Vietnam. It's country not a war

As I mentioned in the last post, the route into Vietnam involved one last stretch of dirt road to get the border crossing. Not what one might expect of the approach to an international border but then again after years of war Cambodia is still very much a developing country.

Good morning Vietnam

As soon as I crossed over the border I was back on sealed road and in just the same way as I'd really noticed the change going into Cambodia so I really noticed leaving it. The roads improved, traffic levels went up as did the prices of hotels as I found out at my first stop was Ha Tien. One of my first things to get done was to get hold of some local currency as the US dollar is not a de facto second currency as it is in Cambodia. I'd changed US$20 at the border at a rate of 17,000 dong to the dollar (don't snigger) and then got another million out at an ATM... after the power came back on that is. The Rough Guide (I've had enough of the Lonely Planet but that's another post), published in late 2009, indicated that the going rate was 17,000 to the US$ and D25,000 to the pound.

Ha Tien was a pleasant enough place to explore for the afternoon and have my first experience of Vietnamese coffee which is taken somewhat like espresso, small and strong. It's often taken long over ice, making for a refreshing drink on hot days. I also found a good veggie place to eat quite easily, which served up a mix of dishes for the princely sum of D7000. Handy hint here, if you're ever in Vietnam look for "Chay" on the signs, which are food outlets that will serve exclusively vegetarian food.

The next day saw me heading through the north of the Mekong Delta region towards Long Xuyen. There were some potentially interesting side trips from my route but having no proper map aside from a Google Maps print out and an estimated 160km day I decided it was probably best just to push on. Turns out the Google estimate was out by a good 30 km in the end which should be no surprise really.

Freshly made incense sticks drying in the sun

From Long Xuyen it was off to Vinh Long. Vinh Long proved to be a pleasant little town where I managed to pick up a map and check the exchange rate. D30,000 to the pound! Always good to find that things are a sixth cheaper than you thought. Thanks to my new map the next day I found some back roads through some stunning fruit growing countryside. Lychees, rambutans and mangos, amongst others, were ripening away by the sides of the road amongst the rice paddies. The whole region probably conforms to a stereotypical view of Vietnam as a country of people in conical hats and pyjamas toiling in fields against a tropical backdrop while travel involves plenty of bridges and ferries.

Did I mention the fresh honey as well?

My last stop before Ho Chi Minh City (nee Saigon) was the town of Ben Tre, where during the 1968 Tet offensive a US major famously declared "It became necessary to destroy the town in order to save it". Today it's a pleasant enough place from which to explore more of the Mekong Delta.

Victory over the US Navy statue in Ben Tre

From Ben Tre my final cycle was along Highway One into Saigon. If you've been to Saigon or Hanoi you might see why the prospect of cycling into it didn't fill me with joy. In the end though I was pleasantly surprised. Whilst people didn't actually treat me differently from other traffic it was quite survivable.

Now this is going to be fun to cycle over! The last major bridge I had to cross in the Mekong Delta

I had a couple of days in Saigon, time I'd given myself in order to prepare the bike for travel, a task proved to be remarkably easy. Well, I say remarkably easy. Finding a box was easy but actually getting the bike in ended up proving an interesting 3D puzzle and disassembly job. The prospect of rebuilding it in Heathrow at 7AM after an overnight flight was beginning to sound a bit daunting.

Kamot to Sihnoukville and back

First of all a hint to any other cyclists reading this. After many months of experimenting in the best way to carry bananas I finally found pretty much the ideal method. You see, bananas, although an ideal energy food, bruise far too easily whilst if you keep them in a plastic bag will ripen so fast that a bunch bought at the start of the day will be pitch black by evening. Which is a shame as I find that people want to sell me a kilo or more at a time. In smaller places in Cambodia, however, plastic bags are mercifully not a regular fixture of life so I've been sold my daily fix of 'nanas with a twine loop through them. And of course this means I can just drop them on the end of my handle bars, keeping them fresh and allowing me to pick one off whenever I need one. So simple, why didn't I see it earlier?

From Kampot the next destination was Sihanoukville. Other people had almost put me off going there, telling me it was a crime hotspot with many motorbike based snatch and runs and the destination itself, when not being over run with scooter based bandidos, full of drunken and stoned gap year travellers. However, it was a good place to pick up the Vietnamese visa I needed as well as the only place to go diving in Cambodia. Which settled it.

The road to Sihanoukville was a lovely ride after the dusty dry flat roads in the rest of the country. It snaked down the coast in the shadow of the Elephant Mountains, which soared up some 1000 meters high with the tops being wreathed in clouds. Tiny fishing villages floated by and the smell of the sea was ever present.

Drying shrimps on the road to Sihanoukville

I was a few kilometers from Sihanoukville when I became the victim of crime. A motorbike whizzed by me and I felt a jerk of the handlebars as a voice said "Hellomisterwhatisyourname" followed by an evil laugh. I watched open mouthed as the pillion passenger (wearing a Man U shirt I might add) triumphantly held up my bunch of bananas for the day! Alas, my cries of "Stop, thief" were to no avail and I was forced to laugh long and hard.

Sihoukville. Hmmm. Yes, the reports were right. I got a days diving in and it was OK but nothing special and somewhat over priced. And in the evening the place was full of young backpackers partying way to hard. I found an older Aussie chap to have a drink with and decided that instead of staying in the place two days I'd cut and run the next, giving an extra day in the Mekong Delta in Vietnam.

How we used to play before computers. Kids playing marbles in Kampot.


Back down the road to Kampot the next day it was somewhat hampered by a headwind and a hangover. I was glad to get back to simpler, quieter, pleasures though. I spent the evening there and the next day pushed on through to Vietnam, down one last unsealed road full of red dust.

Battambang to Kampot

After Battambang it was time to press onwards towards the capital of Cambodia, Phnom Penh. Although it's only 290km, which should be a couple of days cycling, lack of suitable stopping points meant I spent three days instead. That was OK, gave me a chance to poke around some of the smaller places in Cambodia, which is something I quite like doing, hitting places off the tourist trail. Wasn't all plain sailing though, on the second day of the leg the temperature dropped to 19C and it rained for three hours. Still, the ducks enjoyed it and I figured it was good training for blighty.



I just spent one day in Phnom Penh relaxing, took in the National Museum then lost and subsequently found the memory stick for my camera. Yes, that heart stopping half hour kind of meant my plans for the day went out of the window. After Phnom Penh it was south on National Highway 2 (NH2) to the town of Takeo. Now this was a revision of my first plan which was to head 150km down NH4 to the village of Sre Ambel, overnight there then press on to Sihnoukville. I just wasn't sure that there would be somewhere to stay in Sre Ambel and at 150 sometimes hilly kilometers I wouldn't have much time to get anywhere else.


Plenty of pottery made in the area and sold by these mobile ceramics merchants

Takeo proved to be a very pleasant little town. Not much to see or do as a tourist though there were some sights out of town, it was just one of those small towns where people get on with their lives. After Takeo, next stop was to change to NH3 and head a quick 90km to Kampot. That should be a mornings cycling leaving me an afternoon free to explore. But ah, NH3... It's currently being regraded so they've ripped the road surface up. And then left it. 78 kilometers and I saw two sets of people working. Bloody hard kilometers they were as well, either gravel or potholed earth, always in a cloud of dust.


One of the better sections of NH3 that I dared to get my camera out on.


Only 50 more kilometers to go!

It didn't feel like it would ever end but in the end I made it to Kampot, famed for it's pepper. When I made it though I did my own little version of Ice Cold In Alex. It's a lovely quiet town with some stunning views across it's river, a nice selection of hotels and some good eating options. It's not always easy being veggie in Cambodia so that last one is always a bonus. Oh, and lots of pepper. I've picked up 1/2 a kilo of that.


Sunset over the river