Travelling through the hills on a bike....

The Vietnamese People

When I started researching our Southeast Asia stops, Vietnam worried me the most. The literature spoke of aggressive, unsmiling, hard people, pushy touts and scam artists.  We had been in Saigon, the Mekong Delta and Phu Quoc and met only friendly folks and the Central Highlands was the same.  As our bikes sped along the narrow and seemingly deserted roads, Owen’s rumbling engine would draw attention and kids would come running. At the ends of their yards or from doorways, they’d jump up and down waving and yelling hello. Adults would look up, I’d wave and they would smile and return the wave. There was no doubt that we drew stares but once I smiled, my watcher’s face would break into a delightfully warm grin. Often, we’d hear the hellos and shouts before we could see anyone so I’d throw up my hand in a wave, not knowing where they were. Owen was right; there were times I felt like a queen – waving continually.

Highland Cruisers

As we rode Tien took the lead and when we stopped, he was the one to show us the site.  Each stop was fairly quick - perfect for us. We took many breaks along the road just to walk, stretch our legs and give our butts a break. One stop was a silk farm and we were astonished to see the amount of silk threads being gently pulled, ever so slowly, from the cocoons. Once a spool of silk was full, it was spun and dried. The photo below shows the cocoons in the trough and if you look closely enough, you will see the threads of silk being extracted.

The ride continued through the hills and the scenery was beautiful. Our pit stop for a walk took place on a bridge overlooking a river. The homes are those of fishermen and their families.

As we waited on the bridge, a group of Vietnamese went by pulled by a tractor. I’ve been dying to get a photo of their tractors to show you as they are quite unique.  The engine is a tractor engine but it can be adjusted so that it pulls a load or pushes machines used in the rice fields.  Farmers can use their feet to drive these things on the road.

After this, we walked to the end of the bridge and met Owen and Tien who showed us our next road – it was slick red clay with large potholes. Currently two tractors were trying to get up the small hill to the highway but were slipping in the mud. Owen encouraged us to walk down the road and said they’d catch up to us so off we went. At the base of the hill, a couple were getting their wedding photos taken – the groom in his tux and the bride in her WHITE wedding dress standing on this muddy RED road. The groom called us over like we were old friends – we went, congratulating them as we did. A photo was taken, me beside the bride and Ian beside the groom. It was quite funny.

Many couples are getting married right now – we must have passed dozens of wedding receptions. With Vietnamese New Years (Tet) approaching, it’s an auspicious time. Marrying now means newly married couples can produce a baby for next year’s Tet.  As so many people cannot afford large weddings and reception halls are very expensive – open air restaurants are transformed. Colourful tent like appendages are added to the front to make the restaurant larger, to add privacy, and to beautify the place.

Ian and I continued down the road which to be honest, wasn’t one I was looking forward to travelling on. Owen and Tien arrived and away we went. Tien and Ian had no problem managing the slick clay and the potholes but Owen’s bike was too large and too heavy. A couple times I thought we were going down and I hoped I’d land in the brush at the side of the road rather than in the red clay in my white jacket. We had no choice but to move slowly so I wasn’t worried about getting hurt. It was very rough going and there was a lot of slipping and sliding. Owen almost dumped the bike but his feet stopped it from completely falling over. It did however lean enough for me to slide off. I was fine, but that was it for Owen. We would not be continuing down the road.

Ian and I walked back to meet Owen and Tien at the highway. The road we had just left apparently led to a great scenic drive and to Tien’s sister’s house where we’d be stopping for a visit. I didn’t know what I was missing so I was glad to be back on the highway.  It looked like rain so we donned rain gear.

Lunch that day was on a hilltop at a huge open restaurant filled with metal tables and stools. The floor was absolutely covered in filth – napkins, scraps, etc. Staff wipe everything left on the tables onto the floor and at the end of the day sweep and hose down the floor. Efficient but doesn’t keep the flies away. Lunch consisted of several shared dishes and everything was cold. I picked at the food – nothing really appealed to me – still, it was better than dog meat offered at quite a few restaurants we passed.

We soon made it to Lak Lake where we’d spend the night. We made our way to the top of a hill to Bao Dai Villa.

It had a fantastic view but that’s about all it had going for it. I believe we were the only couple staying there – the room was incredibly basic and the bed rock hard – not something you want when your butt is sore from riding a bike all day. I tried to take a shower but the water went everywhere so I gave up. There were dirty handprints on walls, exposed wires and by Ian’s side of the bed, a section of broken floorboards left a nice sized hole!

Owen had said he was picking us up by taxi so I dressed for that – imagine my surprise when I saw the bikes (my butt wasn’t too happy – ouch!). We were headed to a local’s house for a dinner of duck and pork. I didn’t have the heart to tell Owen that neither Ian nor myself ate duck – I just hoped there was something else I could eat.  Hien the owner was pleasant and met us with smiles. We sat down in tiny plastic chairs around a low table to a dinner of spring rolls, rice, the pork and duck and low and behold - cauliflower and broccoli. I can’t remember the last time I’d had cauliflower and broccoli! I nibbled some rice, ate a few spring rolls and of course, the veggies.  Hien, Tien and Owen noticed the amount of food I ate, which was very little, but that was all I could manage.

There was another couple who joined us but we had no idea who they were – I don’t think we were ever introduced. They were drinking rice wine out of a bag (moonshine).

I remembered rice wine from when we lived in Korea so I wasn’t interested in any of it. I was glad that Owen had found us a ride back in a car so we could leave when we were ready. I was exhausted so we had a fairly early night. Unfortunately, sleep proved a challenge as it was so cold in the room and all we had was a sheet and thin blanket. I just kept adding clothes until finally I was warm enough.

We woke up to a bright sunny day and rainbows.

Breakfast was back at Hien’s house where we had omelettes and baguettes. Down the road, tourists could ride elephants if they wished but Ian and I had done that long ago and were not keen. It was interesting eating breakfast with elephants walking close enough that we could reach out and touch them.

After breakfast we went for a walk in the village of the Mang people (I think that’s right). The lane went to a large lake that provided fishing opportunities for the locals and was lined on either side with long houses. Houses had small pigs with babies and the animals roamed quite freely.

We got back on the bikes and headed out towards what looked like rain…..

The view was amazing and it easily distracted me from the possibility of getting wet.

Central Highlands of Vietnam

Short note:

Still having loads of problems with the internet and no access. We're now in the Phillipines diving and have finally gotten to a place with decent internet. I have three posts ready to add to the blog so expect a short turnaround!!!! Hope everything is well....

Biking in Vietnam

In my research of Vietnam, I continually came across comments about Easyriders, a company that offers motorbike tours. As Ian and I both ride bikes back home, I had dreams of riding motorcycles on the Ho Chi Minh trail in Vietnam, but the more research I did, the less this seemed possible. Traffic, as I’ve mentioned before, is unlike anything I’ve seen and I do not understand the rules of the road. Quite often buses pass slow moving trucks despite traffic coming towards them and I did not want to play chicken with a bus.  As well, bikes often drive the wrong way down roads, round-a- bouts are an insane chaotic mess and the roads themselves are not always in the best shape. On top of all this, I didn’t know which company to trust – the reviews were sometimes poor of both the guides and the tours themselves. I therefore set this dream aside.

We were flying to Dalat, a resort town in the Central Highlands then making our way to the coast up to Nha Trang, Hoi An and Danang. Dalat is a 40 minute flight, or 7 hour bus ride, from HCMC. It was discovered by a European in 1893 and the French visited there soon after to escape the heat of Saigon. The area is now the honeymoon capital for the Vietnamese, it is both chilly and pretty.

I was researching some places to stay in Nha Trang when I came across a review of Tide Hotel. The woman who wrote the review mentioned the hotel owner’s blog so I paid it a visit. Owen, the hotel owner is Canadian and low and behold, he also did motorcycle tours. Needless to say, I sent off an email and he responded quickly to say he’d be glad to work out a tour for us. A list of pros and cons of riding our own bikes was shared. I had already decided to be a passenger but Ian, who has ridden a bike since he was 12, was understandably keen to give it a go. Then Owen mentioned insurance and the impossibility of Ian getting coverage. Not only that, but Ian would be so busy watching the roads he wouldn’t get to relax and enjoy the scenery. I left the decision to Ian and his mature responsible side (haha) decided to be a passenger (and he whined about it the whole trip).

After many emails, we decided on a 5 day tour of the highlands starting at Dalat and ending in Danang. Although our tour didn’t officially begin till the 11^th, Owen offered to pick us up from the airport on the 10^th – which was handy as it was located 30 km from the city.

As Ian and I sat in the airport in HCMC waiting to board for Dalat, he suddenly realized the camera wasn’t in his side bag.  A quick call to Rex Hotel and a search of the room, revealed nothing so we were panicking. There were a few photos of Phu Quoc on there so that was somewhat disappointing.  We left our number hoping that it might turn up (perhaps in their coffee shop that we had visited before leaving). On route to Dalat, we figured it was gone and we made plans to buy a new one.

As promised, Owen and Tien were waiting outside the tiny Dalat airport. Owen is a bald burly looking fellow while Tien is a slight Vietnamese. They greeted us warmly and went to retrieve their bikes. Owen drives a 400cc ‘Harley USA’ a bike made in Malaysia (clearly copied from Harley Davidson) with a backrest and a ‘throne’ seat with extra padding that gave passengers some height. As I was the shorty, I’d be riding with Owen.

Tien drove, well, we're not entirely sure; the frame was a KTM but the engine was a Suzuki 125 and he had a Ducati sticker on his gas tank. It proved a sturdy capable bike that could handle the Vietnam roads easily.

We told Owen about our camera and he kindly lent us his until we bought a new one. The guys secured our bags with cords and off we went. The ride was smooth and Owen's bike, although loud, didn’t vibrate like many American Harleys (what a relief!).  Early in the drive, Owen hit a pothole and I went flying out of my seat clearing 10inches (or at least that’s what it felt like) so that was interesting. Otherwise, the air was cool and it was great moving up into the hills on smooth curvy roads.  Overall, I felt relaxed and at ease.

The bikes pulled into the parking lot of Datanla Falls that was on route to Dalat. Visitors could either climb down the hill to the falls, or ride a bobsled down a windy elevated metal track.

We opted for the bobsled and what a blast. You could control the speed easily and the ride wasn’t nearly long enough.  It was great fun.

The falls were quite lovely. As it was later in the day, visitors were at a minimum but we did have to wait awhile to get over the bridge as one woman performed pose after pose after pose as her partner took photos of her.  It’s a common thing here….

Our journey up was by bobsled and wasn’t nearly as fun as going down. The sled was pulled straight up like a roller coaster cresting a hill. We loaded up on the bikes again and the boys soon dropped us off at our hotel with an offer to meet later for dinner. This is the view from our hotel.

Ian and I settled into our room and soon received a phone call from the Rex. They found our camera; it had sat all day on the table where we had had coffee.  Luckily we were returning to HCMC so we could pick it up then. In the meantime, we’d ask Owen if we could continue using his camera.

Dalat was really chilly and it would be worse travelling on the roads on a bike so I needed to buy something warm. Owen and Tien met us as scheduled and we headed to the market in town where we followed Owen to the second floor of a building which he called a real Vietnamese food court. Small areas serving as make shift kitchens were set up and we found a metal table and some stools. As we sat down, a movement out of the corner of my eye caught my attention and I saw a rat run across the floor. Of course my impulse was to say something by why bother – this was just part of Asia. Ian and I ordered chicken pho and it was delicious, the noodles were amazingly fresh – best pho I’d had yet. We offered to buy the dinner since Owen and Tien had been kind enough to pick us up and 4 drinks and meals came to about 7 dollars. Crazy.

After dinner we headed to the market to look for a coat. I wasn’t expecting much since the Vietnamese, like most Asians, are tiny but the first coat I tried on fit. Unfortunately it was white – not the best colour for a bike trip – but the price was right. One dollar. It was used but looked brand new and since I’d only be wearing it for a few days – it was perfect. A pair of one dollar (new) gloves and I was all set.

Our night was quiet despite being in a room in the front and Owen and Tien were there at 9am to pick us up. Our bags were wrapped in plastic and secured to the bikes and I was bundled up in my winter coat and gloves. 

First stop was Cremaillere Railway Station built in the 40s but closed since 1964 because of VC attacks. It was a pretty little station with a couple of railway cars, one that still runs along a short section of track. Following this, we headed to a cable car that runs along a 2.5 km wire over pine forests to Truc Lam Pagoda. It was a lovely ride offering some splendid views. 

The pagoda centre is quite spacious and has wonderful views of Tuyen Lam Lake. The grounds are covered in beautiful gardens with a variety of colourful flowers and trees that have been coaxed into magnificent patterns.

I
an and I took our time here and at one point, sat quietly on a bench taking in the views.

We then headed to Hang Nga Crazy House. This house has been featured in many architectural magazines and I’ve come across its photo several times so I was excited to see it for myself. I was surprised to find that it was situated right in town and not out in the country as it seems to be in magazines. Lonely Planet describes it as a ‘free - wheeling architectural exploration in surrealism’ and you can see for yourself, they hit the nail on the head.

It has 9 rooms all of which are decorated in a very bizarre fashion. Rooms have ceiling mirrors over beds, disturbing scary animal statues with glowing red eyes, and beds built into cubby holes. Note the ‘tree’ to the left of this photo and the large ant crawling up it.

Each room is named after an animal or plant and the entire structure seems organic and maze-like.  You never know when you’ll happen upon a room. The swirly part in this bathroom is the shower.

You’d never find stairs like this in Canada – it might not be obvious but they are quite high, narrow, steep, and some areas have very low sides. I watched one woman go down the stairs by her bum. This would never meet building code in our country.

The owner of this hotel is Mrs Dang Viet Nga who holds a PhD in architecture from Moscow. The goal behind the building was to entice people back to nature. Rooms go from 40 to 120 a night and I had briefly thought of staying here…after seeing the rooms up close, I was glad I had changed my mind. It really is an odd crazy place.

I couldn’t help but note many quaint French colonial villas lining the streets of Dalat. There are some very pretty areas in Dalat and I could see why someone would want to spend time there.

We headed out and onto the open roads of Vietnam.

Welcoming in the New Year

Blogging

You may have noticed that I haven’t updated my blog posts for a while…well, there are a few reasons for this. One, the internet hasn’t always been the best. Second, we just finished a motorcycle tour of the Central Highlands (as passengers) and it was exhausting let me tell you! And lastly, we left our camera in HCMC (I will explain later) and couldn’t post till I had the photos….Now that I have the camera, I am playing catchup.

New Years in Bangkok

Yes, we went back. It was a vacation from our vacation. The Air Asia flight was inexpensive and we found a fantastic hotel for 55 dollars with a COMFY king sized bed, huge pillows, separate tub and shower, and it was QUIET!!! It was a super location close to all our favourites – Au Bon Pain with yummy cappuccinos, the Emporium with movies and Asia Herb Association for massages…We ate bread, peanut butter and fruit in the room opting out of the hotel breakfast.

Almost every day we went to a movie – all big Hollywood blockbusters because that’s what you find here. I got my hair dyed and cut at a place a lot cheaper than my last cut (same colour) – and we found Keens shoes so Ian could replace his stolen ones!! Both pairs of shoes that were made in Cambodia have been left in hotel rooms so hopefully they have found good homes. In Bangkok, we've enjoyed good food and the comfort of a good hotel and spent many a day lazing about doing very little. The weather has been about 34 degrees but surprisingly I’m not noticing the heat as much, I think the humidity must be down.

Phu Quoc, Vietnam

We flew into HCMC and stayed one night as we had an early flight out the next morning. The flight to Phu Quoc from Saigon was 70 dollars each return and was booked through Saigon Tourist. Phu Quoc is only 15 km from Cambodia and Cambodians claim it as theirs - for this reason, there is a large military presence on the island. The island is about 50 km long and is the largest island in Vietnam.

Our accommodation picked us up at the airport and it was a short ride to Hiep Thanh Resort. Our lodgings turned out to be very basic but for 45 dollars on the beach, what could one expect? The bed is much harder than we’d like but the a/c works and there’s hot water so that’s a plus. We’ve got two days of diving booked with Rainbow Divers so it’s probably a good thing accommodation is cheap.

The beach is quite lovely and so incredibly quiet. The water is warm and clean with sand underneath our feet; no rocks, no seaweed, no coral.

We grabbed a couple of sun beds and lazed about reading and swimming. A nice surprise was catching the sunset right from our sun chair.

We cleaned up and grabbed a taxi to Rainbow Divers to fill out our paperwork and show them our SSI certification.  Everyone was friendly and made us feel welcome and comfortable. Ian asked for a recommendation on a place to eat and we headed out on the road, walking, to Hop Inn. The food turned out to be only mediocre but it was inexpensive. We walked back (should have taken a cab but Ian loves  to walk) and made our way tentatively down the bumpy poorly lit path to our hotel with me only twisting my ankle once.

Our night was absolutely silent – another plus. We were up early for our 7:45 pick up. Breakfast was okay – eggs again (ugh) and baguette. I can’t say I am a fan of the Vietnamese coffee. It’s really sweet and strong – I hate sugar with my coffee as it is. I’ll stick with tea. The van arrived and in it were a father (Steven) and his son 11 year old son (Noah). They were Chinese from Malaysia but Noah had only been educated in International schools so both spoke fluent English and Noah seemed more American than Asian. Noah talked up a storm for the entire two days – to anyone who would listen to him.  He was already a certified diver and his dad was taking the open water course.

The van soon filled up and we headed to the dock. The boat was large with the bottom level having benches, tables and a Western toilet – the top deck had another table with benches and several sun chairs. The boat headed north for Turtle Island where we would dive with Nicolas, DM, and Marty, an Australian Vietnamese dive master in training. 

The crew was extremely professional, I was most impressed. We had our equipment checked so many times I couldn’t help but feel secure; and for once, we put on our fins first rather than last. I would rather waddle in fins then try to lean over with all that gear on trying to get them on.  My weights were 6 kg so I was happy with that. Entrance was off the back of the boat and was giant stride.

The dive was okay – again the visibility wasn’t the greatest. Plenty of small marine life kept us interested: fusiliers, basslets, gobies, nudebranch, etc. The coral was fantastic: feather, barrel, mushroom, leaf…and we did see a giant puffer fish about half the size of me. We hovered and looked at it for some time from the side and then it turned to face us as if it were going to take off.

After about 54 minutes with a max. depth of 9m, we surfaced and entered up the back of the boat with equipment on. Again, the crew was ready to help us. We had a snack of fruit and rested while the boat moved to our next location, Nudebranch Garden.  I put on my equipment and did my checks but noticed I only had 90 bars of air in my tank – which was what I had when I finished my first dive. They had forgotten to put on a full tank – no worries, a new tank was added quickly.

Everything went smoothly again; with less weights, I do find it a bit difficult to descend and end up having to turn around to swim headfirst rather than descend feet first, but it’s all good. Our second dive lasted 56 minutes and was a maximum depth of 8m. We won’t be diving too deep on these dives but that means more time in the water.  The deeper you go the more air it takes and you end up with much shorter dives.

We saw more or less the same marine life but did see the tiniest sting ray lying on the sand, tail moving slowly back and forth.  After our dive, lunch was served on the boat and consisted of rice, soup, mixed veggies, etc. I picked at my food but Ian ate plenty. The ride back to the island went quickly and we were back at our hotel around 3:00. We were so tired, it was incredible – I ended up crashing for a couple hours while Ian worked on the computer.

Our second day, pick up was 7:15 because we were heading south and it took a few hours to get there. Today we were diving with Lauren, a Canadian who learned how to dive in B.C., and Mitch, another DM in training. There were 4 in our group and the descent went as well as yesterday.  

Anemone Cove had poor visibility of about 2 to 3 metres so I had to keep close to Ian so I wouldn’t lose him. It’s hard to see far without my glasses so when there’s poor visibility, I often can’t see the DM and totally rely on Ian to lead the way. I need to get a prescription mask. Anemone (coral) meant clown fish and who doesn’t love Nemo?. I saw a vibrant blue tilefish that was cleaning another fish and a small triggerfish.

At one point during the dive, I suddenly started going up and had a really hard time coming down. Lauren saw me so I did the trouble sign and pointed to my weights – she came over, did something to my gear and I sank back down – it was really strange. Then about 10 minutes later, the same thing happened and Mitch pointed to my BC to deflate but that was weird since I hadn’t put any air in my jacket but I gave it a go anyways – some came out but not much. Mitch came over and released a bunch of air out of my jacket using the release valves. I was very perplexed since I had not added any air to my BC jacket and couldn’t figure out why I couldn’t release it on my own. That was solved by Mitch who said sometimes the air release hose gets twisted and you need to lean to the side to get it straight.

 Later on the boat, Lauren said she was switching my jacket because she figured it must be self-inflating – and that turned out to be exactly what was happening.  She has also released air through the vents and that was how I’d sunk. Good lesson to learn for me – next time I’ll know to try releasing air even if I hadn’t put any air in, just in case the jacket was filling up on its own.

Like yesterday, we ate some fruit and rehydrated while the boat moved to this lovely rock island called Bat Island.  Once rested, we easily exited the boat and Lauren told us to hold onto the anchor line as there was a current.  After everyone was in the water she wanted us to move to the front of the boat – against the current.  Everyone leaned back and kicked with their fins but the current was so strong, we barely moved.  It was exhausting and being out of shape – we were quickly panting; not something you want when you’re about to dive because you’ll quickly use up all your air.

Lauren realized this and sent us back to the anchor line where we rested a little before descending.  Descent went fine, visibility was again 2 – 3 m so not great. The dive however wasn’t bad – when the sun came out, we saw colourful coral and lots of tiny fish.  Lauren showed us a tiny bamboo shark with its head hiding beneath the coral but the rest of its body was visible. There was an interesting long fish that was quite flat and blended into the coral that we hovered over – it might have been a puffer fish (that wasn’t ‘puffed’) or a scorpion fish – we couldn’t find it any of our books. Identifying fish is incredibly difficult especially when they can change so completely as they mature and develop and usually the only photos you have are of adult fish.

A decent current carried us along easily. Our maximum depth was 12 m and our dive time was 55 min. Lunch followed the dive and we headed for home. I had a plugged ear and was having a hard time hearing, but other than that, all was well.

Ian and I went upstairs to sit in the sun. Ian laid back to listen to music and I tried napping. Noah was making a nuisance of himself by speaking out of turn and trying to be funny with a couple beside me; I could tell he was bored. After they ignored him for awhile, he made his way over to me and talked up a storm. I asked him tons of questions to keep him engaged and it helped pass the time. He told me all about a school trip to Dalat, his youtube postings, and a ‘shooting’ party using BB guns at his friend Josh’s house.  He was so happy to have someone listen to him and in all honesty, it was kind of fascinating to hear how an 11 year old spends his time.

The boat came up to dock around 5pm and with our log books filled, Ian and I headed back to our room for hot showers and some dinner.

The following two days we were absolutely lazy – sunning, swimming, reading, playing cards and catching more sunsets.

The weather was great, the water lovely, the beach quiet and clean….Sea lice were out in full force a couple of times and they bit me fiercely, especially along the seams of my swimsuit. I now have a beautiful rash from all the bites, and my ear is still plugged. I am so deaf.

Our flight back to HCMC was quick and it was brilliant seeing the massive Mekong laid out beneath us.

We were at the famous Rex Hotel by 10am. Surprisingly the room was available early and we settled in for our one night’s stay.  The room isn’t fancy but the bed is soft and it’s quiet.

Saigon has really grown on me – I quite like it here.

Ben Tre, Mekong Delta

I’m not sure why I decided to go to Ben Tre. It’s not a spot that tourists typically go. I found some good reviews for Oasis Hotel owned by a Kiwi and thought it would be neat to go to a smaller town in the Mekong Delta where maybe we could rent some bikes to see the countryside.  Ian arranged $5 bus tickets for the short 1.5 hour ride and off we went. The small minivan that served as a bus was fine and the ride uneventful. Ben Tre was far larger than I had imagined, so much for being in a small town! We were dropped off and then loaded into taxis to be taken to the hotel – all part of the ticket price.

The Oasis was located on the other side of the river so it was quiet (except of course for the roosters). This is a view of the hotel from the river – you can see that Ken, the owner, is an All Blacks fan.

Phuong, one the staff, showed us our room and later we were greeted by Ken. His family was visiting for the xmas holidays so he was a busy guy. The hotel wasn’t anything special – it was clean, rooms spacious and had a pool. I never used it though as a family with 4 children took over the entire place. I kid you not. There was an area with hammocks and tables and chairs but this family of 6 spread out and took over everything, leaving us to eat our breakfast off to the side; very awkward.

But I am jumping ahead. First order of business for us was lunch. Phuong told us about a restaurant close by and we headed down a narrow cement path into the bush. It was hard to believe this would lead us to a restaurant but it did indeed. Lunch was disappointing and an average price. We took a different route back to the hotel and at this point, Ian wasn’t feeling so great so he napped and I met with Phuong to learn about some tours.

After having a not so great trip on the Mekong, I decided to book a trip along the canals and tributaries of the Mekong and skip the biking. The tour would include an English guide, lunch, all transfers, etc. and it would just be Ian and I.  So the next morning after an okay breakfast (no juice or fresh fruit – eggs, eggs or eggs) we met our guide and walked 50 metres down the road to where we boarded our boat.

Boarding boats has become something Ian and I have done all too frequently and the manner of boarding has taken all forms. This one involved walking along a narrow board stretched out from the riverbank to a large cargo boat – maybe 7 feet. Then we had to step down from the cargo boat (which was taking on bags of fertilizer from a truck - they stopped to let us pass) onto our smaller boat. We met our ‘captain’ and settled into very comfortable chairs. Our guide had a thick accent and was often hard to understand but he was extremely knowledgeable and pointed out many things along our route.

Our first stop was a brick factory.

Seems strange to visit such a place but it was actually pretty interesting.  Clay is delivered by long boat and all bricks are turned out by hand on a primitive machine. Bricks are then stacked in the sun until there are enough to be placed in the kilns. Each of the 7 kilns can hold 100,000 bricks. The fire is fuelled with rice husks and piles wait beneath shelter where birds searched for termites.

Bricks are left in the kiln for 20 days under temperatures of 1400 degrees.  Fires are built at the entranceway which is then sealed off. Rice husks are shovelled in through a metal sled and the design of the kilns is such that they pull the fire into the entire kiln. After 20 days, a small hole is made into the entranceway to allow the heat to leave slowly and the bricks to cool.

We boarded the boat and headed to our next destination. On route, we went past this family home…

Our journey took us into a smaller canal past men fishing from small boats or standing along the river bank setting up their nets or catching crabs.

We pulled up to a dock and headed to a table set with fruit and jasmine tea with fresh honey.  This time there was a small bowl of chiles for us to dip our fruit into.

 A band played some local music for us and as usual we left some money.

The boat moved slowly down the river up to a coconut processing plant and Ian and I watched in awe as this man husked coconuts by hand. I’m including both photos so hopefully you can appreciate how this man is accomplishing this arduous task. There is a large metal spike pointing into the air. He quickly brings down the coconut onto the spike a couple times breaking the shell – he pulls it off and throws the husks to one side and the coconut to the other. He can husk hundreds of coconuts a day.

We then went for a short walk to a quiet garden where we had some fresh coconut juice. I was leery about this, having had coconut juice before and not liking it…however, this was fresh and tasted better. People love coconut juice and I have read that is very healthy for you – but I am still not a huge fan.  Both Ian and our guide finished theirs.

We headed back onto the boat and down a canal that looked similar to the rivers of Borneo….

This dock looked very unsafe and I was proven correct when the captain stepped onto it and the board almost fell off.  No one seemed worried and the guide stuck out his hand and told me to be careful as I got off the boat. We managed to disembark without incident and headed to a building where we would see how coconut candy was made.

Coconut meat is ground into a fine dust and then pressed for its milk. Sugar is added to the coconut milk, it is boiled and cooled and hardened. Each piece is wrapped in rice paper so if you can’t remove it, you can eat it. We bought some chocolate coconut candy for a dollar and were surprised by how many pieces we ended up with.

Our guide then led us to a couple of bikes and off we went down some narrow windy cement paths to watch a couple of women weaving sleeping mats.  They were incredibly fast.

It was lunchtime so we made our way to a riverside restaurant where we were served a 5 course meal of spring rolls, prawns steamed in coconut milk, do it yourself rice paper rolls with fish, catfish soup, pork, and jackfruit. The meal was delicious and filling. Unfortunately, during the entire meal I was getting bitten by sand flies. As soon as we sat down, I felt bites on my legs - which by the way, I had sprayed liberally with bug spray before we had left. All around us were tiny flying bugs and I knew they were sand flies. I ended up with over 50 bites on my legs; not pretty.

After lunch, we discovered the owner had a snake fish.  Having heard of this fish, I was excited to see if it actually looked like its namesake. You can see for yourself that it does indeed look snake-like.

Lunch over we climbed into a sampon and were taken on a short ride through the canals. They gave us these hats to wear and I have to say, they are a lot cooler than our cloth hats as they allow the air to circulate around your head.

You can’t tell by this photo but the woman who propelled us along the canal wasn’t young. We were thoroughly impressed with her strength and made sure to give her a tip.

Even with the bug bites, we had a brilliant day, a thoroughly enjoyable way to spend Christmas.