Today was pretty good all ’round. It started with a 6km ride north to Vinh Moc Tunnels which are impressive as they show the incredible resilience of the local people. And when you look around the area, you wonder why the war ever happened and why this rural community had the bad luck to be in a ‘strategic’ area.
I was relieved to grab a coffee and a noodle soup nearby, as there was absolutely nothing else on the way that looked open.
I then rode back to the hotel and loaded the bike and headed off with a strong wind over my left shoulder. It would stay there all day, sometimes right behind me which was bliss.
The day was almost completely flat and Komoot kept things interesting by getting off the secondary road (which could barely fit two small cars), and going through some villages on very bumpy but quiet lanes.
I went past a school as the road filled with students going home (for lunch ?) And there was a lot of surprise, laughter and the usual – hello, what is your name, where are you from. At least ten of the kids wanted to speak to the foreigner. One boy started swearing really badly and when I told him that what he said wasn’t nice, he apologised profusely. He clearly didn’t know what he was saying.
I stopped at a small eatery for another noodle soup when I started to get quite hungry. The only other customer was an old guy, and whenever the eatery people weren’t watching, he’d ask for money. He certainly didn’t look like he needed any. When he was leaving, he grabbed me by the shoulder and begged one last time. When I refused, he dug his fingers into my shoulder, so I started to stand up and confront him, and he left very quickly.
I said I wouldn’t talk about this sort of incident, and I’d give it a week before making further comment, but worse was to come.
At the next large village, there was a nice looking coffee shop, so I pulled in, parked and took off my helmet. There was a guy selling tickets or something and he approached me, speaking Vietnamese. I apologised and smiled. He just raised his voice, so I apologised again – you know – sorry, I don’t speak Vietnamese.
I clearly represented something that he intensely disliked, because he continued to the point of shouting at me through clenched teeth and spitting his words at me. I couldn’t believe it. The people in the coffee shop just stared. It went on for far too long.
In the end, I raised my fist and threatened the guy, and he quickly turned and crossed the road where he continued his tirade. Not proud of that, but I had to put an end to it. I’ve never done anything like that before today.
I left the place immediately. The experience ruined the ride for about an hour until the weight of friendliness from locals tipped the balance of my mood back to the positive.
I’m so sick of these incidents. I certainly don’t invite them so I wonder what prompts them. They seem random and all different, but the aggression is consistent and it happens most days here.
The rest of the ride was as easy as the first part. Going over a large bridge, there was a guy scooping up rubbish – cans, plastic bottles, masks etc. He’d scoop them up and toss them off the bridge into the water. I can’t imagine a more useless thing to do – redistribution of rubbish.
Entry into the city was via some of the bumpiest concrete lanes I’ve ever been on. It was a lot of fun though, as was the traffic chaos.
Tonight was Halloween and they celebrate it here with gusto. I had indian for dinner, then settled in for some first class people-watching at the main intersection. There were a few other tourists doing exactly the same. It was free entertainment.
The ingenuity of some of the people is amazing. One guy was selling dried fish and seafood. He had a large tray with the seafood on it, a plastic bucket of utensils, his money etc, and a metal bucket of hot coals. When he sold something, he’d set the bucket of coals on the ground, fan them back to life, then heat the seafood and serve it on a paper plate. Then he’d pick everything up and move on.
I’m staying at the Four Seasons which surely isn’t part of the hotel chain, but it’s very nice and central for VND320k. Nice people as always at these places