Cycling Vietnam.2

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Vietnam Blog #1
I left Melbourne a little late for an 8hr flight to Kuala Lumpur (KL) and I’m sure that I would have enjoyed the trip had my seat not been frozen in the almost upright position and my in-flight entertainment been working. Now I know why I like to fly Singapore Air because I’ll be reluctant to fly Malaysia Air again.

Having previously only been through KL at night, the 4hr stopover in gave me an opportunity to see the early sun struggle through a thick haze. The forecast smogometre scale indicated only a sickly yellow colour so I’d hate to be around if it got to red.

From KL it was only a 2hr hop to Ho Chi Minh City (old Saigon), a huge city of massive contradiction. The traffic is horrendous though surprisingly disciplined (in an undisciplined sort of way). Thankfully motor scooters/bikes outnumber cars by a zillion to one otherwise nothing would move at all. And surprisingly, all riders wear helmets by law, the only exception being the few kamikazes riding push bikes.

The first time crossing the road as a pedestrian takes some guts but experiences (in particular) in Casablanca and Istanbul has left me with some expertise in this regard. It’s a matter of looking straight ahead, ignoring the barrage of blasting horns and everyone goes around you – at least they have so far.

My first dinner in Saigon (the locals still call it by it’s original name) was at a typical sidewalk eatery. I thought that I’d be safe with the satay chicken and rice but hours later my lips were still tingling. Certainly the sauce was a lot hotter than what typically comes out of a bottle in Oz by a factor of ten. Disappointingly though, even in good bars, the red wine is mostly served cold straight from the fridge, so it looks like Tiger beer is the go for the next few weeks.

The first few days I opted for several solo one-day tours rather than a boat trip down the Mekong River. These tours were packed with interesting local culture and at 225,000 dong ($A11.75), including a fabulous lunch and several fruit stops, was great value. It’s certainly cheap travelling here and I can understand why the majority of tourists appear to be university students of kids on their ‘gap year’.

It’s strange however coming to a country which was ravaged by war up until the mid 1970’s and not see a single gun anywhere. Not even the police carry firearms whereas most other countries I’ve visited guns are obvious on just anyone wearing even a vague uniform. Cleansing the community of weapons was the government's attempt to overcome potential tribal and gang warfare after the post-war reunification of north and south Vietnam, giving the world a picture of stability in this struggling nation. Places like Vietnam used to be called ‘3rd world countries’ but now, with political correctness, they’re referred to as ‘developing economies’. And developing is what Vietnam is doing like there's no tomorrow.

There are two groups doing basically the same trip but in my group there are five frsimilar thiHad a short ride to check out the bikes and survived the humidity okay. The reaction from the locals is great with many children waving excitedly as we rode by. It's a much different reception than the indifferent one you get when arriving at a destination in a tourist bus! Ciao for now.

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Photos

Canoeing on the Mekong
I know, there's that bloody hat again.

Local boys
These boys appeared when we stopped for drinks. They are showing their koalas and kangaroos I give to the kids on the trips.

The local beer
Tiger beer is the main local brew and very good too; especially after cycling for 60-70kms in 35+ temp and a million % humidity.