http://www.travelblog.org/Bloggers/JustaRide/ Travel adventures in journals and photos from JustaRide en-us Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:09:55 UTC Fri, 05 Dec 2008 16:09:55 UTC Thursday November 16th Monday November 27th 3220 KM to date After a few wrong turns and innumerable curse words I wheeled into Hoi An late blinded by bus lights and searching for potholes in the dark. Sitting in a low lying coastal area Hoi An was one of a number of unlucky cities to be pounded by successive storms and devastating floods over the past month. Less than a week before I r http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Laos/South/Savannakhet/blog-224156.html Monday November 5th Thursday November 16th 2907 KM to date Crossing the bridge leading out of Nha Trang I spot the red outline of an ancient Cham tower. I want to stop but I feel the urge to push forth break out of Nha my escape for good. It's been a long time since I've been in the saddle. A hill leads me up and sweeps me down to coastline in the early morning sun. Fisherman stand g http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Hoi-An/blog-221158.html Friday October 24th Monday November 5th 2235.4 KM to date If you pull out an atlas or take a look at a map of Vietnam you may notice that the physical geography of the country is comparable to that of a dog bone or as the locals like to say 'A bamboo pole with rice baskets hanging from its ends.' From the ricebowl of the Mekong Delta along the long and narrow coastline to the redriver http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-218651.html Wednesday October 17th Thursday October 23rd 2235.4 KM to date Music to suit the mood right A song for every occasion or is that gift With a blanket of smog and chaotic traffic taking me east out of Ho Chi Minh City Tom Waits was the only artist that seemed to make sense. I turned my headphones loud until I could feel only the rumble of the trucks passing and pedalled through the http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Vietnam/South-Central-Coast/Nha-Trang/blog-216532.html Wednesday October 10th Tuesday October 16th 1782.5 KM to date I didn't grow up during the Vietnam War. In fact it was more than twelve years after America's misadventures in Asia that I was even born. But like many a young man I was fully absorbed in movies like Apocalypse Now Deer Hunter Full Metal Jacket and Platoon. Such raw and uncompromising portrayals of war were as fascinat http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Vietnam/Southeast/Ho-Chi-Minh-City/blog-213072.html September 29th October 9th 1478.4 KM to dateThere are certainly things to see in Phonm Penh from the peaceful gardens of the Royal Palace to the haunting Tuol Sleng Genocide Museum and Killing Fields. But my attraction to the city lay in it's more sinister applications. In the ride throughout Cambodia I had been frequently passed by the honking horns of Lexus' and Rangerover's. I found i http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Vietnam/Mekong-River-Delta/Chau-Doc/blog-211160.html Monday September 17th Friday September 28thSiem Reap is a town that has an underlying charm to it with a quiet river flowing through and treelined boulevard's adding character to the streets. It's also a city experiencing a massive facelift in order to accommodate the millions of people flocking there each year to view and photograph some of mankind's most tremendous ruins leaving it mor http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Cambodia/South/Phnom-Penh/blog-206325.html Thursday September 13th Monday September 17thAs I sat quietly filling out the application form for my Cambodian visa I was patting myself on the back for making it to the border. My already inflated ego was given another boost when I saw a group of grumpy looking Westerner's pulling up in a van complaining about the bus service the visa scams the constant shaving of dollars from their po http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Cambodia/North/Siem-Reap/blog-205698.html Sunday September 9th Thursday September 13thAs the train rolls to a stop I grab my bags and with one last disappointed glance at the saffronrobed monk with a cigarette dangling from his lips deciding I'm not one to be giving lectures on will power and personal responsibility I jump from the train into the sleepy riverside town of BangpaIn.The reason I had decided to stop at BangpaIn rat http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Cambodia/North/Poipet/blog-203010.html Thursday September 6th Sunday September 9th 2007I arrive at the Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok at 1030 am on Thursday September 6th. I'm bleary eyed exhausted and still brooding over the 50 fee that Air Canada charged to ship my bike. But everything arrives in one piece and I make it through immigration unscathed so chin up I tell myself. I whisk my bike box and bag out the door a http://www.travelblog.org//Asia/Thailand/Central/Bangkok/blog-200720.html