I can't believe the cycling part is over already. We started the day on the bus, heading into the hills. Then we rode through beautiful coffee and rubber plantations until we hit the roadworks!!! Today was advertised as an 80km day. However, given the 'dangers' created by the roadworks, the travel company hasn't ridden the 80km for five years!!! Time to update the brochure.
The roadworks were a terrible way to end what has been, overall (!), a beautiful component of the trip. We rode for 30 km in amongst horrendous traffic. An image I will never forget is riding up a hill between two merging steamrollers!
Overnight in Bien Ma Tout - coffee country. To Ho Chi Minh City, or Saigon, tomorrow before heading into the Mekong Delta.
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Friday, March 4, 2011
Day 7 - 100km!!!!
There is nothing more to say really, except, 'I did it'!!! When I called Gussy,before he even said hello he asked, 'How many ks today?' When I told him he said, 'Not bad for a girl!' When I asked him what he meant by that he said, 'Well, a boy could have done probably half a k more!' Clearly, Mummy needs to get home and begin his re-education!
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.
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.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Day 5 - A day of R&R in Hoi An
We had a day 'off' today. Some people on the group decided to do the 'guided' tour of the town. Some of us just did the Lonely PlanEt walking tour. Most people in the group had clothes tailor-made. I couldn't find any fabrics I liked, but I happily followed along for pattern and fabric selection and fittings. The work was so fast and of such great quality.
One place I did love was a handcraft workshop staffed by handicapped people. I am trying to mostly buy from craft collectives and places like this,. All the artists and shop assistants were so attentive and so very proud of their work.
We finished the day with cooking school and a fashion parade of all the tailored clothes. Lovely.
I am trying wrestle the photos. I have managed to get them from the camera to the iPad. Now I am trying to figure out how to get them From The iPad to the blog. Standby for retrospective pics if I can manage it.
Love and kisses
Jxxxx
One place I did love was a handcraft workshop staffed by handicapped people. I am trying to mostly buy from craft collectives and places like this,. All the artists and shop assistants were so attentive and so very proud of their work.
We finished the day with cooking school and a fashion parade of all the tailored clothes. Lovely.
I am trying wrestle the photos. I have managed to get them from the camera to the iPad. Now I am trying to figure out how to get them From The iPad to the blog. Standby for retrospective pics if I can manage it.
Love and kisses
Jxxxx
Day 3 Trains, traffic, and abject terror
'It was somewhere between 2 am and 3 am that I began to hate Care Australia,' quipped one of our group, who shall remain nameless!
We travelled alot by overnight trains in China, and we loved them. I was not prepared for four bunks in a room that was about 2m wide by 3m long. We shook, rattled, rolled and held onto our bladders all night so we didn't have to use the shared carriage toilet.
We arrived in Hue at about 8.30am with only one or two hours of broken sleep under our belts. After a much needed shower, wee, and quick swim and were fitted for our bikes. I say 'fitted' very loosely. Some of our group own light-as-a-feather carbon fibre bikes at home. Our very clunky and less than new mountain bikes required very little fitting, except for the gel seats most people (except me) brought from home. That is your fault Johnnie Roberts. You said it was a muscle thing and that padded seats make very little difference. I think I beg to differ!
So we headed off for what was to be a quiet day of cycling around the quaint little town of Hue. I need to mention a couple of things here. I don't know why, but it never occurred to me that we would be riding in the right hand side of the road! Obvious I know, but it didn't even cross my mind. Secondly, the quaint little town of Hue has six lanes of traffic. Thirdly, we were riding in those six lanes!!!!!
Within the first five minutes, I had already collided with a motorbike!!! (I'm fine Mum. The lefthand turns are the worst. You need to cross three lanes of traffic to get to the centre
lane. Then you have to cross three lanes of traffic going the other way, all the time also
watching out for people driving on the wrong side of the road. The advice we were given was
the same as for crossing the n road - step out into the traffic and maintain and consistent
pace, hold your line, and keep going. So I saw three lanes of traffic, which went through a
red light, heading towards me and I tried to be brave and hold my line, but clearly, they
don't always go around you!!!!!
I recovered enough keep riding. We rode along the Perfume River to the Citadel and the Imperial Enclosure, before braving the traffic back home.
Then, our guide somehow managed to talk us into dinner at a restaurant where we dressed up as emperors and courtesans and concubines for one of the strangest nights of my life!
We travelled alot by overnight trains in China, and we loved them. I was not prepared for four bunks in a room that was about 2m wide by 3m long. We shook, rattled, rolled and held onto our bladders all night so we didn't have to use the shared carriage toilet.
We arrived in Hue at about 8.30am with only one or two hours of broken sleep under our belts. After a much needed shower, wee, and quick swim and were fitted for our bikes. I say 'fitted' very loosely. Some of our group own light-as-a-feather carbon fibre bikes at home. Our very clunky and less than new mountain bikes required very little fitting, except for the gel seats most people (except me) brought from home. That is your fault Johnnie Roberts. You said it was a muscle thing and that padded seats make very little difference. I think I beg to differ!
So we headed off for what was to be a quiet day of cycling around the quaint little town of Hue. I need to mention a couple of things here. I don't know why, but it never occurred to me that we would be riding in the right hand side of the road! Obvious I know, but it didn't even cross my mind. Secondly, the quaint little town of Hue has six lanes of traffic. Thirdly, we were riding in those six lanes!!!!!
Within the first five minutes, I had already collided with a motorbike!!! (I'm fine Mum. The lefthand turns are the worst. You need to cross three lanes of traffic to get to the centre
lane. Then you have to cross three lanes of traffic going the other way, all the time also
watching out for people driving on the wrong side of the road. The advice we were given was
the same as for crossing the n road - step out into the traffic and maintain and consistent
pace, hold your line, and keep going. So I saw three lanes of traffic, which went through a
red light, heading towards me and I tried to be brave and hold my line, but clearly, they
don't always go around you!!!!!
I recovered enough keep riding. We rode along the Perfume River to the Citadel and the Imperial Enclosure, before braving the traffic back home.
Then, our guide somehow managed to talk us into dinner at a restaurant where we dressed up as emperors and courtesans and concubines for one of the strangest nights of my life!
Day 4 - The long and winding road
Today we headed out of town, and thankfully away from the traffic, to start our ride to Danang along beaches and through rice paddies and tiny villages. This is more of what I had hoped the trip would be like. It was beautiful. We rode for 40 km and after lunch we hit the Hai Van Pass, otherwise known as the Sea Cloud pass. You get the idea. It was 10 km of 8-10% gradient. - up. I just really wanted to make it up and I am proud to say I did. By the end, I was particularly aware of where my bum was located.
The beauty of what goes up, means it must come down and down I came, tentatively testing my brakes the whole way!
At the bottom of the Pass I was taking some pics of a rice paddy. I was getting down close to my subject, being at one with my art, when one of the other girls asked for some picture-taking advice. I was so absorbed in being at one with my art that I wriggler back to show her how to get a better shot and landed on my arse in the middle of the paddy. Excellent!
With me smelling of paddy field, We then made our way to the beautiful UNESCO-listed village of Hoi An. The buildings and the city are beautiful, but unfortunately the city is now geared just for tourists.
We had a sobering incident while some of our group were being measured by Hoi An tailors. A guy came off a motorbike right in front of the shop we were in. One of our group is a doctor, who ran to help. While Virginia attended to the victim, we were directing traffic (with bolts of fabric still under our arms!)and fashioning a makeshift spine board from a shop sign. There are no ambulances here (eek!)so we loaded him onto a flatbed truck and to the hospital. Virginia was amazing and the image of that man's face will be burned into my brain forever. Virginia suspects that he had an epileptic fit, which caused him to fall off the bike and to be unconscious for close to 45 minutes, but I guess we will never know. Thank goodness tomorrow is a free day.
The beauty of what goes up, means it must come down and down I came, tentatively testing my brakes the whole way!
At the bottom of the Pass I was taking some pics of a rice paddy. I was getting down close to my subject, being at one with my art, when one of the other girls asked for some picture-taking advice. I was so absorbed in being at one with my art that I wriggler back to show her how to get a better shot and landed on my arse in the middle of the paddy. Excellent!
With me smelling of paddy field, We then made our way to the beautiful UNESCO-listed village of Hoi An. The buildings and the city are beautiful, but unfortunately the city is now geared just for tourists.
We had a sobering incident while some of our group were being measured by Hoi An tailors. A guy came off a motorbike right in front of the shop we were in. One of our group is a doctor, who ran to help. While Virginia attended to the victim, we were directing traffic (with bolts of fabric still under our arms!)and fashioning a makeshift spine board from a shop sign. There are no ambulances here (eek!)so we loaded him onto a flatbed truck and to the hospital. Virginia was amazing and the image of that man's face will be burned into my brain forever. Virginia suspects that he had an epileptic fit, which caused him to fall off the bike and to be unconscious for close to 45 minutes, but I guess we will never know. Thank goodness tomorrow is a free day.
Tuesday, March 1, 2011
Day 2 - Hanoi
The thing about organised tours is that they are, well, very organised. I finally have five minutes to spare to catch up on my blog posts.
We spent Day 2 in Hanoi, a gorgeous town. First up was Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. I think it was my very good friend Peter Warrington who first brought the 'ceremony' of mausoleums to my attention. I love it. Ho Chi Minh's ceremony was exactly the same as Mao's in Beijing. Queue for an inordinate amount of time. Divide the queue into side-by-side pairs. Eyes forward, (almost) march forward. Approach the steps. No talking. No laughing. No smiling. File past what could be a dummy from Madame Toussard's in reverential silence and that's it. Fabulous! The downside was there was very little memorabilia on the other side. The Chinese don't miss a trick with Mao watches and Mao t-shirts. I am on the lookout.
Then we saw Uncle Ho's house and the beautiful Temple of Literature. We had lunch at Koto, a restaurant set up by an Australian Vietnamese who trains street kids in hospitality - all before Jaimie Oliver I believe! we also met with Care Australia's Vietnam Program Director and learned a little bit more about the 43 project Care has on the ground in Vietnam. Then we had just a couple of hours to look around Hanoi. It was nowhere near enough. Note for Emma Baker Spink - the streets are arranged by 'wares'. I spent too much time in spectacle street, but we had no time for shoe street! I was devastated.
No time becaus we had to board Reunification Express to Hue.
We spent Day 2 in Hanoi, a gorgeous town. First up was Ho Chi Minh's mausoleum. I think it was my very good friend Peter Warrington who first brought the 'ceremony' of mausoleums to my attention. I love it. Ho Chi Minh's ceremony was exactly the same as Mao's in Beijing. Queue for an inordinate amount of time. Divide the queue into side-by-side pairs. Eyes forward, (almost) march forward. Approach the steps. No talking. No laughing. No smiling. File past what could be a dummy from Madame Toussard's in reverential silence and that's it. Fabulous! The downside was there was very little memorabilia on the other side. The Chinese don't miss a trick with Mao watches and Mao t-shirts. I am on the lookout.
Then we saw Uncle Ho's house and the beautiful Temple of Literature. We had lunch at Koto, a restaurant set up by an Australian Vietnamese who trains street kids in hospitality - all before Jaimie Oliver I believe! we also met with Care Australia's Vietnam Program Director and learned a little bit more about the 43 project Care has on the ground in Vietnam. Then we had just a couple of hours to look around Hanoi. It was nowhere near enough. Note for Emma Baker Spink - the streets are arranged by 'wares'. I spent too much time in spectacle street, but we had no time for shoe street! I was devastated.
No time becaus we had to board Reunification Express to Hue.
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