I didn’t feel great last night, and it was a fitful sleep, so, as expected, I felt like rubbish this morning. That explains the lack of photos too. I just didn’t feel up to it before the border checkpoint.
I managed to eat some muesli and decided to get some more food at the town before the border, Tịnh Biên. I packed up slowly and checked out just before 8:30am and for the first time this trip, I wasn’t looking forward to the day. Today is the last day on my Vietnam visa, so I can’t have a rest day to recover. It’s 24km to the border and then it’s just under 50kms to Takeo where I’ll definitely have a rest day. The recommended hotel (thanks again Andrew), sounds perfect. They do food have a verandah and a coffee shop within the grounds. I couldn’t describe a perfect rest day place any better. A pool would be nice though.
Right now, I’m in Tịnh Biên ingesting as much sugar and caffeine as I can, to get me through the day 😁.
Leaving Tri Ton was easy. It’s a friendly town (even to me) but after a few kms I turned north, and that’s where the roadwork and headwind started. The road was pretty bad. All the way from there as I dodged potholes, mud and diggers. So relieved to get here. If you’re planning on riding this road, I’d give it a year and hope that it’s complete.
The next hurdle is the border crossing. I’m supposed to exit via Moc Bài, but that’s out of the question. I’m hoping there’s no issue – can’t imagine there is on exit.
I had some food in Tịnh Biên and got some Haribo at the supermarket. On the way out of HCMC, my Haribo lollies melted into one congealed mess. I was surprised at that, as I thought there was enough rubbish in them to ensure that never happened. There was no chance of melting today, as it wasn’t even 30 degrees.
I was so lucky with the cloud cover and temperature. Not feeling well would have been much worse on a hot humid day – like the last three. No complaints here.
I went to the border and the guard demanded to see the hard copy of my e-Visa. Yes, that makes a lot of sense. I did feel like one final argument in Vietnam but thought better of it. 😁 I retrieved the e-Visa from my bike (it still grates to write that) and he didn’t even look at it, and waved me through.
Then it was on to the Cambodian entry point. Considering all of the horror stories and bribery, I was expecting to be ripped off, but I’m ok with that. It just seems to be the way they operate here. I paid USD 33 for my visa. I was expecting to pay at least 36 and more because it’s a weekend, but they were exemplary.
Through at last and immediately, I could feel the difference. It was quieter. The constant tooting had stopped, the yelling had vanished and the hellos were softer and had a feel of authenticity. For example, there was a lady working in the field about ten metres from the road and she simply waved, smiled and said hello in the softest way possible. OK, Ok, I’ve only been on the road for three hours and at the hotel and surrounding area for about five, but it’s a good start.
I never really and truly warmed to the Vietnamese, nor they to me. That’s slightly inaccurate. I found the women and schoolkids absolutely brilliant. The women were always helpful, talkative and on for a joke. They typically ran the hotels and guesthouses that I stayed in and go out of their way to help. The guys, say from 15 to 40, seemed to me to be aggressive, surly and sometimes completely unhelpful. Of course there were exceptions but I’m trying to convey my overall feel for the place, and that is always going to be full of judgements and generalisations. I only had 28 days there, and with more preparation and more time in country, I’m sure my experiences there would have been different.
I know others have had different experiences (said that before) but that is my objective summation.
I had 50kms to ride after entering Cambodia and it was on a nice road with plenty of villages along the way. I stopped for a sugar cane juice, a SIM card and more water, but as the kilometres wore on, the headwind increased. for the last ten kilometres, it was a howler.
The hotel is almost perfect. I immediately went for a meal and a coffee. Ahhhhh. That’s the first coffee without condensed milk in a month, and it was excellent.
Later, I had a wander around the block and had another meal. I can’t remember – is it feed a cold and starve a fever, or the other way ’round ?
I’m looking forward to a very easy day tomorrow – the usual rest day of sleeping, eating, reading and route planning. Hopefully, I can shake this cold through nutrition and inactivity !
I agree 100% with you about most Vietnamese men. I used to feel totally out of place and sometimes intimidated going into street restaurants and being the only female and feeling the hostility and rude stares. Other than that Vietnam is one of my favourite countries. Enjoy Cambodia.