January 30 – 31, 2013

The day started on a rough note. Chandler’s cough and headcold were worse and we had trouble finding breakfast. We would also be riding on the main road, so no quiet canal paths today. I could tell right away it was going to be a tough day.

We had two ferry crossings, each costing a whopping 20 cents for both of us. At the second ferry, we met a man from California who was home for Tet. He said that we would like Saigon, because there is a Pizza Hut and a Burger King. We thought his comment was funny because we don’t eat that kind of food at home, why would we want to eat it while trying to experience another country?

Ferry

Ferry line

The road wasn’t too bad, but there was more traffic than we would have liked. I could tell Chan was having trouble, so I suggested we take a break. We had picked up a watermelon the day before and it seemed like the perfect time to eat it.

Watermelon

Unfortunately, Chandler dropped his half after only a few bites. I think that was the straw that broke the camel’s back. We decided to stop today’s ride early in My Tho, instead of trying to get closer to Saigon. We rode along a new 10 mile long gravel road that was both a blessing and a curse- there was very little traffic, but when a truck did pass by we were lost in a cloud of dust. We finally reached the main road to My Tho (pronounced Mee Taow, we learned with much laughter from the Vietmanese-Californian on the ferry). The final stretch led us across a pretty massive cable stay suspension bridge across a portion of the Mekong that had been built around 2008. There was actually a really nice shoulder so we were able to stop near the top and look out across the river, and down on the small city of My Tho.

Dusty road

Orange bridge

We were able to find a really nice hotel (Minh Thai) near the center of town. It looked like it had recently been remodeled. We were in one of three rooms on the 4th floor which was well above the street noise.

Street view

With Chandler feeling poorly and both Chinese and American embassies closed the next day, we decided to stay another day in My Tho. We were able to Skype with Chan’s family and my best friend, Lindsey and her husband, Nick.

We spent the next two days relaxing and walking around town.

Bridge we came in on

Darth Vader's Vietnamese hotel

We had a couple meals of vegetarian soup for me and Chandler tried Hu Tieu which is noodle soup that My Tho is apparently famous for. He thought it tasted pretty similar to regular Pho. Tomorrow we ride into Ho Chi Minh City aka Saigon.

Chandler's Hu Tieu