Ha Tien to Chau Doc: First longer ride in ages

October 13, 2017

First thing we did once we got onto our bicycles this morning was to head for the bahn mi vendor I made use of a few days ago. While waiting for her to prepare them, a fellow a few years older than us asked where we were going (after the usual first questions such as "where are you from?"). He then gave us clear instructions on how to get onto the road to Chau Doc from Ha Tien. These didn't match the instructions given by the lady in my mobile phone, so I checked how she had got to her route. Of course I had forgotten to turn off the use of ferries in the calculation and she had us heading to a now non-exitent ferry crossing higher up the river rather than using the new bridge.

Once on the road, it was quite flat and I was worried about how bored we might be after ninety kilometers or so. There was also a fresh head wind blowing which wasn't something to look forward to on a flat and mostly straight road. As it turned out, the wind shifted to three-quarters from the front and moderated slightly and the road and everything beside it kept on changing character throughout the ride. In the end it was a surprisingly enjoyable day in the saddle.

The second half of the ride was on a dyke running through an enormous flood plain they lay between two ranges of low hills.

So often we get offered a place to sit when we stop to buy a cold drink.

Chau Doc is a much bigger town than what we were expecting. We made our way to the Hai Chau Hotel where I managed to persuade the fellow at the front desk to allow our bicycles to stay in the small lobby - there was no way they would fit into the small room and we weren't going to leave them outside.

Today's ride: 95 km (59 miles)
Total: 6,694 km (4,157 miles)

Rate this entry's writing	Heart	0
Comment on this entry	Comment	0