February 1, 2013

We had packed everything the night before and woke up at 530am. Chandler had the bright idea of buying yogurt, bananas, mangosteen and granola bars the night before so we could have breakfast before we left the hotel. Usually we waste around a half hour or hour of prime riding time to track down identifiable vegetarian breakfast. We were on the road at 6am, hoping to beat the morning rush into Saigon.

The first hour was quiet and we saw very little traffic as we biked past people up early exercising in town. Soon My Tho faded into rice paddy farmland and the road got a bit narrower. We said hello to lots of students on their way to school. We watched the intense orange sun come up over some coconut trees lining one of the rice fields. The early morning is probably my favorite time to ride.

Sunrise

Some sort of crop

Rooster crowing a little late

The countryside soon diminished into suburbs of Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC aka Saigon), the largest city in Vietnam. The traffic increased the closer we got to the city, but it wasn’t too bad. The road was divided and had two lanes in either direction plus a wide shoulder. The cars, trucks and buses stayed in the inside lane with motorbikes in the outside lane.

For some reason, once we hit the highway, we were on fire. There was no wind and the pavement was great. Our average speed was around 15mph and neither of us was the least bit tired.

Castle of Saigon?

In an admiral effort to avoid highways, the GPS took us on a bizarre little tour of some intensely smelling vegetable, fish and meat markets on the edge of the urban area of HCMC. We popped out on main road leading to the city center and suddenly we were in the thick of the most maddening traffic we had ever “participated” in. It didn’t feel particularly dangerous- there was such a density of motorbikes that no one could really go very fast- but it was intense on the senses. It felt about 10 degrees warmer amidst the thousands of motorbikes puttering, revving and honking. We tried unsuccessfully to limit breathing in the hazy air which smelled obviously of exhaust from the bikes mixed with sooty diesel plumes from the spare bus or truck.

It was around 10:30 at this point and starting to really heat up. We spent a while riding in circles trying to find a hotel that someone had recommended, but we couldn’t find it and settled on the Lonely Planet backup Chan had stored in the GPS. The Madame Cuc 184 turned out to be a nice small hotel off on a small alley (away from the NOISE!!!), and suited us perfectly. We took obligatory post ride showers, then found a place to eat a pile of pasta, that may or may not have been kind of nasty but tasted amazing at the time.

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

January 29, 2013

There was no discussion this morning about whether or not we would take the canal roads again. We both agreed the previous day’s ride was one of our favorites of the entire trip so far. First, we found some sudaphed for Chan’s headcold- medicines are insanely cheap here: there was some serious confusion when Chan tried to pay the lady at the pharmacy ten times what the pills cost, 20 of them ended up costing only about 60 cents. Next we had a quick ferry ride across one of the many branches of the Mekong river (10 cents each).

Crowded ferry

The canal roads are so peaceful that Chandler and I didn’t care if it took longer or added more miles. The day’s ride was possibly even better than the day before. About ten minutes after turning from the main road, we saw two women working on something. We immediately stopped and I went back for a photo. They were a little shy, but luckily agreed to letting me snap a picture.

Weaving a floor mat

When I returned to Chan and the bikes, another lady motioned me over to a metal shack. Inside, a woman was sewing the trim onto the edge of a mat.

Finishing touch

We continued to see different aspects of the floor mats creation for the rest of our time along the canals. At one point, Chandler and I were carefully trying to avoid riding on top of mats laid out on the path when along comes a truck. The truck just drove right over the mats, like they weren’t there.

Purple!

Drying dyed material

Machine weaving

Almost finished product

I wish we had room for one of the beautiful mats, but we didn’t think it would fit in our panniers. Unfortunately, we never discovered what the mats are made of or how the material is dyed.

We also passed by a group of men drying some herbs. When Chandler motioned to take a photo, one of the guys pointed at the herbs and then pantomimed smoking a cigarette. Not sure what that meant.

Drying herbs

The canal roads are generally in pretty good condition. They varied between concrete panel roads wide enough to get a small truck down, to straight up single track narrow enough that our panniers hit vegetation on either side as we rode through. It wasn’t all bliss, we did end up hitting a little construction and a bridge or two that should have been rebuilt a few patch ups ago.

Narrow path

Beginning of a new road

Maybe time for a new bridge

At that point, we had to join the main highway to get to Vinh Long. We were able to blast through the miles and were averaging 15 mph.

Welcome to Vinh Long

Vinh Long was pretty big and not very touristy. We had trouble finding a cheap decent hotel on our own as we searched near the waterfront so we resorted to the Lonely Planet recommendations which steered us to a dark narrow side street. We ended up in a hotel that seemed nice, if you didn’t look too close. First, there was the ridiculous giant picture of a lion and boy reading a book, then we noticed the tiles in the bathroom had 80’s girls in bikinis all over the walls. The hot water was broken. What was really bad was the hair all over the bed. We slept in our sleeping bags. Certainly not the worst place we’ve stayed, but we would be getting a nice early start the next day!

January 28, 2013

We were on the main road with plenty of motorbikes and trucks when Chan asked, “Do you want to take the main road, or do you want to be adventurous?” “Uhh, adventurous.” I replied, not quite sure what I was getting myself into. We end up turning off the main road onto a narrow concrete road I never would have noticed before.

Suddenly, everything was quiet and peaceful. We were riding with a canal on one side and homes or storefronts on the other side. There was very little traffic and lots of trees offering shade. We passed by rice fields and flower growers and biked through fish processing plants. Everyone was smiling, waving and shouting hello.

Chan and flowers

Crazy flower

Quiet canals

OSHA approved bike path through factory?

We have heard that the Vietnamese people are not as friendly as their neighbors, but we have not found this to be true. The people seem almost more outgoing, as we get greeted by more adults here, not just children. My favorite response we get is from the older people pass by. They always give a little “Ah”, like they were expecting us and we have arrived late.

We biked along the canals until a hand written sign pointed the way to Long Xuyen and we had to leave our quiet path. We were immediately in the center of an active city riding with tons of traffic. We had no trouble finding a hotel and storing our bikes. Chandler told me we were on the third floor, but there was an elevator! Our gear isn’t that heavy but it is separated into 10 different bags, so the rare elevator is a real treat.

Rooftop view

We spent the rest of the afternoon as the locals do, sitting down in a cafe watching the traffic while sipping iced coffee. The coffee is very strong, which forces you to drink it slowly, as the ice melts the flavor changes. A pot of green tea is also generally provided to enjoy with the remaining ice in your glass. We hung out for a hour before setting out in search of food.

Our cute waitress

Mmm coffee

We had a chay meal of fake meat – Chan had “com chay” which is served with rice and I had “mi chay” which is the same meal with noodles.

Fake chay meat dinner

We watched a movie on TV and made plans for another awesome ride in the morning.

January 27, 2013

We grabbed egg bahn mi sandwiches for breakfast, then went on a short bike ride to the high school with Truc, our new friend from the night before.

Breakfast!

The room we were meeting in was already full of students and teachers. We were given places of honor, right up front. Immediately, we were descended upon. First, we met all the teachers and answered questions. We discovered that there would be a fashion show along with some singing and dancing. Also, would we mind getting up and talking with the students and answering any questions? Did we want to be judges in the fashion show? Yes, yes, of course.

The kids were a little more shy with us, but some of them were brave enough to try their english out on us, which was quite fun. The hardest question was, “how are Vietnamese traditions different than American traditions?” Wowzers, weren’t sure that could be summed up in a couple basic english sentences, or if we even knew how to start answering it. We managed to blunder on about about how our typical family structure/living arrangements was different which seemed to satisfy the questioner.

Best dancer in the school

A little Gangum Style

Duet

Winter collection

Spring fashion

The 4 hour meeting was a whirlwind of activity and conducted entirely in English. Everyone spoke good, clear English and we were both impressed with the participation level of the students. They had been divided into 6 groups of 6 to 8 students. Each group designed a “collection” for the fashion show and everyone got up at some point to preform a song or dance.

English Speaking Club

New friends, Truc is next to Chan

It was so fun to be around this energetic group of kids and adults. I think we took about a million pictures with everyone at the end of the meeting. As we were leaving, I asked Truc if we had just witnessed a typical meeting. Oh yes, sometimes they do even more activities, like play games.

Truc and two of her friends joined us for lunch at the chay restaurant. We were able to ask her lots of questions about the meaning of words and what other foreigners do in the town. She said she would take us on a tour after we go have a nap and the sun isn’t so hot. I took her suggestion and passed out, while Chandler just read.

Around 4, Truc and her two friends met us in the lobby and took us on a bike ride to the other side of town. We were going to go on a little hike to see a lake, a pagoda and a beautiful view of the green fields. Somehow, we also picked up 4 extra friends on the bike ride over.

Tri Ton is set in a valley and we were able to get a nice view of the area.

Green Fields

Us

The pagoda was beautiful, as they all are. This one had a connection to the Khmer minority that lived in the region. It was surrounded by a series of statues in various scenes. Truc told us the statues tell a story, but none of them knew the story. Guess we’ll just make one up.

The princess

Haircut

We headed back to the hotel as it got dark and said goodbye to our new friends. We were both so happy that we decided to stay for the whole day.