Malaysia, Singapore

Looking at the last post I see one photo of Malaysia. Since then I've covered the entire country and the next one. Tomorrow I hit Indonesia - the last country before home turf?

I wanted to ride the east coast of Malaysia because I'd seen the west coast on a backpacking holiday 8 years ago.
The weird thing is that the last trip to Malaysia, was actually after I left New Zealand - it was a holiday I had between my job in NZ and the new one in Aus. I still think of Wellington as a second home and it doesn't seem like that long ago - but it obviously was!!

near Kuala Terengganu.

near Kuala Terengganu.

no doubt a future Desktop Wallpaper

The east coast is known for its beaches and islands and generally doesn't have the industry or the big "western" city feel that the places on the west coast have. It is a more traditional life, stronger Islamic communities, but still a fair mix of other folks as well. As I found in southern Thailand, and in Turkey and Iran, East Coast Malaysia was again an area where I would often get free meals. There is definitely something in the culture of these Islamic communities about sharing and being generous to visitors. In Malaysia it would tend to be some other restaurant patron paying for my meal.

near Kuala Terengganu.

A free Breakfast - and the kind contributor

Although the East coast tends to be a strong Islamic area. there are still others there too. One night in Kemaman (Chukai) I felt like I was in another country. The people who owned the hotel were obviously Buddhist with the incense and offerings, but I ducked into a very busy restaurant across the road and the menu board was only in Chinese - not any Malay at all on the menu - so I had no hope of knowing what was available. Even if i could have remembered the symbols for rice, chicken etc from my China trip a few years ago it would have been no help as the menu appeared to be in the complicated Traditional Chinese characterset (typically used in Hong Kong and for Cantonese etc) not in the newer characterset that was more prevalent in the Mandadrin speaking areas I had spent most of my time. From a land full of mosques and people in traditional Islamic dress it was really weird to suddenly feel like you were in China. (most of the other shops in the area were also all sign written with Chinese).

Batik in the process (waxing)

When I first hit Malaysia and got into Kota Bharu I found I had further camera problems, so i decided it was new camera time again. (Grant, my brother in law joked before I left about how many bikes I'd go though on the trip. It should have been how many camera's. I think it is possible to buy a bike built for this type of trip. It is not however possible to buy a camera suitable for this type of trip. - Well, maybe a 1970's mechanical SLR might last the distance - but digital has soo many pluses) This time the new one is a Canon G9 (built more like a 1970's SLR) - and it's the camera you have when you don't want a camera the size of an SLR (but you really want the functions of one). (I am immensely happy with it by the way - having had it for a few weeks.)

Palau Kapas - snorkelling area

My trip south included a day of snorkelling at one of the islands off the east coast of Malaysia. Palau Kapas just off Marang (just south of Kuala Terengganu) was the island - and I did buy a water proof "single use" film camera for the trip but haven't had the photos developed yet. (the camera was past its use by date (by 2 years) so they may not be any good anyway - especially in a climate that is so hot). The snorkelling I organised with the boat operator (company) and it was such a contrast to Thailand. This was very informal. The boat went out to the island but to the snorkelling area first, dropped me off with a mask and snorkel (and a vest i didnt use) then took off to drop the rest of the passengers. I was to be at the same place 3hrs later to be picked up. No "herding of sheep" like a Thai snorkelling trip - (or any Thai "tour" for that matter). I was little disappointed in some of the snokelling as there was a lot of areas of coral bleaching, but the areas that wern't bleached were lovely (But, for the photography I wish i had the camera at Koh Tao in Thailand instead of here) The coral bleaching was however interesting in its own right. You get to see just what all the fuss is about, when they talk of the increased water temperatures killing off the coral reef eco systems. No coral like, no fish, only a few sea slugs. As soon as you got back to the edge of a good coral patch there were fish in front of your mask, clams, anemones and all the things you expect to see on a healthy coral reef. I suprised myself by going into the water and only coming out again a few minutes before the boat arrived to pick me up. I didn't know I could swim/float that long. And for about 30 to 40 minutes of that time I had a shark pestering me. He started poking & prodding , but actually bit at one stage. It wasn't a JAWS type thing though, This guy was about 30cm long and with a mouth that couldn't even think about taking my little finger. He was actually very cute, black with silvery white stripes on both sides - cute but annoying.

I did however forget to take off my Casio copy watch - which I knew want waterproof from any slight bit if rain. A few hours of sea water is enough to kill one of those totally , but being in Malaysia its actually possible to buy genuine ones - and at a fraction of the price back home. (I couldnt actually find a fake of the model I wanted, so I spent the extra on a real one. I was a bit hesitant, figuring the only way to really know what I was getting was to pay no more than $5, because then I'd know it was a fake. If I paid more I'd never know. It was the attitude of the shop keeper when I gave him the challenge of soaking it for ten minutes that convinced me he did in fact have real ones. (The fake ones would never last 10 minutes in a glass of water). (It passed the test. Well, at least a couple of minutes and I bought it)

One of the down sides of cycling in Malaysia was the annoying habit they have of stopping ALL signage to a place when they get within 10 to 20km of it. You'll be happily following signs to "your destination" then once you get 20km out, all the signage now points to somewhere beyond. So when you got to a junction of a road going into town and a bypass road, there was nothing to tell you which way to go. When this happened the first one or two times I thought it was "just there", but it happened constantly as I came down the east coast.

Palm plantations all over the west - now taking the south-east

Forest Gone - Palms to come

Another of the big differences between the East & West coasts is the Palm Oil Plantations. In the west 8 years ago they were everywhere. Now in the South East they are bulldozing forest to plant them. So that in the S/E soon it will be the same. but further north its still largely Palm Oil free.

I arrived into Johor Bahru (as far south as you can go on the Malay Peninsula) where I had two primary tasks, 1. To obtain my Indonesian Visa and 2. To pick up a replacement SteriPen, after I dropped the last one off a bed onto a tiled floor in Vietnam. The manufacturers have been really good accepting the damage as a manufacturing defect as the breakage occured whilst fitted with the protective cap inside the protective pouch. With a bad knee as I arrived into "JB" (as it is affectionately known) I had another goal, - to rest the knee ready to get across Indonesia before the visa runs out in 60 days. I had hurt the knee a few days earlier, when twisting to talk to people whilst still keeping my right foot in the pedal. Not a good thing to do. The knee feels good again after a few days rest so today I entered Singapore and tomorrow I'm off to Indonesia by ferry. Indonesia - the last country before Australia !!!!

Getting the Indonesian Visa was easier than anticipated. Everything I'd read said they insist on an onward air ticket but I went armed with a nicely formatted official looking Itinerary and a print out of a bank statement - to prove funds. (An Itinerary that I had "made up" a few days earlier in a Mersing net cafe). When the lady asked where in Indonesia I was going I started rattling off the names of the islands, then slid the Itinerary across and set "Oh... here". She responded "All of Indonesia" then said I could pick up the visa the next day.

Singapore - The queue to get in

Today was a short day, riding only across the entire island of Singapore, then by mid morning.... I should at this point apologise to any Singaporians, for tomorrow I leave for Indonesia after spending less than 24 hours in their beloved country. But I am spending one night here in Singapore - one expensive night. I'm back in a dorm again tonight - and that's costing more than I used to paying for a room. The cheapest room I could find was $35 for a room the size of a single bed - with just enough spare space to open the door. Something that more resembles what I've been used to would cost $80 to $120 per night. The bed i've got is costing $22 in a dorm of 6 (or is it 8?).

Me & Merlion

No valet parking for me.
Well thats been my last 2 weeks. It seems strange doing 2 countries in 2 weeks again! But that wont last - Indonesia will take me the 2 months that I have for the Visa and Australia, well, we'll see, but it wont be quick, 2 to 3 months?



--
http://www.whereonearthisjeff.com/

Cambodia, Thailand and South to the Malaysian border

Once again I've left it too long between updates and so this will probably end up longer than it should... Sorry.

Here I am in Malaysia now, having crossed the southern provinces of Thailand in the last few days. But first back to Cambodia.

At my last update I'd reached Phnom Penh, but was still to head north to the Cambodian "must see" of Angkor Wat near the city of Siam Reap. I decided to head up the western side of the lake Tonle Sab. I would ride as far as Battambang then catch a boat across the lake to Siam Reap. The road to the west of Siam Reap is well known for being terrible and I'd need to ride it once to go from Siam Reap to Thailand, so, no point it doing that same terrible stretch twice when a boat can take you through floating villages and scenic canals before crossing the lake to get you where you want to go. With the water in the lake being low this time of year the first part of the "boat trip" was actually the back of a Ute, through all sorts of terrain (four wheel driving in a two wheel drive) to get to the banks of a canal that was navigable for the boat. I was expecting the majority of the trip to be lake, but no, most of the time - of the day long trip - was spent weaving through the canals between Battambang and the lake, picking up and dropping off people and goods at various floating villages along the way. (Consider this boat as being "the" method of transport for people and goods into these villages.) Fishing is of course the major industry here and the canals are lined with floating bamboo "barges" with bamboo cranes for lowering large horizontal nets into the water for fishing, and with rows of poles sunk into the mud holding nets forming a fish trap. The lake itself is also full of fish traps and people in the water maintaining them. At the Siam Reap side of the lake the boat drops you off maybe 10km from town (I didn't put the trip computer on so I don't know precisely) and despite having a bicycle you get off the boat and are inundated with offers of Taxi's in the form of cars trucks and motorbikes. You joke around with them, offering to take them and they get the idea. In Siam Reap, once again the expensive hotels come to the rescue providing a map of the place (most people have one in their guide book) and telling me where I can go to get a place that is in my price bracket.

Angkor Wat

I spend the next few days in Siam Reap, buying a three day ticket for the Angkor Temples but actually only using it for two. The scale of the Angkor ruins is just amazing. You look around Angkor Wat - the famous temple complex and think it is big, but compared to the whole area of sites it is tiny. A bike is a great way to get around to see all of the sites with the exception of the heat. If you can put up with the heat then it's ideal.

Angkor Thom Preah Khan

I was pretty happy with what I'd seen on day one of my ticket and would have gone away happy, but still managed to spend the entire next day going to places I'd never seen before, and could no doubt have done it again the next day - if so enclined. Getting toward the end of day one I'd not yet seen any of the ruins with the big trees growing in and over them, but sure enough, I had a couple more sites left on the "short tour" - as shown on the map, and yes there they were, as spectacular as all the pictures you've ever seen - looking like some extra terrestrial goop that is engulfing the building.

I stumbled across this

From Angkor and Siam Reap to the Thai border is a highway that really doesn't deserve that name. I've heard rumours that airlines are lining the pockets of people to ensure the roadworks are never completed, their maybe no substance to the story but it is certainly believable. The way in from Bangkok would be very easy comfortable if the road was good, but its not and as such most "tourists" fly in. Of the 150km highway there is a 15km stretch in the middle that is perfect, and the remainder is "being done", "in progress".

The truss holding the bridge is broken - so they drive a roller over it??

"Ice skating" on wet clay - Siam Reap to the Thai border

Or dust if it's dry

The unfortunate thing is that to make the road you first make it worse - digging it up - before making it better. In their wisdom (?) they've successfully dug up the entire length of highway, made it worse and don't have the money, people and equipment to make it better. It is in progress but they only seem to take it to the point of flattening it out, then moving onto the next bit, so never actually get the road sealed (and by the time that next bit is done the first bit is pot-holed and ruined by the traffic and weather. (hence they never get any of it finished) The various parts of the highway had various hazards. In some places wet clay made it like riding on a skating rink - you couldn't steer or move your weight, brake or accelerate - you just had try and maintain a slow constant speed and "maintain a line" or go where the road lead you. In other places a dust bowl with very fine clay dust, and in others with rocks embedded in the hard baked clay ground was far far worse than the worst cobbled road you've ever imagined. My map indicated I had 100km of this to the junction of the highway coming up from Battambang. I did that 100km of terrible roads on the first day and started the next day with 4km of rough then 15km of blissful smooth wide bitumen with a lovely wide shoulder that was part of the same surface. The remainder of the way to the border (all the way to the immigration office door) was once again terrible - and drier and dustier than the day before.. (The airline story is so believable).

Once to the Cambodian-Thai border I then had my worst ever immigration office shuffle - travelling across the "no mans land" between border posts 5 times before finally getting on the road - In Thailand . It was easy leaving Cambodia, they just stamped the passport and I was through. but when I got to Thailand they couldn't read the date stamp for my entry into Cambodia. Why the entry date into another country is of any significance nobody seems to be able to tell me, but because they couldn't read it they wouldn't let me in to Thailand and insisted I go back to Cambodian Immigration. Of course back on the other side Cambodia looked at my exit stamp and rechecked my Visa dates and said "no problem". Mmm... stale-mate. With extra initialling in the passport and a guy escorting down to the Thai side Thailand eventually let me in. But still no explanation why Entry into Cambodia mattered.

I rode a bit too far on this day and found myself on a stretch with no hotels, so the tent was again swung into action. It was the next morning at a bit after 3am that I woke up and decided to get up then pack and start riding. I had two hours of riding in the dark (4 'til 6), with a bit of moonlight, good roads and a white line that would reflect the flashing of the white LED headlight - just enough to keep me on what was a consistently good and reliable surface (Blind faith in the Thai road quality - such a change from Cambodia yesterday). This early start was to be the first of many. My new mode of riding in this heat is to have my watch wake me at 4:15 pack and be on the road asap. With a start at this time I can do a daily distance of 90km in the morning, and avoid most of the full heat from about 11am. (or look around the new town when I get there).

I arrived into Bangkok from one of these early starts right on peak hour (wouldn't want to miss that) and had a full day in Bangkok organising a whole heap of things. In the first arrival day - after riding 96km I got to the Indonesian Embassy just after they opened consular, found a bike shop and dropped the bike in for replacement Bottom Bracket, Chain, Cassette and Middle Chain Ring and a service. With all the Shimano XT parts in stock it would be ready by 9pm, and looked immaculate when I picked it up. (I don't ever remember it being that shiny). Whilst that was serviced I found a place to replace one of the tiny switches on the back of my camera (because the -> direction wouldn't work, and stopped you from changing some important settings), and booked myself in to a dentist for an appointment the next morning and found another bike shop to buy a new pair of knicks (riding pants). What I'd thought would take a week I'd done in one day. Aah, the joys of a big city. The only thing I failed at was finding a Petzl dealer. I had wanted to invest in a decent LED torch instead of the cheap ones I've had in the past. Before I had these things to do I had originally hoped to bypass Bangkok on this leg, but at least I was out of Bangkok in less than two days. Whilst on the hunt for a Petzl dealer though I met up with - by pure chance - a friend from Melbourne/New Zealand. David and Sheridan I knew from my bush walking club in Melbourne, but he moved back to his native New Zealand in 2002 and took Sheridan with him. I've not seen them again since, but here they were in a shopping mall in Bangkok. (I defy anybody to find anybody in "a shopping mall", "in Bangkok")

From Bangkok it was south toward Malaysia, and this meant a few days of doing the beach areas that Thailand is famous for, then beyond that into the southern provinces that the Australian Foreign Affairs Dept warn against visiting. Quote: "We strongly advise you not to travel at this time to the southern provinces of Yala, Pattani, Narathiwat and Songkhla". Unfortunately, these areas are on the way to Malaysia, and you have to go through all of them to get to the east coast of Malaysia. (My route)

Squid - sun baking Sunrise - East coast Thailand

7 days of fish need ice Prachuap Khirikan

I headed down as far as Champhon before taking a boat out to Koh Tao (island) off the east coast of Thailand. I spent a three days there, snorkeling and getting burnt on places that missed out on sunscreen.

The beach in front of my bungalow Koh Tao

I missed out on a couple of days riding by then taking a boat to Sarit Thani - but its a boat so not cheating :-) We had a bit of rain here every day, something I'd not seen since way back in Vietnam (but tropical big drops not wet mist like Vietnam) and we got magnificent lighting displays every night on the horizon with distant electrical storms.

From Sarit Thani I had to decide where I wanted to go. I had though I'd head across to the west coast to Phuket - just to say I'd been there, but after 3 days on Koh Tao, I "had been there". Phuket would be just like Koh Tao, but bigger, more people, noisier and more expensive (and Koh Tao was expensive by all other Thai or S/E Asian standards.) If I headed over to Phuket, I'd have to stay there a while to avoid going through the "southern provinces" mentioned above during the Thai New Year period (which sounds like a good time to set off bombs if wanting crowds and publicity). The alternative, miss Phuket and ride like the clappers to go through before New Year.

Leaving Koh Tao on the night boat put me in Sarit Thani early the next morning - ideal starting time for riding.

Sarit Thani after the night boat arrival.

On this first day I thought I'd done really well doing a new daily record of 146km. At this rate I'd get through to Malaysia and cross the border on the 12th (New Year being the 13th). Pretty good, but the 11th would be better, so I set a new target town for the next day which was 160km away. In 4 days I covered 630km a record for me. (In Iran I was pleased doing 600km from Shiraz to Bandar Abbas in 6 days). So after my initial record setting longest day of 146km I then did three days of more than 100 miles, 160km. (I'm a little chuffed, because I feel great, legs good, no knee probs - but the butt got a bit sore at times). I was so pleased with these days that I've actually put my name down for "Around The Bay" in October this year. So if anybody reading this feels so enclined book in for the 210km via Sorrento (Via Queenscliff was already booked out) and I'll see you there. (Oh &#%! I've just set a deadline for my return)

It's a shame to have had to rush through these southern areas. I had nothing but wonderful experiences in the region, the people were warm, welcoming and generous and for the first time since Iran and Turkey started giving me things like food and drink - for no real reason - just stopped by the side of the road or in a shop, just hospitality. Yes, these southern provinces are Islamic provinces. They are a warm and generous mob. But I guess like all religions there are a small numbers of extremists that soil the reputation of the rest.

police check point - one of MANY around the towns mentioned by DFAT

All with heavily armed police wearing flack jackets. There are large numbers between checkpoints too, seated by the roadside and patrolling around town.

To get to take this photo, every pannier bag and pocket was searched for bombs. Only then would the large number of automatic-gun armed police let me off the roadway toward the sports field.

Another thing I noticed in Southern Thailand was the road manners. There have been cars pulled up beside the road repeatedly (i think to make phone calls!!!) which before pulling out, actually check mirrors and wait for me to approach and pass before doing so. They also keep pulling in behind me when wanting to turn off instead of pulling in front and turning like "all" drivers in "every" other country here in S/E Asia. It really is a totally different driving culture here - even compared to northern Thailand.

I crossed in Malaysia in the mid afternoon on the 11th and am now in Kota Bharu. The map I was using showed two check points one that would mean an extra 70km and seemed to be more major. From the map it was impossible to see why anybody would go the extra 70km. I certainly didn't want to. On arrival at the Tak Bai checkpoint I found out why. There is a ferry, a small ferry that can only take a few cars or (smallish) trucks at a time and delays can be quite long (a bike can squueze in at the front). If only I'd looked at my Malysian map instead of the Thailand map I'd have known.

This side Thailand - the other Malaysia

Welcome to Malaysia

I'll spend a couple of days in Kota Bharu doing things like "emailing the group" and "Blogging" before heading off again down the East coast of Malaysia. More slowly than the last few days, because I want to see more, but really thinking it'd be nice to push through as I have been. Hmm..

Until next time.. Take care..

Jeff

Ho Chi Minh City and beyond: (Phnom Penh, Cambodia)

In my last post I was in Nha Trang.  After leaving Nha Trang, it was time to head on down the coast to Phan Rang Thap Cham then inland to see Da Lat. 

 

 Fish Trap in a Vietnamese stream

 

 The (pineapple) market lady's "friends" wouldn't let her hide from the camera.

 

 It's all in the wrist action - moving rapidly toward me

 

So many people (Vietnamese) asked me if i was going to DaLat that I felt duty bound to go.   Da Lat is in the highlands of south central Vietnam and is meant to be a bit of a jewel.  It was however back into hills and a good ol'climb it was too. I rode inland on reasonably flat ground for half a day then got to the base of the hills for lunch.  The afternoon was spent climbing, climbing initially back and forward under a hydro power penstock (The big pipes that go straight down a hill into a hydro-electric power station).  My map - which has been known to be inaccurate in many places showed the road going up and forking, right to DaLat and left to Ho Chi Minh City (HCMC) by-passing Da Lat.  When I was many hours up the hill I stopped to eat corn cobs offered by a couple resting by the side of the road.  They didn't speak English, but after studying the map for a while pointed to a position on the bypass road - meaning I must have passed the turn-off.  My heart sank - but I couldn't believe that at 6km/hr I could have missed seeing an intersection.  I was NOT about to head back down the hill looking for an intersection that may not be there.  I decided to keep riding up.  If the man was right and the map too then i'd missed the near road to DaLat but would eventually find the DaLat-HCMC road.  If the man was wrong then I'd find the road I was looking for still ahead.   It turned out that the map and the man were wrong.  The road was indeed above me, 6km past the top of the hill, and the junction was at the town of Dran (clearly shown on the map half way along the bypass road).  I reached Dran, found one and only one Guest House that wanted more than I was prepared to pay, so I bought a meal, filled my water bottles and headed up the road a bit further looking for potential camp sites.  After a month in Vietnam I was about to spend my 2nd night in the tent.  Poor tent, it must be feeling a bit unloved now.  The camp spot I chose just happened to be next to a very large rubbish heap/sorting area.  But it was on the top of a saddle,  flat, overlooked a valley, Dran and a large reservoir and had market gardens on the other side.  All in all, the trade off was worth it.   I enjoyed being in the tent again - it does feel like home, and the view was really good as long as you didn't look in one direction.  The next morning the climb continued - another half day of climbing from Dran to Da Lat.   I did reach the top of the main hill after a couple of hours but I was on top with many large undulations to keep me busy into Da Lat.   As I climbed the hill through the forest the day before I had made a mental picture of what I thought DaLat would be like, as I rode across the top on the undulations with no forest I re-evaluated and remade my mental picture.  Fortunately my remade image wasn't right, because it wasn't favourable.  Da Lat was indeed lovely but not anything like I had imagined.  In some ways it reminded me of Esfahan in Iran, the countries jewel, making the most of the water front that it has - in this case a lake, with Esfahan a river.  The lake was surrounded by beautiful grassy banks and gardens and the buildings of the city centre perched on the side of the hill over-looking the lake (a bit Wellington NZ like but on a tiny scale) 

 

 Down by the lake - Da Lat

 

 I picked one of the not too ove-the-top hotels that looked like I might get a view - but it seemed everybody else had done the same.  That place was full - and I think that would be quite rare for most of the hotels, as there are just so many of them in Da Lat.  Every road has Hotel after Hotel after Hotel. It must be very busy in peak season to warrant that many being there.  I moved two doors down and got a room with a view to the side.  It was a great place to spend a couple of days, a nice market and plenty of places you could go and avoid the rest of the tourists that were there in the many "Tourist Cafe's". 

 

From DaLat the road decends through pine forest on a great bicycle road, allowing plenty of chances to pass the many buses, motorbikes and cars also on the road, then after about 10km you plateau and continue at an elevated but not so high altitude (I forgot to mention that the altitude at DaLat made the sunny days wonderful, warm radiant sun with blue skies and a lovely low 20's air temperature.)  The plateau was warmer than DaLat but not to the extent of HCMC.

 

 Drying Pine cones for seeds to plant - sounds like corn popping

 

 

Whilst in DaLat I did something that I'd actually never bothered doing much before - before entering a big city - I located the backpacker/cheap hotel district in HCMC on the web and download a map of the city (to store and view on my camera) so that when I entered HCMC in a few days time, I would have some idea of where I should be going - not going in blind as I've done on most occassions.  It was a wonderful thing to do, I really dont know why I hadn't bothered doing it before. Hmmm....

 the local industry near Dinh Quan

 

 Dinh Quan, big rocks

 

One of the places enroute to HCMC was Bao Loc, home of the silk worm breeding industry according to my maps "places of interest for tourists"  The afternoon I got to Bao Loc I searched high and low, found numerous silk textile weaving factories, none that accepted tourists and no breeders. I did my searching on a motorbike taxi thinking that the information that I had been given by my guest house would be correct and I could get there in the rain directly instead of riding my bike slowly and searching an unknown city with no map getting soaked.  But after three factories I gave up and headed back to the guest house to turn on the TV and watch a few different shows on the "Nat Geo Adventure", "Cable Channel". (National Geographics channel for showing videos that people have made whilst travelling the world, visiting strange places in strange ways and the like.)  It felt really strange watching these things in a hotel room whilst cycling to Australia from Europe.

 

The entry to HCMC came a couple of days later, I had planned to stay 40km out and go into the city the next morning, but when I got to where I had planned to stay I still had a few hours of cycling time, the weather had cooled off with the sun behind clouds (It had got stinking hot when I came down from the plateau to sea level again) and I just didn't have the self control to stop myself from going on.  It started raining a few km down the road, but that only lasted about 45 minutes.  It made the road (motorway) potentially a bit slippery, but it dried up once the sun came out and made the humidity the enemy.  The traffic into and around HCMC has a really bad reputation, so I expected the worst and was pleasantly suprised.  It wasn't that bad.  No worse than many of the other large cities I've been through.  But I do wish I had a companion with a movie camera to take video footage of me traversing some of the roundabouts there.  I revil in that type of traffic, and love getting through faster and easier than all the locals.  It's all in picking the gaps and adjusting speed, it seems some of the locals haven't worked that out yet.

 

The HCMC Landmark - The market

 Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon) - I'm walking on the footpath, the roads to the left

 Cu Chi Tunnels: Sniper hole

 

Compared to the rest of Vietnam, HCMC was "expensive".  Many of the items I had been purchasing regularly through Vietnam were 1.5 to 2 times the price when bought in HCMC, and it wasn't just tourist prices, marked prices in shops away from tourist areas were like it too.  I ate in a cafe the first night surrounded by Vietnamese, eating off the same menu with marked prices and watched a guy fork out a Vietnamese small fortune for a basic meal for he, his wife and young child. (It was my most expensive Vietnamese meal)  From then on I went just 1 or 2 blocks east to an area where there were absolutely no tourists, but many footpath vendors of street food and ate there.  The prices were still higher than elsewhere, but much much better.  (the other options included eating near my guest house in the back packer area - in what I will again call Latté café's at increased prices, or going a few block north to the 5 star hotel area and picking a restaurant where I could spend my retirement money.)

 

Leaving Ho Chi Minh City was planned to be direct to the Cambodian border, but I changed my route yet again and went south to the Mekong Delta.  I'd miss the Cu Chi tunnels going that way, so booked a trip from HCMC to the tunnels on one of my days there.  Cu Chi is one of the areas just north east of the city where the "Viet Cong" as we know them had their tunnels for living in and fighting from.  You go through a section of tunnel, but they fortunately don't have the "man traps" that were used during the war to stop troops from the US and its allies .  They do have some of the traps in a display at ground level so you can see the sorts of things they dreamt up, they are no for the squimish.   Also not for the squimish - no I shouldnt say that - it's really a must see - is the War Remnants Museum.  It has equipment displays and photo displays showing events from the war without the coloured glasses that the west would otherwise see them through.  Some might say it shows the war from the Vietnamese side, but many of the photos are really powerful images that speak for themselves, of western troops doing things that we have signed conventions to stop.  They are contained in a memorial display of photos by many photo journalists killed in the conflict.

 

Heading into the delta means remaining in "Tourist Territory" and so you must play "the pricing game" continually. 

 

 One of thousands of Channels in the Delta

 

 Cycle touring the Delta

 

 The Mekong Delta Vietnams food basket - fruit sorting

 

I stayed one night on an island along with a dutch guy I met in the area.  When it was dinner time there was only one place to eat. - the restaurant in the hotel.  We'd explored the island and there were other places, but closed in the evenings as they survive on the Tourist Boat trade.  At the Hotel restaurant, the waitress gave me the menu, I looked at it and said that I wouldn't be eating, that it was too expensive.  The prices were 100,000 and   200,000 Dong for mains (4 and 8 USD) and I normally pay one fifth to one tenth of that.  (Willem's Lonely Planet listed mains at this place being around 50,000)  I wasn't going to eat and pay those prices just because they had a monolpoly - even if I did have the money.  (I always have emergency rations and some foods in my bags plus a fuel stove and an electric water boiler that I can use for instant noodles amongst other things.)  It's the principle...   As soon as they realised they were going to make NO sale at all they brought me the "Vietmases Menu" from which I selected a full meal for around 30,000.   OK, I couldnt read it, but I knew enough of the basics to select one of the beef dishes with rice.  Exactly what would come would be a suprise, but it would be Beef with Rice in some format.   The next day for lunch - on the same island - I went to one of the - now open - other places.  Their menu had dishes 200,000 and 300,000 Dong, I'd balked at the price but had not got to the point of refusing when the waiter/owner said "Would you like a Vietnamese meal, 2 Spring Rolls, Rice, Pork, Soup 15,000 Dong?"  "Yes please" was the obvious answer.  (and it came with an extra bowl of rice (when they thought I was a bit scrawny), Iced Tea and a Banana to finish off with.  (Iced Tea is free just about everywhere else in Vietnam except HCMC).  Whilst in the Delta it's normal to do one of the boat tours, so Willem and I hired ourselves a boatman and headed off at midday.  They take you into some of the small canals, visit some of the local producers and generally explore the area.  As we headed into one of the small canals we transfered into small boats with a Vietnamese lady paddling front and back (OK, bow and stern if you prefer - though it sounds a bit nautical for this type of craft).  Of the many many boats emerging from the canal two really stood out.  All the boats were full of tourist in tourist clothes, but two boats stood out with their passengers adorned in bright orange life jackets.  I'm guessing they booked their tour from home.  Judging by one of the accents, back in the litigous USA.

 

 Late afternoon by the river in Vinh Long

 

Next was Vinh Long where I was pleasantly suprised with one of the tour agents.  I went in to ask about what there was to see, and once he knew I had a bike he drew maps and explained how to get around the places by bike without ever trying to sell a tour.  And he told me to come in the next morning and he'd do the same with an alternate route to my next days destination of Can Tho.  For anybody going there, find the really cheap hotel right on the waterfront.  The one that would have been a really nice hotel in it's day (but it's day was a long time ago).  In the front of that hotel is a tour agent, and he's really good.  Also in Vinh Long is a good little Cobra Restaurant. No that's not its name that's its cuisine.  I was sitting there having drinks with Caroline from the UK, who very conveniently happened to be vegetarian, when the guy working there, (and wanting to impress the visiting female guest) brought over some of their specialty for us to try.  I'd never thought of snakes being full of bones, but it's not unlike fish, lots of ribs. 

 

 Cobra - very like fish in texture and bones

 

The taste is quite neutral, a similar texture to fish but with no fishy flavour, quite flavourless in fact, getting its flavour from the preparation and spices. 

 

A couple of days after that I'm on a boat from Chau Doc in Vietnam to Neak Luong in Cambodia (and a few hours up stream). 

 

 

First impressions of Cambodia, expensive. (is that all I ever think about).  So many tourists in Vietnam told me that Cambodia was so much better than Vietnam because they didn't play the "tourist price" game.  Maybe they don't do it as much, but around Phenom Penh and some rural districts the prices are always high,  typically higher than the "tourist price" in Vietnam.   My first night in Cambodia was in Neak Luong, in a hotel where I paid $5USD.  The room was about as low as I go standard wise - the one around the corner was below that standard and refused to negotiate below there initial price of $6USD.  And yes the rumour I'd heard that Cambodian ATMs dispense USD is true, and so many things are priced to USD too.  As for the tourist price game, they do play.  When they give me a rediculous set of prices I tell them so and the price often changes.  

 

In Phnom Penh, I spent a morning at the S21 site - a former school turned into prison and torture site by the Pol Pot, Khmer Rouge regime.  Now a museum to the genocide committed under his rule.  A visit here is like a visit to a concentration camp in Europe, chilling and emotional.

 

S21 former school converted to prison and Torture Centre for Pol Pot. (The frame in the foreground was swings and ropes at the school and used for suspending people by their wrists - behind their backs by Pol Pot.)

 

From Phenom Penh it was north on Highway 5 along the west side of the lake to Battambang where I'll head across the lake to Siam Reap and Angkor (tomorrow).

 

 Cycle re-Cycle - Phnom Penh

 

 Cambodian School Bus

 

 Door to Door Salesman

 

 Home Delivery

 

 

Well that's it for this time - thanks to everyone that's stayed with me for the past YEAR.  Yes, it is now a year since I was in Barcelona, trying to find my way from the airport to the city at midnight on the wrong side of the road, with no map, on roads with detours, and in a place where I didn't speak the language.   I've learnt alot since then.

 

 

Jeff

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www.whereonearthisjeff.com