Monday, July 29, 2013

Accidents Happen, Running in Vietnam


Well now this is a little bit inconvenient.



Accidents happen, often in the most ridiculous ways. We've survived a week of dirt biking through Laos, a mini-bus ride packed with 27 people in an 11-passenger vehicle, exploring a region rife with unexploded ordinances, cycling around monkey-infested ruins, and white water kayaking through Class 3 rapids. So what's the one thing that results in a hospital trip? A morning run. 

We ran first in Bangkok, a huge mistake from which I don't know if our lungs will ever fully recover. After that we made a rule of not running in pollution, so our next venture was along the Mekong river in Kratie, Cambodia, and again in Phonsavanh and Luang Prabang to shake out the stiffness of dirt biking.

We've actually been running a decent amount, excluding situations of major pollution, overcrowded cities, and our hectic travel schedule of course. I know that sounds like excuses-excuses, but it really is hard(/pretty much impossible) to exercise consistently when on the move!  So I'll enjoy occasional Asian running while I'm here, and have all the time in the world to get back into actual shape when I go home. 

So anyway, fast-forward to a couple mornings ago in Hue.

Andy and I went out for a humid jog (soft j) along the river greenway, and all was going fine. We were on the homestretch, looking forward to consuming gallons of water, many many tiny cups of Vietnamese coffee (someone introduce them to regular coffee mugs please!), and breakfast.


There was a 1-foot high chain across the path to prevent motorbikes from entering the park. (You see where this is going.) Andy went for the hurdle, caught his foot, and proceeded to faceplant onto the concrete.

I gasped, Vietnamese people shrieked (the giant foreigner crashed!), and Andy popped up like no big deal. But later on, when we arrived in Hoi An, he decided an x-ray was in order. Yep, broken wrist.


I'm happy to report that the Vietnamese hospital experience was excellently efficient and friendly, with some local charm. The doctor showed us the x-ray, pointed to the broken part, and laughed, "You are not so lucky!"

But Andy is making the best of it, and considering that we're still traveling around Southeast Asia, doing whatever we want whenever we want every day, I don't think he's that unlucky.

Oh yeah, guess who's driving the motorbike now?