Dokkodo: Lonesome Road of Running

Day 12, the last day of March. Only one month left of this trek. At this pace, it will be pretty difficult to get to Ho Chi Minh on my own. I intend to go as far as I can, so I continue heading south today. Rain is forecast to continue into the morning. Maximum temperature 19 degrees. I started at 6am. My freshly washed shoes quickly got dirty with mud. There was heavy sideways rain at times, but the sky turned cloudy in the afternoon. It was a gloomy day. It was as if the dry season had turned into the rainy season. I ran 20km to the town of Ha Tinh. Took a break at a restaurant. I ate pho at a local restaurant again today. 50,000 dong = 300 yen. Strangely, pho is always good no matter where I eat it. I realized that I only had a little cash left. I withdrew some cash at the bank. It's a bit inconvenient that I can't use my card much for shopping. I'm finally starting to understand the types of Vietnamese banknotes. Almost all the way along the Asian Highway. I cleared a f...

It was cloudy when I started at 6am, and drizzle when I entered the center of Vinh town. Then it started to rain, so I put on a rain jacket. Every time I run through a puddle on the road, mud splashed up on our shoes and socks. In addition, the buggy was covered in mud from the mud splashed up by the large trucks and buses that passed by. I wonder if the weather will be similar tomorrow and the day after tomorrow? As I entered Vinh town, the number of large roundabouts and intersections increased. This is inevitable in places with a large population. Therefore, the number of motorbikes also increased. In Vietnam, there are more people riding motorbikes than walking people. The fact that there are many Winmarts is proof that the town is large. After crossing the large river, the Ca River, I left Vinh town and entered Hong Linh town. There were almost no shops and only private houses for 16 kilometers until I entered Hong Linh town. The scenery of rice fields spreads out, and a four-lane...

It's raining in Vietnam in the dry season. I started at 6am, thanking the hotel owner. He's a man of few words, but he's always smiling. He asked me to shake his hand when I left. It was a light rain in the morning, but as I started, it gradually became more serious. I run 12km and took a rest at Winmart to take shelter from the rain. The rain made the air a little cleaner. There was no dust, but mud and water splashes flew every time a large truck passed by. People drive more recklessly on rainy days. It was forecast to rain until 3pm, but I wore rain suits almost all day. The maximum temperature was 23 degrees, which was cool and I was grateful. I hardly sweated. I followed a road along the sea to avoid busy Asian Highway 1. It was raining heavily intermittently. With 8km to go, I returned to the Asian Highway. It was hard to find a place to shelter from the rain, so I ran almost nonstop for 35km. I finally sat down to rest at a restaurant with 5km to go. And today I eat ...

DAY9, I woke up at 5am. From around 2am, I could hear the chickens crowing. Large vehicles were passing on the Asian Highway even in the middle of the night. In addition, long freight trains would occasionally pass by on the tracks. I must have been tired, because I went to bed at 8:30pm and slept soundly, barely dreaming. Today's maximum temperature was 32 degrees, just right for a day off. It's supposed to cool down from tomorrow onwards. Even on sunny mornings in Vietnam, the blue sky is rarely visible. It's always a hazy white sky. I asked the hotel owner for my clothes to be washed, and they were dry overnight. Every day my clothes were muddy from the dust and sweat. The owner brought me some food. Deep-fried glutinous rice (apparently a Vietnamese food called banh tet). Hot, crispy and chewy. It felt quite heavy. I'm currently 40km north of a town called Vinh. I'm heading to Vinh tomorrow. I travel at a slower pace than planned. The course was mostly flat, but...

Day 8, I woke up just before 4am. There was the roar of karaoke somewhere last night too... There was also the vibration and noise of large vehicles near the Asian Highway... It's nice to fall asleep to lullabies like this. The temperature will be in the 30s today and tomorrow, and it will cool down after that, but it looks like it will rain occasionally. I left at 6am. I headed south again today. After 7am, I changed provinces and entered Nghe An Province. After 10km, I reached a country road. It runs parallel to the Asian Highway, but the distance is a little longer due to a detour. There were trails, farm roads, and roads full of embankments from construction sites, so the roads were very varied. The quiet countryside scenery, typical of Vietnam, was very pleasant. I received some mandarin oranges from a woman at a market in a small village. Immediately after that, while I was running, a man on a motorbike gave me 12,000 VND. As I was following the farm road, I ended up crossing...

I left the hotel at 6:20 in the morning. Yesterday, I asked the hotel owner to do my laundry, and when I was putting it away this morning, I noticed that one of my arm covers was missing. Luckily, I found it at the bottom of the washing machine. I want to avoid losing my luggage when I'm traveling. I ran about 10 kilometers and had breakfast at a restaurant. It was very filling, with salad! The pho was topped with fried fish, deep-fried tofu, and coriander. 240 yen for 40,000 VND is too cheap! I ate too much for breakfast. It's cloudy now and the temperature is 23 degrees, but I sweat a lot when I'm running. That means it's quite humid. The humid air that is unique to the subtropics is not suitable for running. It's going to get even hotter from now on. The forecast says that it will exceed 30 degrees for the first time since I came to Vietnam tomorrow and the day after tomorrow. There are times every day when I think, "Do you really have to honk your horn?...

DAY6 started at 6AM. It was 20 degrees in the morning, and rose to 28 degrees during the day. Today, I headed south mostly on the Asian Highway. It was an uncomfortable run on the highway in a buggy, but some cars honked their horns to encourage us, and some motorbike riders gave me a thumbs up when they passed them on bikes. There are lots of nice people in every country and place. I hope to continue meeting each and every one of them every day. The Asian Highway was chaotic as usual. Occasionally, a very long freight train ran along the tracks. One old man asked if he could take a photo of me. Most people look at me with a strange (suspicious) look when they see me pushing the buggy. Some children even say hello to me. We are an Asian family, we are all earthlings. I went to a restaurant and cafe along the highway and enjoyed the local food. The accommodation and food are cheap here, so even if I eat, drink, or shop during the trip, it feels like a good deal. Around 9 o'clock, I ...

Woke up at 4am. I went to bed before 9pm last night, but morning came in the blink of an eye. Time speeds up when I'm traveling. If today is the end, then one tenth of the journey will be over. It's just begun, but it's definitely coming to an end. It would be a waste not to enjoy it. Checked out of the hotel at 6:10am. Covered some distance in the morning. Today's temperature ranged from 15 to 28 degrees. It was cloudy and cool in the morning. There was haze all around. Could it be the effect of the Indonesian volcanic eruption? This morning, too, I was on the Asian Highway 1, and the intersections and large roundabouts were nerve-wracking. When the light turned green, I sprinted through. It was difficult to avoid the noise, exhaust fumes, and aggressive cars. After running 20km, I entered a quiet country road. I had to cross a mountain pass about 100m above sea level, but the gradient wasn't that steep. This was my first mountain pass in Vietnam. Last year, I expe...

On Day 4, I woke up at 4am. I'm not that tired. What's great is that the roads are flat every day. Last year in Spain and Portugal, there were steep hills every day. When climbing, the fatigue is concentrated in the arms, shoulders, back and upper body. On the way down, I have to support the buggy with my legs to prevent it from going out of control, so my lower body get damaged. Today I will run 44 km to Ninh Binh. Yesterday, while I was running, local people sometimes called out to me, but I didn't understand Vietnamese so I just greeted them with "Xin Chao." Yesterday, a boy in elementary school (around the lower grades) spoke to me in English. It was a mundane conversation like "Where are you from? Where are you going?" I only talked for a few minutes, but he left with a satisfied smile. I started at 6:20am. It was cloudy and the sky was hazy. It was cool and easy to run. For a while, it was a quiet road along the river.  The mooncake-like sweets I b...

Today I'll cover 45km to Ha Nam. Temperatures are between 15 and 28°C. The road is mostly flat, and the wind isn't too strong. I hope the traffic will thin out a little. It'll be much easier without the noise and exhaust fumes. Take an early break and drink plenty of water and salt. No need to endure or sacrifice anything. Run how I want, travel how I want, and live how I want. At 6:15, I thanked Choi, the hotel owner, and set off. I encountered a group of runners in Vietnam! Hoan Kiem Lake Park near the Water Puppet Theater. This is a no-car zone. It's a little quiet and the air is clean. I thought there might be some kind of marathon event going on, but it seems that's not the case. I ran 20km and entered the Asian Highway again. I could hardly find a place to rest. Along the way, I came to a place where the road was blocked by a barricade, so I unloaded my luggage from the buggy and carried it ahead of me, then picked up the buggy and passed through. 28km to go. ...

Woke up at 6am. Day 2 in Hanoi was sunny with a temperature of 15 degrees. Motorbike horns were honking from early in the morning. The alleys were narrow so cars couldn't get in, but motorbikes were driving around freely. I didn't have much muscle pain, but I felt a bit like I had a mild case of heatstroke. I was drinking a lot of water. Today was my day off, so I went for a walk around town, planning and preparing for the next day. Left the hotel around 8am and went for a walk. Had breakfast at a back alley stall used by locals. Noodles with pork and coriander(Photo above).  The noodles themselves were instant noodles, but they were light and refreshing. About 300 yen per bowl. Afterwards, had a rest at a cafe. It's true that stores or restaurants used by locals are cheaper. Those which are targeted at tourists are stylish and beautiful, but the price is higher. Vietnamese coffee for 120 yen per cup was too sweet. It's sweet like coffee flavored with lots of condensed ...

Woke up at 5:30am. Had breakfast at a cafe. Banh mi (baguette sandwich) and latte were delicious. Worked online and checked out at 9:30am. Assembled the buggy and left. 20 minutes struggling to find the exit for the airport. I managed to find my way out, but the busy city of Hanoi was chaotic. There were a lot of motorbikes and cars honking everywhere. Someone was driving a motorbike with one hand on the handlebars while looking at their smartphone, and another was riding with a mountain of about 10 cardboard boxes. There were also three girls around middle school age riding on it. Running while being careful of exhaust fumes, noise, and rough drivers is quite tiring.  I ran more careful than when I drive a car. There were lots of detours on the four-lane road that was a bypass.  Sometimes I had to go around several hundred meters to cross to the other side. I always got to be careful of cars and motorbikes when crossing intersections. 27.5km is not a long distance, but it was...

March 19, 2025 Left KIX, Osaka at 3:30pm for Hanoi, Vietnam. 6 hour-flight, very boring, no Wi-Fi, no movies, no power outlet. I was just sitting on a seat with my eyes closed. At 7:15pm Vietget 931 arrived at Hanoi. Warm enough. This morning we had some snow in Osaka.  Found a capsule hotel inside the airport. Than I checked in. Tomorrow I will run to another hotel in Hanoi, about 30km south. Everything is new to me here. I got to get used to so many things. * Other photos with my wife Morimelom and her son Ryota