My Kingdom for a Knife

On Thursday the 16th Feb we left the cool mountain town of Da Lat. Unfortunately, we arrived too late to see the town and then left too early the next morning. Covering a country from south to north is a big challenge and means very long days and a tight schedule. We are on the bus by 7 most mornings. Although we cycle many kms, there are also some long stretches on the bus to move us from place to place. When we’re cycling there are drink/snack breaks every 15 to 20 kms. Some of the stronger cyclists don’t need the rest but many in the group have been very challenged by the terrain, heat and pace of riding. On Thursday, we had a 30 km descent down from the mountains. The cyclist in front of me flew off of his bike after hitting a particularly deep pothole. He didn’t “stick the landing “ and knocked himself out cold in the middle of the road. I managed to avoid him and the pothole. Fortunately, we have a recently retired firefighter from Glasgow in the group who was behind me and he quickly organized us to move the fellow safely while Mike and some others stopped traffic. He finely came to but was pretty scrapped up and our bus took him to hospital. He is back with us now with stitches and a concussion but otherwise in good spirits. A reminder that these trips are not risk free and steep down hills are really scary.
WE had a rest day on Whale Island off of the coast in little bungalows. It was relaxing and I managed an ocean swim, a hike and some reading. Unfortunately, Mike ate something that gave him a reaction. Probably some cross-contamination. Yesterday the group had a gruelling 100km. Mike stayed on the bus as he wasn’t up to any cycling given his tummy. He’s better now and rode today and enjoyed a beer with the group.
Over the past few days we’ve enjoyed much more pleasant cycling with cooler temps (27C) although it’s always humid. The terrain is pretty and we’ve been riding through small villages,rice paddies. There are many things on the roads - besides potholes - like rice drying, hay drying, cows, dogs, children, pigs, vendors, chickens crossing the road. ( I know your humour Jon, you’re going to ask me WHY DID the chicken cross the road?) The children all wave and yell “ hello, hello”. A few even venture “ what’s your name?” All Vietnamese school children study English from the age of 6. The country is still a fully communist country but the economic orientation is clearly towards the west. Lam explained that until the economic reforms in 1986 called Doi Moi, there was little access to luxury goods and even staples. The adoption of a market economy changed that and many companies like Toyota, Nissan moved in. The education standard is high here and, not surprisingly, like most educated populations, the birthrate is falling precipitously. Agriculture is more mechanized although we saw many individuals toiling in the fields with rudimentary implements. And every manner of thing gets moved by scooter!! I saw a refrigerator on a scooter today but couldn’t stop in time to get a picture.
The food has been quite good, once I got over my fear of fresh. Like in China, everything is cut up to be chopstick ready. The flavours tend more towards pungent and fish sauces and there are plenty of chili sauces ready to be used. I love the Pho served with fresh basil and lime. Rice is plentiful. Hotel breakfasts are more challenging and I still haven’t figured out how to spread butter on my toast with a chopstick. Knives are in short supply. Today we road another 50km and tonight we are in the beautiful ancient city of Hoi An which we will explore tomorrow. Tonight we dropped our laundry bags in the lobby and a lady on a scooter whisked them away. We hope to see our clothes back tomorrow afternoon. Evidently costs 2 dollars per kilo. That’s the news from here. Hope our NZ bound friends are safe.
Love Heather/ Mom / GrandmaRead more