Day 5 - To Khe Sanh

For those that don't know, Khe Sanh was once a battleground for one of the most deadly battles during the Vietnam war. The worst went on from January to July 1968. To this day, there are still Vietnamese and American families looking for remains of their loved ones. At this point, especially after visiting the memorial and gravesite, my trip became "real", as in Im experiencing it all. To explore a culture doesnt involve just sun, mai tais and scenery. It involves it's history as well and all its grim details.










Getting back on the road, things started getting interesting. The previous day heading into Dong Hoi, my bike had developed an intermittent electrical problem where the ignition would completely shut off. The bike wash had something to do with this, and Quynh managed to fix it in the morning. But after about an hour back on the road from the memorial on the way to Khe Sanh, my bike completely lost power at one point. I tried to restart over and over, but it wasn't turning over, and it definitely wasn't electrical.

We were stranded for only a short while. Quynh comes over and checks the bike out, and deemed it impossible to diagnose the problem. So he takes out a 20 foot rope and rigs it to the front of my bike. On the road, you'll come across signs that say "Xe May" quite often. It means "motorcycle" and it usually means they repair motorcycles.So Quynh has me get on his bike to tow him. His 160cc bike was screaming in 4th gear at 30-40kph. It was fun actually. Not even 1km down the road and we see a shop and as we roll up, the owner comes out and points us in. He assumed correctly that we were in need of help. Seeing the old man's shop, it looked like shambles. We were in the country, with country folk. He dragged out a big blanket full of tools and layed everything out. He had a mixture of normal hand tools as well as some improvised ones he welded together. Watching this man at work was like magic. He took apart the motor in 20 minutes flat, with a cigarette in his mouth! He pretty quickly finds the problem: a cam chain tensioner bolt had worked its way loose and that explained why there was no compression upon kickstart. The chain plopped off and left the valves open. He finds a new bolt and has it back together quick. The bike ran fine, and we pack up and roll out. I was relieved! It was just a hiccup, nothing to worry about, and it adds a bit to the journey, right? Continuing on rte QL9 its all beautiful scenery and fun twisty roads. Then it happens again. The same damn thing. No compression at all. This time were about 10km from the shop, so towing it back was going to feel like an eternity. Sure enough we roll back into town and the same pedestrians that saw what happened witnessed the circus show again. The rest of the guys decide to march on and find the hotel, while Quynh and I dealt with my bike. The mechanic mentions that he'd better keep the bike overnight to see why the bolt keeps coming loose. So he loans Quynh his personal 100cc 2 stroker. This thing was awesome! We get to the hotel.



The hotel is very nice and had an outdoor balcony, along with a bar and restaurant downstairs. We all shower up, get in our street clothes, and all meet downstairs for beers, food, and checking up on emails.