Day 6 - Back on the bikes

Today was a relatively short 40km day on the bikes. Remember that those 40km involved unsealed and semi-sealed roads, darting in between chickens and dogs and kids and motorbikes and cars and trucks. Relaxing! To quote Claire, another rider in the group, we have worked out the Vietnamese system of horns approaching from behind. A log, loud horn means, 'I am a truck and if you don't move, I am going to kill you'. A short, sharp horn means, 'I am a motorcycle and if you do move, I am going to kill you'.

We visited the memorial at the site of the My Son massacre. It is so sobering to be reminded of the atrocities of war. And yet the Vietnamese are such beautiful people and don't seem to harbour any resentment. There was a particularly wonderful installation among the canals at the site. Set in the concrete are imprints of soldiers boots, the bare feet of the Vietnamese villagers, and of bike tracks, depicting the soldiers entering the village and the people trying to run away. It was heartwrenching to see the remains of houses where the boots went in and only the boots came out- an iamge that will live with me forever.