Saturday, November 13 Nha Trang to Quy Nhon

Another bright and early departure at 7:30 am. On the buses for 2 plus hours north to Song Cau to begin cycling. Passed many shrimp farms on land, various fish aquaculture operations, in pens in protected bays, lush green rice fields and dense jungle-like vegetation in the hills. We passed areas where water hoses were pouring water aimed off the road. The water came from higher in the hills and was available to anyone to wash their vehicles or to cool the engines as necessary. One double-decker load of pigs had the hoses trained on its precious cargo, cooling the pigs on their way to market.

We marveled and watched in disbelief at the way the drivers passed slower vehicles on curves and hills, oblivious to approaching traffic or not knowing if traffic was just around the corner.

As we approached Song Cau we saw many fishing boats in the bay (not unusual on this coast) and also several freighters. These ships were bringing refined petroleum products from the refinery further north to this bay where distribution facilities are located. During the "American War" this bay was also used as the Seagoing Ho Chi Minh Trail. Boats would bring munitions and supplies here during typhoons for the northern troops.

We unloaded the bikes and headed north on a minor inland road for an intended 17 km ride to Tuy Hoa for lunch. Seven kilometres of beautiful riding later found us at a landslide impossible to get through and turning back to where we had just left from. We drove to Tuy Hoa for lunch, then for another hour and a half to position ourselves 45 km south of Qui Nhon and the ride to our hotel. The drive to this point was quite exciting with many potholes and much jockeying for the lead with trucks, vans, and scooters cutting in and around the potholes, changing lead, and getting nowhere any faster.

Unloading the bikes provided us with a chance to use the facilities nature provided. Doug attempted to pee in a lady's garden, was spotted and chased away by the owner, half his size, but very, very vocal and menacing.

The 45 km ride to Quy Nhon was another great session in the saddle with good roads, cooler temperatures and not too much for headwinds. We rode up one fairly good hill, the downhill part of which was our reward and arrived at the hotel as darkness caught us.

Dinner was another delicious affair with much fun being garnered from the drink menu. I believe that the order of the drinks went from " Margarita" (Paddy), "PS I Love You" (Eleanor), to "Tie Me Up" (Nancy), "Multi Orgasm" (Brendan.......it takes a strong man, confident of his riding abilities, to order a drink by that name) and finally to "Relaxed" (Sharon).

Enough for Day 6.  from Ross

Phan Thiet to Nha Trang Thursday, November 11 2010

Although we are on vacation and cycle touring in Vietnam, I thought about remembrance day as celebrated in Canada and especially about my deceased father who was overseas as a soldier in WW2. 

On day 4 of our cycling tour, most of us were up by 5:30 am and on the beautiful beach at the Saigon Suoi Nhum Resort Hotel by 6:00 am to see the sunrise and take photos of the white flour sand beach, the islands in the distance, the Vietnamese boys playing soccer on the beach, and a group of fishermen bringing in their catch (squid, crab and other fish) in a Vietnamese "round" boat. Sunny skies greeted us and we could already feel the heat and humidity that would accompany us on our cycle this morning.

The 6:30 am breakfast was another of many excellent breakfasts we are enjoying in Vietnam: fruit, including the dragon fruit we saw growing in plantations yesterday, veggies, omelette, toast, bacon, ham. And even the coffee was decent, according to Ross. 

Our guide, Chau, and his assistants were ready for us to leave the hotel at 7:30 am. We loaded up our bags and drove north along beautiful sand beaches. Our drivers, Dung and Duc, are great drivers, but typical of Vietnamese drivers; they drive with one hand on the wheel and one hand very close to the horn. It's ok to use the horn here to alert other drivers that you are near and want to pass them. It does not matter if other vehicles and motor scooters are both coming towards you at the same time or the curve in the road is totally blind, you pass anyway. The larger vehicles always take the right of way. There are very few stop signs that we have seen; cars, trucks, scooters, bicycles and pedestrians, big and small, thread their way across each others path without any issues that we have seen. 

We drive till about 10:00 am through rural areas and a number of drab and dusty looking towns and villages. There are many small shops each occupying a small open building and part of the sidewalk and/or street.  We stopped several times while driving in the van. First stop was in Phan Thiet to look at several hundred fishing boats moored in the Caty River. We also stopped at Cham Tower, a Hindu Temple built circa 700 BC where only the females in our group touched the small symbolic phallic pillar in the temple. The pillar is reputed to improve fertility. Now Sharon, Paddy, Eleanor, Nancy, Dawn, Yvonne, Robin and Gala are worried about going home pregnant from this trip! The next stop was at the Xuan Huong Fish Sauce plant where a family operated business makes fish sauce using very simple technology from anchovies, sea salt and water. Anchovies are harvested from the sea in June each year and placed in huge cauldrons along with sea salt and water for a year before the fish sauce is ready to be bottled. Our last stop before we begin cycling is in the Mui Ne shrimp fishing village where we see many boats in the harbour and fishermen with their family members readying the shrimp for market. 

We start cycling about 10:00 am, with Doug and Gala leading at first, under mostly sunny skies and follow the coast northwards. There are numerous photo opportunities as we cycle across rural areas with several rolling hills which provided fabulous vistas of long beaches and many different types of farms. At kilometre 17, on top of the biggest hill, our Vietnamese van driver Dung is there to meet us with cold water, towelettes (to wipe the sweat) cookies, small bananas and oranges. We are all happy to see Dung since our water bottles are mostly empty. As we continue cycling some of us (Les, Bernie, Paul and others) stop to view Vietnamese farmers/families drying peanut shells and corn. It's mostly sunny till about 11:00 am when the clouds start to move in. About 11:30 rain was in the air and we wished for a small shower to cool us off. Unfortunately that did not happen.

As we cycle, we see that most Vietnamese people live in the open air in small open hovels/homes with a shaded shelter out front. We also see many Vietnamese women walking or riding bicycles dressed in their traditional white dresses/pant suits and pointed hats. Oxen and carts, used for moving people and goods, are frequently seen. Everywhere we go, Vietnamese people are courteous and friendly. I have not noticed any display of anger or hostility towards us or even amongst the Vietnamese people; it must be a Vietnamese trait.

After 38 kilometres and climbing/descending several rolling hills, we are rewarded with a long downward ride, that happens much too quickly, into the town of Luong Son where another feast awaits us for lunch. We arrive at the Nhu Ngoc restaurant/bar where Hung, the Vietnamese truck driver, and Tien, his assistant, take our bikes and place them in the truck. The two van drivers, Dung and Duc, have cold water for us again. We enjoy this royal treatment. 

Mike and Brendan arrive at the restaurant (it's also a Karaoke bar) first and the lunch meal is not quite ready yet. A young women, the "lady in black" takes Mike out to the dance floor; while dancing she feeds him grapes to presumably quench his thirst. He gets teased and we have a good laugh. Brendan is offered a free beer but he must chug it to the toast that several of us are practicing "Mot Hai Ba, Dyo" (translated means: 1, 2, 3, cheers).

Phuc, our mechanic and "sweep" arrive with Bernie, Dan and Robin just as lunch is served. Our lunch consists of platters of spicy shrimp, fish, bread, rice, vegetables, ox tail soup, hot pot (soup with meat & local vegetables); Twas awesome.

By 13:30, we are sitting in the two air conditioned Mercedes vans driving north along the South China Sea. The Vietnamese maps call it the "Vietnamese Sea". In van 1, we engage Chau, our Vietnamese tour guide with many questions on what we see as we drive by beautiful beaches, small villages and towns, the Thuong Sun mountains surrounded by mist at times, many brown cows/bulls tethered and grazing on the shoulder of the roads, military air fields, former Russian/American military bases, fields of grapes, black sesame, salt (from ocean water) and rice. We learn from Chau about the things we see and discuss other topics.

According to Chau, in the rural areas there are no garbage dumps or garbage collection; that is why we see lots of garbage everywhere, next to homes & restaurants, in the towns and villages, adjacent to factories, on farms and elsewhere. We noticed that some people make an effort to keep their homes and land clean.

I was surprised that we have not seen very many dogs after being warned about rabid dogs in Vietnam. According to Chau, Vietnamese people in the central and south of the country were ordered by the military to kill their dogs during the last war; the reason was so they would not bark when soldiers moved around secretly at night.  

It rained for a few hours in the afternoon as we drove northward to Nha Trang city. During the van ride, we learned that public washrooms are rare in Vietnam. It took a long time to find one next to a gas station. Paddy had to go so badly, she mistakenly ended up in the "men's"; of course it was a "squat toilet".

We arrive at the Asla Paradise Hotel at 17:30. There is a laundromat one half block from the hotel where have our dirty clothes cleaned for about $1.00 per person.

Dinner is at a popular Vietnamese BBQ restaurant where we cook our own beef, squid, shrimp, tofu, and vegetables. Paddy, Michael and Bernie share the charcoal BBQ located on the table in front of our eyes. Yes there are flames and smoke and the food is spicy. A couple of San Miguel (640 mm) beers are needed by most of us to quench our thirst as we enjoy this special Vietnamese meal.

Recorded by Bernie Phillion

An addition to Nov. 10 post

There is one incident that I should have shared. In the evening of the 10th some of us went down to the beach to soothe our aching feet in the cool water. As Paddy and I walked back up the bath to our room a security guard went rushing through us without a word, then ran back carrying a shovel. We had continued walking to the guard station, then saw what the excitement was about. The man was smashing down on a red and black banded snake until it lay dead. Whew! The interesting part is that the next morning Bernie, upon hearing our story, said "Is that the snake I saw?" I think we can do without any more of that kind of excitement.
from Yvonne....more updates by others coming soon

Wednesday, Nov. 10 Loc An to Suoi Nhum Resort 102 km

We were on the road today at 7:30.

It was already rather warm but the view of the water was incredible. Some of us detoured down a short lane to a fish market. The round boats were pulled up to the shore and had been unloaded. Others had coolers to keep the fish fresh while people on motorbikes carrying baskets came to buy the fish. The beach seemed to be a public one with many chairs available for sunbathing. The market had two pairs of long ladies' gloves for sale .... it is important for women to keep completely covered to have pale skin. We fought the pull of the beach and continued on.

Next came glorious red sand dunes and more views of the beaches. Along the way there were many potential resorts with perhaps just the front gates and fence having been built; we wondered what money had bought the properties and when they would be completed. We had lunch in one lovely resort, not on the beach, with lush grounds but no other customers. We wonder at the number of staff in the resorts and restaurants. After lunch the courtyard was scattered with exhausted cyclists lying on cement benches in the shade.

Near small villages we met many delightful school children in white shirts and dark
pants returning home for lunch. They would shout "hello" at us or "what's your name?" and fall into giggles when we responded.

Other sights were Brahma cows and bulls tethered to feed by the roadside or being used to pull ox carts, lotus ponds, egrets, rice paddies, etc. We stopped by a dragonfruit plantation where Chau explained about the growing of this tasty fruit. Squarish cement posts about 3 feet high are planted in the ground and fronds from the mature plant are planted and tied to the post. The new plant grows up these posts and the fronds droop down (looked like some kind of cactus to me). It was not the season but we did see a few flowers. Further on we came to plantations where lightbulbs were hung on lines between the trees to encourage the flowers to bloom.

Chau had arranged for us to stop at a shrimp farm as well. The ponds might be a hectare in size. The larvae are brought from Australia and fed with food containing antibiotics (sound familiar?). In six months the farmer can sell his shrimp for $3 a kilo. While standing by the pond we got into a history lesson which is too complicated to share here.

Most of the roads today were okay with parts being excellent and other parts, including one old wooden bridge, under construction or full of potholes. We all felt like we had put in a long day at the end of the 102 km in the heat and humidity. The swimming pool beckoned.

By the way, the first day's post was written by Doug. Today's was written by Yvonne.

Nov. 9th HCMC to Loc An Resort 69 km

I think we were all glad to realize that we can manage the heat and the wind on the first day. It took us two hours to weave the 60 km out of the sprawling city to our starting point: the bicycle riding would be poor if we came on the route out that we took in the two Mercedes minivans. But we got started around 10 am on a fine secondary road. With stops for cold water and wet wipes and cashew rice cracker snacks, it quickly got hotter and more sultry as we rode. The second hour into lunch at only the 26 km mark it started to get very hot and everyone was soaked in sweat and flushed. Lunch was in a roadside half-open tiled room and consisted of bitter melon soup, mystery cooked vegetables, grilled skewered pork, white rice, and roasted chicken. We saw brown rice drying along the roadside and Chau (our local guide) explained that the extra-nutrient brown rice is only eaten by children aged 3 to 7 years old, especially males. Wind picked up from the north (the prevailing winter wind) as we neared the coast and clouds were gathering as we pulled into a beautiful resort at the mouth of river around 3 pm. Sunburnt despite sunblock, I crashed after a shower for 90 minutes to recover.

We passed several rubber plantations with cuts in the bark to release the gum into pails. The trees can be harvested about 17 times and then they are cut down and made into furniture. Chau also mentioned a grisly story of a nearby jungle memorial to the death of 17 (same number somehow) Aussie and Kiwi troops from a battle in June 1968: 2000 Viet Cong were surrounded and slaughtered as well.

Monday, Nov. 8, Saigon

Hello at last from Saigon.

We are all here now except for Les who has been riding around on a rented motorcycle since the beginning of the week and who will join us at last this afternoon. Last night we finally met up with Doug and Gala who have been exploring the districts of Saigon on their tandem for the past few days.

The traffic has been interesting to participate in as a pedestrian and to observe from the safety of a bus. There are very few bicycles here; I would guess the ratio of motorcycles to bicycles is 500 to1 and for cars it might be 50 to 1. The traffic flows in its own way and we have to flow with it....no stopping or expecting anyone to stop for you!

Most of us went on the ½ day city tour on Saturday. Paul and Nancy from Ottawa arrived in time to participate. The War Remnants Museum brought home the tragedy of Vietnam's history, particularly during the last half of the 20^th century. The surprise for me was that the US was so involved financially in supporting the French occupation of Vietnam during the forties and early fifties. Then the US got involved in supporting the South against the North until 1975. The tragedy was very apparent in the photographs. Heavy stuff.....perhaps one-sided but the suffering did happen on both sides. Then we walked out into the heaviest of downpours.....ponchos blossomed everywhere, on the motorcycles and on the tourists! Happily we were in a dry bus for the trip to Notre Dame Cathedral and then in the bus across the street to the Post Office.....our feet go soaked though as currents were flowing on the sidewalks and streets.

On Sunday we had an early start for the 1 ½ hour drive through the suburbs of Saigon to Cu Chi Tunnels with a stop at a rubber tree plantation. The process of securing the latex reminded us of the tapping of maple trees back home, except that the bark is stripped to make the liquid flow. It is collected from the bowls every two days. As we continued on our way we never seemed to get into countryside; the two lane road had virtually end to end shops/homes along the way.

The Cu Chi Tunnels were more interesting than many of us thought they would be. Among the many highlights were: Dawn, Eleanor and Nancy crawling the furthest through the tunnels; learning how “found” materials were used to make weapons, sandals, traps, etc; and realizing how ingenious this tunnel system was for its purpose. We also learned how rice paper wraps for spring rolls were made, and saw bottles of rice wine containing geckos, scorpions or snake parts. We saw a cashew fruit on the tree and were told that each fruit (about the size of a pear) grows one cashew nut!

On the way back to Saigon we stopped for lunch at a restaurant built on an island in the middle of a river containing many water hyacinths. We had persuaded our guide to stop at a lacquer ware factory and she chose to take us to one that was set up to provide work for handicapped people. We saw 6 or 7 at work on the art pieces. The process is very involved and painstaking; egg and duck shells are glued on and then carefully split into tiny pieces with the tip of sharp knife or sea shells are cut to shape, then attached to the wood. The images created with this process and sometimes some paint are quite beautiful. Many of us said how we now appreciate lacquer ware and in fact bought some. Eleanor and Sharon bought some beautiful pieces.

While most of us were on the tour Robin, Dan and Paddy further explored the city in a search for a dressmaking shop (Paddy ordered a silk suit made for her 100 year old mother....it sounds lovely), an art gallery, and the Ben Thanh Market. Brendan spent the day with Jadine before she left for her own non-cycling adventure in Vietnam.

Our guides for both tours were lovely young Vietnamese ladies who spoke quite fluent English. In fact, Van spoke with an Australian accent without ever having been in Australia! Both Van and Cat were accommodating and lots of fun for us.

The food in Vietnam is different, of course, but we have found it to be healthy and quite delicious and very inexpensive by North American standards. We have had pho (noodle soup), spring rolls two ways, banh xeo (giant crepe), bun (vermicelli), com (fried rice), banana flower salad, etc. Beer (333 or Tiger) is cheap, fruit drinks are readily available and the wine (Dang Dalat) is quite vinegary but grows on you.

We could spend more time here but this afternoon we will be assembling and/or fitting our bikes in preparation for our start tomorrow. We are expecting heavy rain at 3 pm each day, based on our experience in Saigon. But we are adventurers and will have fun!

Doug and Gala Sly, two other riders in the group, are also keeping a personal blog for the trip: http://www.crazyguyonabike.com/doc/pedaltour2010

News from Group 1

Hi,

I just read the George's blog entry for Group 1 in Vietnam. Aside from a description of the tour they took he described two separate attempts, fortunately fouled by the alert members, by the local pickpockets. So, we will be even more vigilant now.

Yvonne