We’d booked a 5 day private bicycle tour in the Mekong Delta with Cycling Vietnam, http://www.cycling-vietnam.com/index.html. While we were out and about in Saigon our first day in Vietnam, our bike guide had contacted the hotel and wanted to come meet us to discuss the trip. By the time we finally got the message, we were tired and hungry and on our way out to dinner, so we settled on meeting in the morning before we departed.

Our morning meeting was the only time I was the least bit nervous about the trip. Our guide was giving us all the cautions and warnings about the trip and the fact that we would be in the true back country of Vietnam. He included the fact that in one town we would be staying in the only hotel in town; it would be clean but on the crummier side, and this town had no restaurants, so we’d be eating in street kitchens for a day and a half. His warnings came on so strong that I started to question the sanity of doing this but then thought, well, we came 9,000 miles to do this, so why back out at the last second. (At the end of our trip I suggested that he tone down his initial warnings because he might scare some people away. But, he told me that after the experience of having people yell at him mid-trip because the lodging wasn’t up to their high standards he decided it was better to give forceful warning up front.)

So, we got into the van and off we went. When I say we, it was quite the entourage. For this bicycle trip for 2 people there were 3 support people--the driver, the guide, and the all around handyman, bicycle mechanic. We had been told prior to booking that the truly interesting parts of the Mekong Delta are at least 5 or so hours away from Saigon and that day one would primarily be driving to get out of the congestion. After several hours we stopped at a very nice restaurant at a road junction where the main roads converge in the Mekong Delta. I think this is where most of the buses that venture down that way with tourists go because it seemed as though this large and lovely restaurant was set up to accommodate large tour groups.

I’d read about Sa Dec, and being a flower lover, decided I wanted to visit the flower nurseries there. So, this was added into the agency’s usual itinerary, which meant that we missed out on some biking that normally happens on day one. In retrospect, I think that while they tried, they didn’t really know the area that well so perhaps we didn’t see what was truly representative in Sa Dec. But, that was my fault because I agreed that this part of the trip would be a trial run. But, an interesting day nonetheless.

We arrived in the town of Cao Lahn, I believe, for the night and checked into our hotel. (One of the things in retrospect that I find vaguely disorienting about this trip is that it is totally different for us to have someone do all the logistics for us. As independent travelers we’re normally engrossed in the maps figuring out exactly where we’ll go next and how we’ll get there. This was a completely new experience just turning all of that over to the local expert.) I needed to buy some cheap flip flops because my swollen feet had been blistered by my regular sandals the day before. Our guide and the retinue took us to a local shoe shop so I could find some shoes. Selections for a female who has big feet (size 40) by Vietnamese standards were quite limited, and I didn’t understand how to shop there. I assumed it would be just like home and that I’d choose the style I wanted, and then they’d go get my size. Wrong. The selection was what they had on display in my size.

We had a couple hours before we were to all meet for dinner, so the two of us set off on foot to explore the area and the local market. We were really, really a novelty in the market. I don’t think many tourists come through the area at all, and we got lots of friendly waves, smiles and requests to have photos taken. By this time it was after dark, but we never felt any concerns for our safety or at all worried. Our major concern was whether or not we could remember the way back to the hotel.

The next morning we got up and settled on our bikes. Initially we were a bit concerned because the bikes themselves were nothing to look at, and we’d been promised good bikes. But, they ended up being fine for the trip and were much superior to the generally junky bikes we rode later on in the trip.

Before we began biking though, we drove to Xeo Quit where the Vietnamese army had hidden out when fighting the Americans. Although we weren’t initially that enamoured with the idea of visiting this place, it was quite interesting to see the tropical jungle area and the tunnels the soldiers had hidden themselves in. This was the dry season, and the excavated tunnels were partially filled with water. I can’t imagine what they must have been like during the rainy season. Following this we were off to a small street kitchen restaurant where the only item on the menu was a special filled pancake made in this part of the Mekong Delta. We were given a large basket of some type of greens. The procedure was that you’d rip off a part of the pancake and then roll it up in the large leaves with the various herbs rolled in too. This was our first, but not the last, experience eating in a place where the chickens wandered through the customer seating as we ate. This place was also nice because it actually had standard height stools and chairs for customers rather than the more typical child size stools.

Now the real bicycling began. We were on small local roads in the back country, going over bridges and taking ferries when needed to get to the next place. Our guide had warned us that some people might come up and try to touch us to see if we real because they would have never seen Caucasians before. And, sure enough it happened a couple times. If we would stop and get off the bikes we were generally mobbed with children and sometimes their parents. These were the friendliest people we’ve ever met.

A couple times we stopped by schools at they were getting out. All children here are required to purchase a school uniform as an additional part of the expense of tuition and books. Those children who were hanging around but who didn’t have uniforms on were not in school because their parents could not afford to send them. Apparently this is quite a problem in Vietnam for which there is yet no solution; high truancy rates are another problem.

According to the guide, one part of the solution is the loudspeakers that broadcast announcements about 5:30 or so each morning in the local towns. Announcements apparently are made regarding the value of school, saying it is time for children to get up and be in school, and encouraging parents to send their children to school. Other parts of the announcements include information on AIDS prevention because the disease is becoming quite prevalent, local news, and other general educational info. In these towns, the broadcasts are also made about 7:00 each evening too. Bring earplugs if you want to try to sleep through the announcements in the morning.

Before we left I’d assumed I’d be biking in my sandals, but blisters eliminated that idea. Instead I ended up wearing my ankle high hiking boots for most of the bike trip. Actually these turned out to be a good choice for much of the time. Roads themselves were usually blacktop, but the roadsides were uneven dirt with patches of weeds and frequently strewn with litter.

That night we settled into our hotel in Hong Ngu, a small town with absolutely nothing to recommend it. We did get some beautiful pictures of the sunset from its main bridge though. This was the first of several hotels that we encountered that had a new plumbing concept we’d never been exposed to before. The sink was plumbed to drain out through a hole in the wall placed in the corner of the room over a floor drain. The beds themselves were topped with a cheap satiny jersey type piece of material that we thought was the bedspread. But, when we went to go to bed, we discovered that this was the only covering on top of the mattress. There were a few blankets piled on the foot of the bed. We don’t know how we were supposed to sleep and whether the satin jersey was supposed to be a bottom sheet or a top sheet. It didn’t matter; this was a night we were definitely glad to have our sleep sacks and small travel pillows. At least the room had air conditioning, which was definitely a luxury in the area we were in.

There are no restaurants in town, so both dinner and breakfast the next morning were at the local street kitchen. This was where we learned to just have the guide make food suggestions for us in the future. He knew the types of foods much better than we did and could make wise choices. I saw some shrimp amongst the food and decided to try it. Big mistake. I don’t know how long it had been there, and both of the first two shrimp I tried definitely had a mushy, strange texture (the mark of a shrimp gone bad). I told the guide they were spoiled and that I couldn’t eat them and that he should tell the owner this because they shouldn’t have to be paid for. Apparently this is not the way things work in Vietnam. You ordered them, you pay for them even if they are bad.

To be continued.....

Written by phredmn