Vietnam Transportation

Video Cycle Vietnam

http://www.jayrolls.com/cyclevietnam.html

Cycling over the Hai Van mountain pass

Khai Don saddles a two-wheeled horse and braves the steep winding roads of a paved mountain pass, discovering peace, quiet and history along the way.

The 21km that stretch over the Hai Van mountain pass may sound like a challenging journey, but after having done it myself I can tell you – it’s one worth taking.

I decided to attack the pass by bicycle, as the paved road makes it an attractive option. While the road allows a smooth ride, I can assure you
The entrance to Hai Van Quan looks like that of an old citadel with its stone structures.

that at this angle up the mountain, it certainly is anything but easy.

What’s most impressive about this journey is the sense of isolation you feel as you move further along. There is a strange delight about the desolate conditions, a seemingly unbroken asphalt road that cuts through a mass of forest. Below you, the green trees contrast with the breaking waves in the blue sea. I took a break along the side of the road to rest my legs, and felt for that moment, in the isolation of the area,
Cyclists conquer Hai Van mountain pass.

like I was the only creature on the planet.

And herein lies the beauty of Hai Van. While many rave about the charm of the Bao Loc mountain pass, the road is crowded with people and villages nestled along the way. But just as civilisation characterises the allure of Bao Loc, Hai Van’s beauty is closely connected to nature and its lack of population.

In my itinerary to Hai Van, I did find traces of abandoned camps, evidence that my solitary journey had been taken before. There were traces of tents used as make-shift car washes and water points.

There were also forgotten natural water taps which were left on, with their water flowing down the side of the mountain.

I stumbled across one of these forgotten taps. Fresh water spurted out into a line flowing down the mountain, and a smile came across my face as I sipped the ice-cold drink. In was an incredible thing to find such cool liquid running freely in the hot weather.

As I reached the peak, my green surroundings started to clear, and I could hear the bustle of human activity starting to grow out of silence. At the mountain’s foot I could see a leper’s hospital.

I was reaching the end of the road, which just barely clings to the mountainside, seemingly ready to drop deep into the abyss. Hai Van is well know for its dangerous roads, and accident warning boards carefully appear regularly along the side. As I made my way along the middle of the mountain pass, a whistle of a big lorry carrying oil tore through the quiet space as it climbed heavily up the mountain.

From the amazing desolate conditions of the base, I felt the buzz of activity grow upon me. It’s a surprising sight to see the animation and modernity at the peak as foreign visitors buzzed about buying souvenirs.

Those who don’t make it to the peak would have a hard time believing there was such a busy trading and modern scene, as foreign women made their way up the rough staircase at the Hai Van Quan ancient vestige to take photos.

The entrance to Hai Van Quan looks like the entrance to an old citadel with its stone structures. Time, war, and neglect has taken its toll on Hai Van Quan, as it sits today in near ruins.

Lining the peak of the mountain is the immense abyss dotted with the light and dark green colours of the trees. The scene is capped off with fanciful clouds flying across the sky.

The area is a perfect place to have a cup of coffee and contemplate the scene, looking over Hai Van as if from the heavens as the trees blow with the wind.

My impression of the virginal landscape was suddenly cut short, as I caught a glimpse of a cot belonging to one of Hai Van Quan’s watchmen. I tried to block it out and imagine a woeful and majestic time that used to be, but that page in history has been turned. Luckily the sky and sea here haven’t changed, and I rejoiced and prayed that this is one landscape that will hopefully remain intact.

My joy, however, disappeared, as my legs started to tremble from those 10km on the road. I wasn’t looking forward to the trip back.

(Source: VNS)

Bicycles could disappear from Asia, experts warn

It is likely bicycles will have disappeared from China's and India's streets within the next decade, unless governments of the world's two most populous countries make a U-turn in their transportation policies.
A joint study by the Netherlands-based Interface for Cycling Expertise (I-CE) and Indian-based Transport Research and Injury Prevention Program (TRIPP) was conducted in China, India, Taiwan, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Bangladesh to measure each government's attitude to cyclists.
"Today, China and India still have a lot of bikes but we are not sure if they will exist in the next five or 10 years as the governments' policies are not bicycle-friendly," I-CE resident representative in India, Anvita Arora, said during the Better Air Quality workshop here Tuesday.
In India alone, the study -- covering 19 of the country's medium and large cities -- showed a sharp decline in bicycle journeys over the past two decades.
"In New Delhi, only 5 percent of trips were made by bicycle in 2000, compared with about 20 percent in previous years," the study said.
"The major shortcoming of almost all development proposals in Indian cities is that the bicycle tracks have not been planned as an integral part of the road networks."
In Taiwan, home to 23 million residents and known as the kingdom of bicycle manufacturing, the government has long neglected cyclists.
"There has been a growing dependence on private motorized transportation, as evidenced by the presence of 5.7 million cars and 12 million motorcycles," the study shows.
Taiwan is currently trying to encourage cyclists to take to the road again.
"In Singapore, you don't find bicycles at all and there is less policy support for them," Arora said, claiming the declining trend was affecting all Asian countries.
"Everybody is talking about the impacts of climate change and air pollution but the number of bicycles is going down in Asia. It is very worrying."
But Indonesia has made some progress in promoting the use of bicycles in the past three years, according to Transportation Study Institute (Instran) director Darmaningtyas.
"There is a rising number of cyclists in Indonesia, mainly since the 2005 fuel price hike. Regional administrations, including Jakarta, Surakarta (Central Java) and Ngawi (East Java), are actively promoting the use of bicycles," he said.
I-CE executive officer Tom Godefrooij said the main challenge for Asia was reversing the decline in the number of bicycles.
"There are lots of programs to make it happen, including by stopping plans to provide roads (only) for cars. The road must be a place for all users, including cyclists," he said.
He said the Dutch and Danish governments had maintained the proportion of bicycle trips at 20 to 25 percent of the total.