motorbike – Where Is Amber?

I’m searching for those moments when I lose myself. When I stop thinking. When my brain shuts off. When I just notice what is around me.I’m zooming around on my rented motorbike, observing the mountains outside of Bac Ha, a tiny town in northern Vietnam. The rice paddies stretch around me like layers of a cake. The contrast between the bright blue clear sky and the endless expanse of green makes me take a deep breath of gratitude.

Behind me, another motorbike zips round the curves of the mountainside. My friend Niko is driving, with Tessa on the back. Tessa is a dear friend from childhood who is doing a Southeast Asia loop with me. We just met Niko The Crazy German at a hostel in Hoi An and have been traveling with him for a few weeks. In the mornings, Niko and I head to the roof of our cheap hotel for exercise: he is teaching me boxing, and I am showing him yoga. All three of us are artists and musicians, and we often sing and draw together.

Over the din of my motorbike I can just barely hear Niko from his scooter belting out our favorite song, a catchy hip-hop song perfect for easy harmonies. Despite the breeze, it’s excruciatingly hot, and my sweaty shirt sticks to me.

Thanks to WeSaidGoTravel for publishing my work. To read the full story, visit wesaidgotravel.com/motorbiking-vietnam-losing

After I met the Taiwanese guys at the hot air balloon festival, they took me to a commune where people traveling around Taiwan stay the night for free. That’s where I met John, a fellow solo motorbiker in his 70’s. He insisted that I wake up at 5am the next morning to go with him to see Liushidan Mountain, where the farmed daylillies just happened to be blooming. Here are the photos (from August 2012).