In South Vietnam, especially around the Mekong Delta (Southwest of Saigon), there were lots of cafes and restaurants lining the road that had hammocks. It seemed pretty normal for people to take a long break out of the sun in the middle of the day and just rest in a hammock.
I liked stopping at one of these rest stops, so I could get a 7 Up, take off my shoes, and get in the hammock. I felt really drowsy from the sun, and I nodded off a few times.
I’ve got a lot of landscape shots of Vietnam that don’t have a story, but I think it’s interesting to see the variety.
On my way to the beach at Mui Ne
This was at Ca Na, South of Phan Rang. I didn’t stop, although maybe I should have.
Friendship on the road. I thought this was cute seeing their arms around each other.
On my way to My Lai on a peaceful backroad.
Coming down the mountain
After eating too much Pho in the North, I really got into the Vietnamese sandwiches in the South. Banh Mi stalls were set up all along the road when you’d go through a town. The ingredients were on display, so you sort of knew what you’d be getting. I would point to a meat, or eggs, and then the lady would do the rest. She’d usually ask me if I wanted other particular ingredients, and I liked to skip the hot peppers when I could.
They were typically 10,000 dong ($0.50 USD), but a few times, the lady was too honest and charged me only 8,000 dong ($0.40). I really liked these for breakfast with egg. The bread would be warmed over a charcoal fire, and the egg would be fried. The baguette bread was really tasty.
I had a couple of bike issues at the end of my time in Vietnam. Although I had brand new Schwalbe Marathon tires, I got a flat. When I fixed it, I found a small metal wire had burrowed its way through the tire.
The more annoying issue was my water bottle cage breaking. I got the Topeak Modula Cage XL because it’s designed to hold a lot of water (1.5 L) and instead of holding extra water in my panniers, I wanted to distribute the water weight around my frame. I bought a special 1.5 L Sigg aluminum bottle for the cage too. But the welds on the cage just fell apart as I was riding, and the bottle fell out. I stopped by a couple of welders to see if they could repair it, but they couldn’t because it’s aluminum.
I’ve since bought a new normally-sized water bottle and cage, and I have to carry around the big 1.5 L aluminum bottle in my pannier.
Note: Every touring cyclist I’ve met has Schwalbe tires.
Regarding clothing, I brought my tight cycling gear and one normal-looking outfit. It’s doing fairly well so far. I must have lost some weight because the pants are fitting me better, and the shirt doesn’t smell too bad although it hasn’t been washed.
This complete outfit is completely Urban Outfitters. If I could change anything, I’d make the pants zip-aways at half and three-quarter lengths; that would give me many options for looking stupid. The best part about this outfit are the Toms shoes. They’re not just any Toms, they’re samples; it makes me feel great that a pair definitely didn’t go to a child in need.
Now in Cambodia, I’m seeing a lot of children without shoes, or shirts, or pants. Completely naked children. Why no Toms shoes? Why no Toms shorts?