I got underway at 12:00 noon and I rode my bicycle through HCMC. It took 1 hr to get through the city by bike. Not bad, since it takes 30 minutes by taxi. I looked at my map and their was a road which seemed almost direct, so I headed that way. It was closed in several places because of construction covering the whole street. But I followed the motorbikes and hopped up on the sidewalk and away I went. I’m riding a mountain bike so I can navigate the construction sites better than the motorbikes. I sort of like this lawlessness on the roads.
By one o’clock I was feeling the heat so I stopped for a coconut drink. They trim a coconut shell so it stands upright and when you ask for a drink the chop the end off and give you a straw. The inside juice is watery, with just a mind coconut taste, and there is about a litre of liquid. It’s very refreshing and cheap. An hour later I stopped for my afternoon tea and had a nice green tea with lemon drink. The first one went down so quickly I had two. The temperature was about 33 °C and very humid. But I expect it will get much warmer before I finish. I’m going to be careful with hydration.
After 30km we finally entered the rural area. The space opened up and the fields were full of workers and water buffalo. I wanted to stop in Cu Chi for the night but I couldn’t find a hotel. When I did I was obvious that Hotel is not a Vietnamese word – it’s Khack (I think). I might need to learn some more Vietnamese to survive. The lady at the desk doesn’t speak English, but she’s taking good care of me and I have a nice room with a hot shower for $10 a night.
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