It seems that in Vietnam there’s one rule of the road: you always have the right of way. You have to be aggressive. People don’t use their brakes, they use their horns; they don’t slow down, they just make a lot of noise until someone moves. Cars, scooters, cyclists and pedestrians who are joining traffic don’t look to see what’s coming before they move in, they just move in and figure if they’re in the way, it’s someone else’s problem.What I really like is how much the Vietnamese make use of limited space on a vehicle. Seeing a whole family (mom, dad, grandma and maybe a lil' one) on a scooter is so common that I’m not even taking photos of it. In the U.S., it’s pretty uncool for two guys to be on the same motorcycle, but in Vietnam, two or three guys on a scooter is very cool. 

I recorded some of my ride as I cycled out of Hanoi. There’s a lot of honking here, and scooters.

On my first day riding in Vietnam, I stopped at a bridge for a drink of water. Two girls came running up to me. They couldn’t believe I was here. One of the girls handed her phone to her friend, got next to me, and gave a peace sign. Then all her friends showed up. Trend Alert: worn-out thighs on jeans. 

After cycling for 4 days through Northern Vietnam, I haven’t seen any other foreigners. And I’ve only encountered two people who speak English with some fluency—beyond “Hello,” and “Happy New Year.” I suppose these girls are so excited to see me because I’m so rare. And because of my beautiful, rare brown eyes. And because I’m crazy cute. Anyway, it’s fun having moments like these, and I appreciate their enthusiasm for me."-Eoin

I have one outfit. Besides my cycling clothes, I only have one button-down shirt and some navy pants. The pants are too tight actually—the button is strained at the waist revealing the top of the zipper and the pockets are riding out on the sides. I figure these pants are going to get really loose from all the wear, especially at the knees—flopping like your comfy socks on Christmas morning. If not, I guess they’ll be my goal pants—I’ll be losing a lot of weight, why not set a goal. 

Hand-washing laundry sucks. I’ve got two pairs of underwear and three pairs of socks. Every night I’ll have to be dunking some clothes in the sink, washing the brown-grey out, and then hanging them overnight to dry. 

I didn’t bring deodorant; I brought a crystal. I’m very loyal to Old Spice Pure Sport but the stick is too big. I saw a magical deodorizing crystal on Amazon, so I got it for its small size and magic. 

Not knowing the language makes you an outsider. I’m just going to have to deal with being an outsider for a few months. At least when I was in Central America I picked up on some Spanish and could make sense of it, but I really have no chance with Vietnamese. I’m going to learn the basic basics to give greetings and say thank you but there’s no way I’m going to have a conversation.

I’ve been growing a rat-tail for a few months now in preparation for this trip to Southeast Asia. If I want to be all Zen and free-flowing over here I need a Zen Haircut. And Buddhist-Monk-haircuts are totally trending right now. Namaste y’all!"-Eoin