A coastal journey along the South China Sea.

So I have the earliest breakfast the hotel can give me and I head off to give the camper a check over. Dong Hoi is actually quite nice. Dong Hoi is the capital of the Quang Binh region, and the estuary adds a seaside feel to the whole place and fishing is clearly one of its main industries.

My hotel is just there to the right.

Very picturesque.

In 1926, a French female archaeologist, Madeleine Colani discovered many items in caves in west Quang Binh. With Carbon14 tests, the artefacts were dated back to 10,509 years ago.

Now, I have to say I have a bit of an interest in things dating back to 10,000 BC, or there a bouts. This seems to come up an awful lot in ancient history and is largely seen as the starting point of the warming of the Earth and the end of the Glacial period. In popular culture, Atlantis was destroyed about 9,600 BC. Some people even suggest that an Alien race set up shop around this time in various parts of the world, but that’s for another day.

I head north and find my virtual self on the AH01 again, which is actually quite comforting. Vietnam drive on the right, which is fine, but I do have to pay attention on junctions. In fact, almost all of the countries that drive on the left are old British Colonial states. Practically every other one drives on the right. (You can always check using whatsideoftheroad.com. It seems to be accurate, but second check if it’s important.) For safety sake, if you are a British citizen, like me, register with the Foreign Office’s LOCATE system. Many other western nations have similar systems that allow a quick response if you get into trouble as a traveller. While I am on the subject, the British Foreign Office tell me that there are no current travel restrictions in Vietnam for me.

It takes me almost three hours to get to Vinh, another estuary city on the coast. I cross the Vinh bridge and into the city. In the 1950′s, much of the original city was destroyed in the countless battles between the French and the Viet Minh, which means the city I pass through is mostly modern. As I leave Vinh to the north, I drive into Cua Lo, one of the most popular resorts in this part of Vietnam.

The estuary port.

The Vietnam seaside resort.

One thing I notice about the last few countries I have been through, and that’s how many bridges I get to cross. I barely get a few hours before I have to cross another one. Having the sea on my right is not helping, and I cross another 14 before I arrive at Hanoi. I ‘book’ a room in the Rising Dragon Palace Hotel for £35, just a mile form the railway station and views of Hanoi’s Old Quarter. My camper goes into the parking bay and I take an overnight bag. I plan on staying in Hanoi to take the time to look around, get a feel for the city and find some great history.

Route 9, or AH16, takes me over the range and between the peaks. Most of which are around 600m. The Song Thach Han river is below me to the right, as it heads east and then south towards Dong Ha and the south china sea.

The Song Thach Han river

In 1941, Ho Chi Minh (Born Nguyễn Sinh Cung in 1890.) returned to Vietnam to find it occupied by two foreign states: Vichy France and Japan. He had travelled the world, spending time in London, France and the United States. Not the peasant I always thought he was. He took control of, and developed what was to become the People’s Army of Vietnam (PAVN), and declared the independence of Vietnam in 1945. (I found an interesting similarity here to how the formation of the US came about, when a group of men met in secret to do the same in 1776.) The new declaration was contested by the US and other nations in that it was based on a Communist government. This was the start of the cold war, and Communism was not a popular way to go.

Over 58,000 US servicemen died in the war, but that doesn’t come close the estimate of between one and three million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians, 200,000 – 300,000 Cambodians and 20,000 – 200,000 Loatians. The Vietnam war is now the example of how not to conduct a war.

Once over the mountains I head down towards the sea and Dong Ha. It’s another two hours before I arrive at Dong Hoi. The sight of the South China Sea is the first expanse of water I have seen since the Black sea in north Turkey, and it’s a wonderful sight. I ‘book’ a room for the night in the Moon Light hotel, right on the mouth of the estuary and facing the sea. Now to look for something nice to eat.