Today we were going to go back to Belgium. It was going to be a long trip : frist 7h30 to Adu Dhabi and then after a 2h30 wait again a 7h00 trip to Brussels. We packed our bags and did some last shopping. Palmyre and myself were the BIG spenders: we met a lady who helped us cross the street and gave us the address of a shop that was selling jewels and silk. We bought some saphires ! / I had to go back to the hotel since I ordered a Thai massage. This was a wonderful experience. The lady massage every muscle in my legs, toes, fingers, arms, neck and back. You feel like floating on air afterwards. I was also offered a fruit juice and a small sandwich. I then took a little dive in the pool and was all relaxed to head back for Belgium.At 4 our bus was at the hotel and we were driven to the internation airport through Bangkok's dense and chaotic traffic.
At the airport we were looking for a present for Luc since it's was it's 60th birthday on Thursday the 24th of November. We agreed to buy him a scarf. First we were looking at a bottle of champaign but since this was offered at the exorbitant price of 75Euro we dicided to do something different. So a scarf it was going to be. We offered it to him whilst waiting in the airport in Abu Dhabi and sond "HAPPY BIRTHDAY". At 6h45 in the morning (local Brussels time) we touches down at Zaventem. Then we said our goodbyes and headed home. Maria, Fernand and Palmyre came with me to the Central Station where I got my car out of the parking at work and togehter we drove to Bredene. We first went to Palmyre'e home where her husband Johan had a real nice surprise for us: a breakfast with good coffee and boterkoeken. These are couckes with raisins and lot of butter. What a nice treat that was. Then I drove Maria and Fernand home and although they offered an aperitif at 10h30 in the morning, I declined and went home.
At this moment I am still digesting all the impressions, beauty and horrors that I have seen on this unforgettable trip. I would like to thank all the participants. They were absolutely the best company one can wish and my special thanks to Palmyre who is the perfect roommate: she borrowed me her blackberry so that I was able to update daily this blog. Thanks also the the organization who did a perfect job and everything went so smooth as a swiss clockwork.
After the late dinner,we had a bit of trouble to get up early as our start was for 7 o'clock. We were driven by bus to Chinatown. First we had a little walk by foot and went drinking tea at the local shop that at one time was honoured by the visit of the royal princess. The tea was nice. Then we started to bike. An additional attention point was the fact that here in Bangkok, the driving is on the left hand side of the road. We biked through Chinatown in little streets and alleys where normally no tourist would venture. We firtst visited a very nice park, there we saw people exercising by doing a kind of a dance. It was Tai Chi. There were a master and his 2 pupils, The Master did a deomonstration for us. Every move seemed so easy and smooth, but the guide told us that it could take more than 20 years to become a master. The master explained that the objective was to find an inner balance. After this intermezzo we continued our discovery of Bangkok. We then wanted to cross the river but were not allowed on the ferry with the bikes, because of the flood. So were crossed over the bridge after we carried our bikes up the stairs leading to the bridge We visited the Portuguese area and wnet to a local bakery and tasted the speciality of the shop. It was a kind of cake that is very similar to the biscuits that we are calling "madeleine". After that we continued our discovery and went to the Wat Arun (Temple of Dawn). A real beauty and we enjoyed our visit with our guide Mr Nat.
When we went to the local restaurant where they had planned a lunch, it was closed, so the guides picked anotHer one and there we went. None of us was really hungry. I think that we longed to be able again to eat our usual food and that we were getting tired of the asian delicacies. But anyway I had a lovely pad Thai (fried noodles with egg and vegetables) and others had a soup. Alphonse showed us that he has a healthy appetite by eating his rice and a whole fried fish. After lunch we split up: Alphone, Palmyre and myself decided we wanted to visit the Grand Palace and try the Chao Phraya River Epress. This is the River bus with analogy to the vaporettos in Venice. After all Bangkok was labeled the venice of the East. The others decided to have a nice quiet afternoon at the hotel pool or do some additional shopping. So we set out with our guide Mr Num who was bringing us to the entrance of the Grand Palance with a Tuktuk. There we were submitted to the Dress Code panel who decided that Alphonse needed long trousers and I needed a long skirt. Shorts are not allowed. Palmyre got away with her big scarf that she used as a skirt. We went inside to borrow our clothes. There you gave 200 Bath as a deposit and then got your garment. I really like my long skirt in winecolour with gold decoration at the bottom. When we got dressed, Palmyre realized that she left her guidebook in the tuktuk. Mr Num told us that he would go and look for it. We went to the entrance and after bying our tickets went in to admire the dazzling complex with its Thai art and architecture. We were browsing around and suddenly there was Mr Num with the guidebook in his hand. Palmyre was so glad that she gave him some tip and Mr Num decided that he would continue the tour with us. We visited the temple with the Jade Buddah. He was dressed with his winter clothes. 4 times a year he is dressed with a different outfit depending on the season, a bit like Manneke Pis in Brussel who gets different clothes depending on the events or celebration. We spend more than 2 hours in the complex and were really flabbergasted by it's beauty. There was some preparation and decoration work going on and we were told that this was in preparation of the King's Birthday on the 5th of December. There was still a museum to go but we decided that we would overdose and skipped that one. Mr Num brought us to the Pier of the river bus and waited until our busboat left. His friendliness was really remarkable. We loved our boat trip and saw life in Bangkok from the water. There was a teak transport on the river and many other buildings that we could admire from the water. We saw the bridge that we crossed in the morning with our mountainbikes and then got out at the Taksin brigdge where we got a corresponding Skytrain that brought us back to the hotel. In the evening we all met at the hotel bar for our cocktails. We were aware that this was our last evening together and that tomorrow we would be heading back home. Luk offered us the second cocktail in anticipation of his 60th Birthday the next day (24th of Nov).
After that we went to a fun restaurant: Cabbage & Condoms. This was an association that was promoting save sex and at the entrace there were windowmodels dressed in the suits and dresses made of coloured condoms. Quiet fun but the food was rather average. This concluded our last evening of the trip. I can't believe that this has gone so fast !
Today we literally biked into Thailand. We started at our hotel the Bamboo Lodge and headed for the border approximately 15km away. It was quite hilly. At the border we gave back our bikes and said goodbye to our kind guides who had so patiently accompanied us that whole week. We really liked them alot although we had sometimes serious trouble understanding their Cambodian English e.g. A province became a proven and room number was roomnamer. But in the end we always understood. We walked with our luggage from the Cambodian to the Thai borderpolice station and there Mr TY our Cambodian guide handed us over to Mr Nat our Thai guide.
There our bus was awaiting to bring us to Bangkok at a distance of 350km. First we had some trouble stashing luggage of and 8 persons in the rather small bus. Mr Than told us that we were going to visit a local market +/- 30km further in the direction of Bangkok. This was commented by a remark that if we were going to buy a lot at the malrket, we were going to need a second bus.
The market was really colourfull and was appealing to all our senses. Fruit and vegetables were on display newt to baskets with fish. A whole stand was selling grilled insects of all kinds: larvae of the bambooworm, big ants, cockroaches and other delicacies of this kind. There were also shoes and blouses being sold and toys. You could find just about anything you need. After our visit we continued our way to Bangkok. We stopped twice more: once for lunch and once for a short break. We were apalled by the huge and chaotic traffic but finally got to our hotel. Very nice and conviently situated at 50m of the skytrain.
We decided to explore by foot and then take the skytrain.we wanted to have a drink at the Banyee Tree Hotel in the bar situated on the 61st floor. We got there after a good walk and some skytrain usage only to be told that there was a dresscode: no shorts allowed. 3 of the 4 men were wearing shorts and decided that they didn't like to put on borrowed shorts. So we decided to go directly to the restaurant that our guide Mr Nat had recommended. That was the start of thr Bangkok Taxi Experience! We took 2 taxis for the 8 of us and agreed on 100 Bath for the fare. The first taxi stopped after a shortb ride at a restaurant and we taught that we arrived, so we paid the driver and got out. But at our dismay the other taxi drove on... So we got back in our taxi and told the driver to go to the restaurant. Then he told us he had no idea where it was and started driving in the opposite direction. We told him to make a U turn and gave him the address of the hotel. But he continued to drive in the wrong direction. Maria and Alphonse were upset and Yves and myself were getting just furious. This was a ludicreous situation. In the end we managed to make the driver to stop the taxi and we just got out without paying. The we had to start to walk in the direction from where we came. We halted a taxi and asked gave him the restaurant address that we obtained in the mean time by text massage from Palmyre. This guy start to drive and 100meter further he decides that he doesn't feel like driving us and stops and tells us to get out and walk. We then asked a 3rd taxi. He wasn't any better. First he started to laugh, then when I showed him my mobile phoine with the address he takes it and goes hallo hallo. I snatched it back. Then he told us that it was going to cost us 300 bath so we told him thanks but no thanks. He was just having fun at our expense. So we decided to walk to the first skytrain stop and head to the restaurant by public transport. In the mean time the others also had their share of troubles with their taxidriver and had to be insistent in order to dricve them where they wanted to be. So we all got to the restaurant in the end by 9h30 PM. We each had 2 cocktail to recover from the experience amd had a late dinner in a very nice restaurant in a garden. When we mentioned this to our guide he told us that this is the "normal" behaviour for taxidrivers at night. They just pick the fares they want. So far for taxidrivers in Bangkok. This concluded our first acquaintance with Bangkok
Today no biking but boating instead. We are travveling by baot from Siem Riep to Battambang on the Tonle Sap lake, a journey that will take us 8 hourd. This is the largest lake in Southeast Asia. We had the whole boat to ourselves and we saw the real life in Cambodia today. We were passing lots of floating villages with their houses, schools, pagodas and shops. We visited an artisanal weaving centre where baskets and bags were made fron waterhyacinths. Also there we saw the floating shops passing by to sell their goods. The was one with fruits and vegetables and also softdrinks and beer was being on offer and delivered at the house. We continued our way through this beautiful nature reservation area where lots of birds are nesting. At a certain moment we took 2 more passengers on board, a women and her daughter who were relatives from the boatowner. Our lunchpackets were packed in beautiful baskets that were delicately decorated and the food was served in bananaleafs. We noticed a lot of traffic between Siem Riep and Battambang. At certain points the waterway was so narrow that we nearly touched the other boat when passing. We thouroughly enjoyed our journey and were even a bit surprised that it was already over at our arrival. During our short ride to the hotel, our guide asked if we wanted a ride on the Bambootrain. We did and went for a ride. The Bamboo train consists of a wagon with 2 bars with wheels that are put on the track and on top of that a platform, the size of a tabletop, where 4 (or more) people can sit on a mat. At the back is the driver handling the motor.This contraption travels at a speed of +/- 30 km/hour.There is only 1 track and when a "wagon" from the opposite direction is encountered then the one who has the lightest charge is being dismanteled, so that the heaviest one can continue it's journey. After that then the other one is put back together on the track and can also continue. Palmyre wanted to encounter an opposite train. We did no less then encounter 3, so no complaints are accepted. At the end of the track we visited a brick factory and oven and then went back to our starting point. We had a very fast dinner and where back at the hotel at 8h30. Although we were looking for a drink we didn't find a suitable bar and had all an early night in preparation of the big bikingtrip of the next day.
To day we are biking the longest distance from the whole trip: 90km to Pailin. The trip is along a big road and although we see a lot the scenery is not as spectacular as when we are biking through the little country roads. We are maintaining the pace at 20km/hour and we are having a stop every hour. After about the 3 hour my sore bottom got worse and worse. We stoPped after about 70km for lunch. We had nearly an hour break and it was decided that Fernand and Yves would race against Mr Wayne, our biking guide. Mr Wayne is the biking champion of not only Cambodia but the whole Southeast Asia. The started after the group photo was taken. The others would bike in the company of Mr T except Maria and myself. My bottom had it for today and couldn't "face" another hour on the saddle. Halfway through Fernand was biking after Mr Wayne who we didn't see, and Yves who had been taking pictures was chasing to catch up with Fernand. After them came Alphonse Who really had a great biking day. After them came the closing group with Luk and Lucienne and Palmyre and Mr T. We think that Mr T had a tough ride today.
When all arrived in Pailin we cheered and took lots of pics.
After a good rest we set out to go and admire the big buddah. After the beauty of angkor Wat we were utterly shocked by the ugliness and the tackiness of the edifice and it's surroundings. Back at the hotel we informed Maria and Fernand that they hadn"t missed anything. We also got info on the province and the fact that the people there were still voting for the no 2 of the ex-pol-pot regime. We were also warned not to go outside any path because of the threath of landmines.
Upon our arrival we decided to have an aperitif before dinner and Luc had noticed in the afternoon that there were only 3 bottles of white wine and had put them in the fridge. Thanks to Luc's Good thinking and planning we had lovely cool white wine. After our dinner, Yves gave the enveloppe with the tips to Mr Ty and asked him to take care of the distribution. The whole team was there and there were a couple of short speeches and Mr Wayne showed us pics of his cycling team. It was our last night in Cambodia and we started to realize that the end of our journey was coming near.
We did a lot of biking today. We started at 7h00 and had to go first to the ticket booth to verify if my pass would be considered as still valid. Thanks to the good connections of our guide; he had been the English teacher of the staff working at the booth; the pass was decleared acceptable. We biked 52km before noon. We biked mostly along small countryroads and the last bit was somewhat hilly. It was very hot and our respective bottoms were really sore. Mine continued hurting throughout the day and it was only in the eveningshower that I noticed that I had an infection.
We had a lovely lunch at a restaurant with a watermill and were then dropped at the start of the hikingtrail. 1,5km up the mountain path that was covered with rocks but in the shade odf the trees we found the waterfall and the carvings in the stones of he holy river. This is the river of the 1000 lingas. We followed the river for a while and then back to the trail to go down. After some refreshment that was badly needed, we went to visit the temple of Banteay Srei. This temple was discovered in 1914 and was restored according to the anastylosis method, consisting of numbering all the pieces found on the ground and the re-construct afterward. The temple was rather small but the carvings were absolutely beautiful. A real pleasure for the eye. In the evening, Palmyre, Alphonse and me went to a dinner including Apsara dancing. This was in a big hotel and full of tourists. Dinner was a self service buffet and was average. But the dances were worth it. These girls have to train very hard to be able to bent their fingers and arms in these un-natural possitions. Sometimes their hands looked like a flower. The costumes were beautifull qnd they had lots of make-up and the head-wear was spectacular.
After the show we went back by tuk tuk. When I asked the price, the man asked us how much we wanted to give. I said 1$ which was the same as in Phnem Phnom. At the arrival at the hotel after a very short ride,the man was profusely thanking us for business. So we suspect that we paid too much but for us that was OK. A drink together on a terrace next to the hotel concluded this beautifull day and our stay in Siem Riep.
Today is the highlight of our trip. We are visiting the temple complex of Angkor Wat by bike. We set out from the hotel in the heavy and chaotic morning traffic of Siem Riep. Our first stop was at the ticket booth where we had to take our helmets off in order to have our picture taken. After 10 minutes we received our 3 day passes with a severe warning from the guide that we had to keep our passes with us and no torns would be tolerated. I will tell you later what happened to mine. We continued our tour and the first temple we visited was Ta Phrom. The is also the temple where the film Tomb Raiders with Angelina Jolie was turned. Indeed the spectacular settings with huge strangling figtrees overtaking the temple buildins was aweful. We walked through the grounds and were really impressed. On our way back we stopped at the orchestra that was playing traditional music. All musicians were victims of the landmines, missing a foot or a limb or both. Part of the revenues they generate with the concerts goes to support landmine victims and their families. Then we continued our tour od Angkor Thom the vast complex. We saw the elephant terrace fron where could watch the ropedancers who were walking and dancing on ropes hanging between the 5 facing towers. Quite a spectacular view that must have been. We then biked to the temple of Bayon. This temple was astonishing with it's 54 towers with each 4 faces. We were admiring these whilst walking through the temple. We also climbed on 1 of the towers and admired the views around us. After this it was time for lunch. Again we received a delicious preset Khmer meal. After the meal when I wanted to pay for the coke that I drank, they would not accept the 2 dollar bill I had. I was getting worried that I wasn't going to be able to pay with these in other shops but the guide assured me that the owner of the restaurant was peculiar and that this was an exception.
And then: Angkor Wat temple. We entered through the majestic lane that brought us to the temple itself.we walked through it and were admiring the temple and the surrounding views. The we climbed the steep wooden steps to visit the main tower that is representing the mount Meru. Although a lot of conservation work was going on, we were able to visit and admire. We were informed by Vuthyn our very charming guide, that these steps were the only put there last year and that the tower couldn't be visited by the public before that since ther were only very steep stone steps and that was too dangerous for the tourists. The reason as to why these steps were so steep was to inspire respects to the king. When you have to climb so steep then you have to watch your steps and your feet and can't look up to the face of the king. In eastern culture to look someone in the eyes when talking was proof of bad manners. After we all got down,We continued then through the galleries with their bas-reliefs telling us stories about kings and wars, angels and demons, gods and thei wives and concubines and our guide told us all of them. Our harts and heads were thrully filled with impessions of beauty and admirations for this ancient culture.
After our visit we had to wait a bit for Yves who was lingering in the temple.
We got at the hotel and were grateful for this day full of beauty and history. Since it had been very hot I washed the T-shirt that I had been wearing beforez we went for dinner. When we got back from our dinner and some shopping at the local markets,we started to prepare for the next and only then I realized that my temple pass was inside the pocket of my T-shirt. I fished it out and was appaled to find only a little roll of paper. But thanks to the puzzle talent of Palmyre we were able to re-construct more or less the pass. The next morning, after the paper had dried I went to the reception to fetch a pot of glue and Palmyre glued it to a piece of paper. When I told the guide that I "washed" the pass and showed him our work, no comments were needed. The look on his face was suficient.
Today we travelled most of the time in the bus. After 4h30 driving on the "highway" we got to Sambor Prei Kuk. With highway I mean the road between Phnom Phen and Sien. Riep that is used by all kind of traffic: cars, motorbikes, bikes, ox-cart, tractors, pedestrians and catlle. Lots of schoolkids biking or walking from and to school. All along the way there are stall where just everything is been sold: food, vegetables, fruit, hardware, gasoil etc... In order to get to the temple complex we had to drive along a road where there were more holes then road and I can assure you that we were quite shaken and that the we had a wobbly wobbly ride. At our arrival we were again welcomed by lots of kids trying to sell scarves. We had a dezlicious lunch with roasted chicken and rice and afterwards we went with the guide to visit the temple complex. We were vrey impressed and we excited with anticipation of what we would encounter at Anhkor Vat the next day. Also sad to notice the damage done by bombing to these beautiful temples of ancient times. Also nature is quite destructive for these buildings. We continued for the first time by bike today. En route we had suddenly a rainshower and were drenched in no time. We took shelter until the rain stopped. The road was very wet and as a result we were all covered by red mud. Quite a spectacle!
We tried to clean ourselves as good as possible before entering the hotel. We biked +/- 30km today and had to climb back in the bus in order to arrive on time at the hotel and our dinner. The hotel is located near the old market.
Our dinner was in a restaurant -/+ 50meters from the hotel at the market. Luc wanted the dinner served some time after we reveiced the aperitif and explained this to the staff. But it came as no surprise to us that they didn't understood and that as soon as we had our drink, the food was served. A stroll around the market concluded our day.
Today we started our journey to Oudang at 7h30 am. We first drove outside Phnom Phen because the traffic is too horrendeous to bike safely. We started after 15km and biked through small country roads full of holes. Even if we had to pay attention to the road to avoid the obstacles and holes, we managed to admire the beautiful views. Water was all around us and we saw nenuphars and lotus flowers on bith sides. Eveywhere were we passed by, the children came running to the side of the street and were welcoming us with their "hallo hallo". Offcourse we answered them and kept waving. We could also see that the people are poor, the few cows that we saw on the sode of the road were very skinny and were practically all bones. At a certain moment we stopped for a break and realized that we were missing Yves. He had gone straight on where we had to take a right turn. So the bikevan had to catch up with him and guide him back. The funny thing was that Yves didn't realize at first that the van was trying to indicate him to turn directions, but he thoufgt that theyv were asking him if he was tired and wanted to come in the van. He indicated that he wanted to continue to bike ! After the intermezzo we continued our way to Oudang. On our wayN we (the 4 ladies) asked the guide to make a stop at the local shop. This was really special. The shopowner was selling eveything from flower and sugar to hardware, gasoline and balloons for kids. After our local shopping we went to the Oudang temple. We stopped at a parking and at our surprise we saw Luc passing by at great speed on his bike. He hadn't noticed that we had stopped. We all yelled but to no avail. Then Fernand chased him on his bike to bring him back. At the parking lot we were immediately surrounded by a bunch of little charming kids who spoke a couple of words English. They were fanning us and trying to sell flowers and bracelets. They accompanied us throughout ouer visit. We had to do a steep climb of 400 steps but the astonishing view was our reward. We asmired the stupa and took lots of pictures of the wonderful views. On our way back down we had lots of fun and we saw some monkeys. At our return we were served a lovely lunchpoacket which we ate seated on a carpet on the ground. The kids around us looked so hungry that we gave them some of our lunch. That was until a hungry monkey came and pinched the food out of the lunchboxes. After that we returned to the city.we did 50km in total on the bike. In the afternoon we visited the Royal Palace. The ladies were wearing tops and we had to buy T-shirts to cover our shoulders before we were permitted in.
Beautiful buildings and an incredible display of wealth were awaiting us to see, all situated in tropical gardens that were meticulously maintained. After that we went for some local shopping and Maria and myself went back early to the hotel by tuk tuk. We had ordered a massage.
We had a really early start since our boat for Phnom Phen was leaving at 7 am. At our great surprise our guide returned the tips that we had given him the day before. Then we were off to the boat and Cambodia. We had to make 2 boarder stops: one at the Vietnamese and 1 at the Cambodian boarder. It was at the Vietnamese boarder that I realized that I had lost my small purse with my bankcards and creditcards and ID and drivers licence. A real bummer, but nothing could be done about it. It was a long and uncomfortable boatride and after 5h30 we reached Phnom Phen where we met our tourguides: Andrew and Monti or T. They brought us to a nice restaurant where we chatted in Dutch with the manager who was from the Netherlands. After lunch, Andrew toke us for a visit to the killing fields and afterwards to the S-21 prison. It was awful to see the extend of the horrors committed by Pol Pot and his regime. It got to us and we realize how horrible and cruel people can be to each other.
Then to the hotel. After check-in a lovely dinner concluded our first day in Cambodia.
Today was a long day and we started at 7h30 to go and visit the floating market. We took a boat and when up the very busy river. We saw all the boat selling their goods and you can tell what they are selling since they put 1 of it in the mast. So you see pumpkins, onions and other fruits and vegetables hanging on a pole.
After the floating market we drove for about 1 hour before we started to bike. We had to do +/- 35km in the morning before lunch. We divided the distance in 2 legsm first 17km and then the other half. It was very hot so we stepped hard on the pedals to get there fast. During the break we tasted for the first time dragon fruit. It was delicious and has a taste similar to kiwi.we had seen the crops. The plant looks like a cactus and there were nets around the plants with lightbulbs. These are lighted at night to attract the insects that are dispersing the pollen to fertilize the plants. After the refreshment we continued the biking trip until lunch. We had a lovely lunch consisting of the national dish: soup with beef and herbs and vegetables with noodles. Really delicious.
After lunch we biked for another 20km to the memorial of the killing fields. More than 4000 people were slaughtered in a horrible way in 12 days time. By the army of Pol Pot. After a short way during which I made usage of the local "toilet" we continued our biking. One word of explanation on the local toilet since this isb the second time i used one. The fact is that there is none. It's a small place in the back of the house where the washing is also done and the ground is earth or dirty concrete and that's it.
We biked for another 40 minutes. Maria and Lucienne decided that they had biked enough for the day and went by bus. Around 5 pm we all got on the bus and I must admit that I also had enough of biking for the day because my bottom was really sore. We were driven to a beautiful hotel with rooms so spacious that they could serve as a ballroom.
It was our last night in Vietnam and we dined all together with the 2 drivers and our 2 guides. Dinner was again delicious with springrolls, shrimps, squid and shroimps cooked in a broth. We concluded our last night in Vietnam with drinks and ice creams in the hotelbar.
We continued our first day of biking in the afternoon. We were going to narrow paths (betonated for the most part) and under the cocospalms, so it wasn't too hot. We visited a rope factory. The rope was being twined there fromt the outside of the coconuts. It was quite enchanting. Also it was very funny to encounter so many children who were called out to us with "hello hello" and in response we said SingChao, witch is Vietnamese for Hello or just answered them in Hello. It was a great trip and at one stage we stopped at the gates of a local school. The kids were offcourse very curious about these foreigners on their bikes with helmets on the heads and were making funny faces at us and calling hello. We all had lots of fun and in the end we gave them some candy.
We ended our first biking day by taken the bus and then travel over the Mekong rivier in a ferry and then we got to the hotel. It was quit different from the previous one but allright. Dinner was again preset with delicacies from Vietnam: springroll with crab, then steamed shrimp and to end a stew of beef with vegetables and fried rice. Most of us went straight to bed after dinner since we were really tired. But I was woken up at midnight because Yves managed to confuse room 202 with 204 and was knocking at our door called Fons Fons....
A wonderful first day where we got to know the beautiful countryside of Vietnam and we did 50km on the bikes in total for our first day. Not too bad !!
Today we had an early start at 7h45 and first drove to the Pagode. We got a lesson in history from Tiger, our guide, about Vietnam and how at the start the North and the Middle of Vietnam got along together quit well since the king of the Middle of Vietnam married the princes of the North. But due to the fact that tradition asked that the wife is also killed when her husband dies and the fact the the Middle vietnames would not change, a war was declared between the North and the Middle of the land which was won by the North. The South of Vietnam and the Mekong of Cuu Long delta belonged originally to Cambodja. But since the capital was in |Siem Riep they couldn't defend that south properly when Vietnam expanded it's territory and so the Mekong delta is part of the current Vietnam. We visited the lake of the Lady Om. She was a feminist of early times and defeated an army of men to fill the lake.
Then we started the biking tour. We went again through narrow paths in the ricefields and at our great surprise today it was Yves who took a dive from the path to the field next to it. Unfortunately he wasn't "rewarded" with a mud bath only his ego got a little bit bruised. We did stop at a farm where they were drying the rice. It was just near the street where the rice is put onto plastic sheets to dry in the sun. We got to know that there are 3 crops a year and how the seeds were sown and then how the little rice plants of +/- 30 cm are planted in a second field . The rice is then harvested once it's fully grown and afterwards the rest of stubs are burned. Well when biking along the fields we saw each of the stages of the production cycle in action. At one point we stopped at a field where the people were harvesting and also lots of ducks were feeding. Appartently approximately 10% of the rice is for feeding of ducks and other animals such as rats which seem to be considered as a delicacy. When looking at the peasans carrying the cut ricebundles on each side of the stick, then Fernand decided to give them a hand and he really carried two big bundels on the carrying stick to the side of the field.
We continued and bought some refreshments at the local store before we got to the place for lunch. It was a delicious stew of fish and vegetables and even flower leaves that we had to cook ourselves in a pot in the middle of the table and it was served with the noodles. Really very nice.
We managed to get in at least 50km before lunch !!!
Then we continued our journey to Can Tao and again along the narrow paths and the so many bridges, big and small, that we lost count of them. It is also a real art to manage to pass another bike or motorbike when on such a narrow paths !!
And offcourse the continuous call of the kids "hello hello" where ever we passed by !Really fun.One thing to remember are the PINK ducks. We noticed a whole flock of pink ducks in a field. We were all excited and took photos because we had never seen pink ducks before. We were still discussing when the guide tolf us that the farmers put dye on their ducks to recognize their own and that it was possible that we would encounter blue and green ducks as well. So far for our biology lesson. At the end we had 9 km straight road and the men decided to "go" for it. They made a bit of race of it and then there was Palmyre who also stepped hard on the pedals and arrived just after them.
Then it was me and Alphonse and then Maria and Lucienne arrived somewhat later. After a short and bumpy ride we got to the hotel. We noticed that some of the streets were flodded and were told that this was because it just has been full moon and then the water is rising.
We really did a lot of biking today putting in another 30 a 35km and I must admit, my bottom is telling me so !!
We started at 7:30 with the 2 minibuses. Each bus contained 4 mountainbikes. We drove for about 1 hour out of the town of Saigon before we stopped in a more rural area and tried out our bikes.
Then our biking journey really started. We were biking through the ricefields.we were off road. In the Mekong delta and admired the scenery around us. We also passed a great number of duckfarms on our way. We biked on very narrow paths through the ricelfields, no more than 1 m wide, and then it happened. Maria probably wanted a close inspection of the rice and fell off the path into the rice field. Thankgod she was not hurt but when she came out we all noticed that she got a free mudbath. She was really covered in mud from head to toe. We all had a giggle but were glad that Maria could continue biking with us although here wrist was hurting. Our first stop was at the "matsfactory" where people were weaving carpets made from lacgras that was then dried and dyed in different colours. As we continued our trip we also stopped at a factory where kids were working at taking the nuts out of the shells. They seemed very happy but it looked kind of a miserable job that is propably not paid much. Then we nearly had our second accident of the day. At a tree in the workspace a fan was attached and lucienne managed to walk right into it. Good thing was that she had her helmet on. After that we continued untill lunch. This was sezrved after we stopped biking and had a 1 hours drive with the minibus. The "restaurant" had a choice of 3 dishes: noodles with seafood, soup with seafood and porc ribs with steamed rice. Everyone was very happy with the lovely food that made up for the location. After lunch we went on with our journey. The afternoon we would bike though the cocos fields and farmersland.
We did approximately 25km this morning.
We started at 7:30 with the 2 minibuses. Each bus contained 4 mountainbikes. We drove for about 1 hour out of the town of Saigon before we stopped in a more rural area and tried out our bikes.
Then our biking journey really started. We were biking through the ricefields.we were off road. In the Mekong delta and admired the scenery around us. We also passed a great number of duckfarms on our way. We biked on very narrow paths through the ricelfields, no more than 1 m wide, and then it happened. Maria probably wanted a close inspection of the rice and fell off the path into the rice field. Thankgod she was not hurt but when she came out we all noticed that she got a free mudbath. She was really covered in mud from head to toe. We all had a giggle but were glad that Maria could continue biking with us although here wrist was hurting. Our first stop was at the "matsfactory" where people were weaving carpets made from lacgras that was then dried and dyed in different colours. As we continued our trip we also stopped at a factory where kids were working at taking the nuts out of the shells. They seemed very happy but it looked kind of a miserable job that is propably not paid much. Then we nearly had our second accident of the day. At a tree in the workspace a fan was attached and lucienne managed to walk right into it. Good thing was that she had her helmet on. After that we continued untill lunch. This was sezrved after we stopped biking and had a 1 hours drive with the minibus. The "restaurant" had a choice of 3 dishes: noodles with seafood, soup with seafood and porc ribs with steamed rice. Everyone was very happy with the lovely food that made up for the location. After lunch we went on with our journey. The afternoon we would bike though the cocos fields and farmersland.
We did approximately 25km this morning.
Today it was the discovery of Ho Chi Ming City. We started early. The first thing that hits you when going on the street, is the noice!
Thousands of mopeds and motorbikes are crossing the streets at dazzling speed and are constantly blowing their horns. Together with the noise of the motors themseves, it's like a wall of noise coming at you and then.. You have to cross that street!!! The first time you are certain that your life is at risk.
We went to the market. That was quite an experience and odors and colors of all kind are stimulating you senses.
We had a lovely soup for lunch and enjoyed thoroughly watching the crazy traffic going by.
After lunch we visited the Museum of war. This makes you realize how horrible this Vietnam war was and people are still suffering from the after effects of agent orange. We were shaken when we exited the museum.
Then up to the Cathedral Notre Dame and the beautiful post office. Their we had un unexpected encounter: a couple was getting married and while the fotos were taken, some comments in Flemish were made. Yves said: well now it's beautifull but it will not last. Then the groom answered us in Flemish as well: do you really think so? He is belgian and she lived already 3 years in belgium and was speaking Flemish as well. We had a nice chat and wished them love and happiness. We continued our exploration and bought some "raincoats". The are colored plastic bags that protect you from getting wet. The are even different qualities.
We went up to the river Saigon and then back to the hotel where we received our bikingbriefing for the next 3 days. A delicious dinner concluded our first day.
We are now ready to bike!
Today it was the discovery of Ho Chi Ming City. We started early. The first thing that hits you when going on the street, is the noice!
Thousands of mopeds and motorbikes are crossing the streets at dazzling speed and are constantly blowing their horns. Together with the noise of the motors themseves, it's like a wall of noise coming at you and then.. You have to cross that street!!! The first time you are certain that your life is at risk.
We went to the market. That was quite an experience and odors and colors of all kind are stimulating you senses.
We had a lovely soup for lunch and enjoyed thoroughly watching the crazy traffic going by.
After lunch we visited the Museum of war. This makes you realize how horrible this Vietnam war was and people are still suffering from the after effects of agent orange. We were shaken when we exited the museum.
Then up to the Cathedral Notre Dame and the beautiful post office. Their we had un unexpected encounter: a couple was getting married and while the fotos were taken, some comments in Flemish were made. Yves said: well now it's beautifull but it will not last. Then the groom answered us in Flemish as well: do you really think so? He is belgian and she lived already 3 years in belgium and was speaking Flemish as well. We had a nice chat and wished them love and happiness. We continued our exploration and bought some "raincoats". The are colored plastic bags that protect you from getting wet. The are even different qualities.
We went up to the river Saigon and then back to the hotel where we received our bikingbriefing for the next 3 days. A delicious dinner concluded our first day.
We are now ready to bike! Find some pics
After+/-15hours of Flying time: 6h25from Brussels toAbu Dhabi and then 6h00 hours to Bangkok and then 1h30 from bangkok we finally arrived in Saigon.We met with ourguides.One of them is called Tiger.And he is great fun. Now we are all ready to go and explore Saigon. I need to purchase a new pair of reading glasses since I broke mine on the plane. Saigon here we come!
Well today I have packed. I managed to get it done and carry no more then 14 kg. I hope that I will not miss something essential. I even got a bikershelmet from my daughter. I love it. It's groovy and looks professional. I still need to pack my gloves and a saddlepen (I don't even know what it is) but Maria purchased these for me on Saturday so I will find out at the Airport.
Now a couple of last little items to do, such as ready the manual of my brand new camer. After going through the first couple of funtionalities I am convince that I bought myself a great little camera. Only a couple of remarks: it's not giving me a great result practising the wide angel in my appartment ! But I am sure that the wide angle views of Vietnam and Angkor Wat that I plan to take, will be breathtaking.
I hope I will be able to have a good night sleep with all the excitement building up.
Well we are 1 day nearer to the start. I got a phone call from Lucienne, one of the participants who I don't know. We had a nice chat and are both really excited to leave. I had bought a new camera and was planning on reading the manual this weekend but forgot it in Brussels. So this will be for Sunday evening and yes I follow my own advise : if all else fails try reading the f*** manual!
The start is getting nearer. Next week Tuesday I will be on my way to Saigon. We are a group of 8 people for this adventure. I know Maria and Fernand and Palmyre. I went skiing with them in January. I will meet and greet the others at the airport.
I started preparing for this at the end of August and spent minimum 5 hours a week at the gym with my personal trainer. I think that I am ready to go now.
Alfons, one of the participants,sent us a summary of the trip with beautiful pictures. I am attaching it.
We started at 7:30 with the 2 minibuses. Each bus contained 4 mountainbikes. We drove for about 1 hour out of the town of Saigon before we stopped in a more rural area and tried out our bikes.
Today it was the discovery of Ho Chi Ming City. We started early. The first thing that hits you when going on the street, is the noice!
After+/-15hours of Flying time: 6h25from Brussels toAbu Dhabi and then 6h00 hours to Bangkok and then 1h30 from bangkok we finally arrived in Saigon.We met with ourguides.One of them is called Tiger.And he is great fun. Now we are all ready to go and explore 
