Long Way Round For A Short Cut

Heading out of Ho Chi Minh City was a whizz despite it's size with a brief stop at the War Remnant Museum. Got to Moc Bai easily in time to cross and get to Svey Rieng in Cambodia, a towm I did some water supply stuff for way back in 1987, when it was lonely, all you conveyor belt planet guide book readers.

But a little bit of missing paper would not let my Viet Nam registered bike in and with no time or way to fix it the only boring option was to retrace my wheel tracks to Bo Y about 600 kilometers up north to re-enter Laos who have a reciprocal agreement on vehicles.

Making speedy headway back up the Trail, day 2 saw me pass through Chu Se when about 2 clicks out , c-u-r-l-u-n-k, and a sudden halt. Thought it was that damned primary chain again but getting it down to Kien's workshop and disheartenedly watching the bike being torn to pieces like never before, the mangled piston was extracted with the pistons top roller bearings at fault. It had failed and crunched between piston and cylinder. I could barely believe it and thought all hope of continuing and getting out of Viet Nam with Minsk before expiry of visa in 2 days was lost. Perhaps the end of the road for Project Pineapple.

Eldest son Kien made a few calls, rode up to Plie Ku with the entire engine and bits boxed returning around 3 hours later with more bits than when he left. He'd located a used cylinder and piston.

Chu Se, a small village, had no accommodation so they kindly housed and fed me and local hootched me too. I watched a rerun on TV with father Kien 'The Diary of Dang Thuy Tram - Last Night I Dreamed of Peace'. A poignant moment. Kien, a Party member, now running his motorcycle repair business, showed me a pic of him adressing a Party conference.

6.30 am next day they were up and putting the engine together. One minor hitch sorted, the amazing Minsk started first kick. As Tien whom I met in Mordor several weeks previously said, Minsks never die.

So pouring more 2 stroke oil than would normally be fit to lubricate the refitted parts off I went, cautiously, up to Plie Khan but a handful of clicks from the Lao border the next day.

At this point I would like to thank the 2 westerners on motorcycle taxis for aloufly not stopping to assist for surely I would never had such benevolent assitance and professional service as radiated from the Kien family. Thanks guys.

See you on the other side.