machine i can go wherever i want. i'm no longer confined to the undulating hills of the coastline. i can head into the mountains. and better yet, i don't have to spend all day on the road sucking up exhaust fumes. i can travel for a few hours and spend the day wandering around talking to people. i can actually stop on the road and not have to worry about keeping a decent pace before my visa expiration date catches up with me. tomorrow, i head west.