November 1, 2017
Tra Vĩnh to Bến Tre: Rain, rain, rain
After picking a couple of bánh mì with crispy pork, we headed along a lovely country road towards route 60. Rain was falling gently and by the time we reached the major road, it was falling heavily.
We crossed over some of the many branches of the Mekhong Delta today, some of them by means of enormous and impressive bridges.
After the first big bridge over the Cổ Chiên river (fried river ?), we stopped to take shelter at a cà fê vòng. Unfortunately, neither the rain nor the traffic let up and we were forced to get back onto the road if we wanted to eventually get to Bến Tre, barely fifty kilometers from our start. About fifteen kilometers further on, by now thoroughly soaked (our cycling jackets are really just wind jackets and not waterproof), we stopped in at one of the military cemetries.
After that a stop for a second breakfast of pork and cơm tấm with a lovely mix of herbs and crisp veggies plus the usual bowl of clear soup - just the thing to warm us up.
We're staying at the Hung Voung Hotel on the riverfront in Ben Tre. Pretty crappy with the room's walls covered in damp patches and a funky pong from the bathroom but we needed to dry out at some point.
Later in the afternoon, when the rain had moderated somewhat, we strolled across to the museum which was right next to the hotel. Despite the impressive old building, it only had three small rooms mostly dedicated to the Bến Tre uprising in 1960.
Then we cycled around looking for a place to have some supper, discovering a rather surprising (given the focus of the museum) monument to the US Navy on the riverfront.
We noticed that the large church near the hotel was open so we popped in there for a few minutes. Sadly, most churches seem to be locked up during the day, as this one was, so we took our chance to get in while we could. When we passed by it after supper it was a hive of activity.
Today's ride: 55 km (34 miles)
Total: 7,370 km (4,577 miles)
| Rate this entry's writing | Heart | 0 |
| Comment on this entry | Comment | 0 |