After a couple really long and hot days of riding from Qui Nhon to Nha Trang, we desperately needed a break from the sun and the saddle so we decided to take the train from Nha Trang to Saigon. It's 400+ km between these two cities so the 8 hour train ride saved us from 4 long, hot days of riding. The train ride was pretty nice as we rolled by fields and fields of dragon fruit! We have been hearing from many people about the rampant corruption and bribery in Vietnam but haven't really experienced it until this train ride. Bus and train travel is pretty easy and affordable in Laos and Vietnam if it's just you and some luggage. As soon as you mention that you want to bring your bicycle along, the whole conversation changes and things become really difficult! It's as if you just asked to have tea with the Queen! When we took a minivan in Laos, we had a contentious negotiation with the driver regarding the fee to transport our bicycles. Similarly, the Vietnam railways luggage staff charged us more than three times the stated fee for transporting our bicycles (it was $10/bike instead of $3 but it was the principle of it!). The worst part of it was that once we got into the train station at Saigon, Ginny went to claim our bikes and they told her that we would have to come back in the morning as the bikes were not available. So I went to the baggage claim area to try again, saw the bikes in the corner and gave the guy our baggage claim ticket. He demanded another bribe of 50,000 dong/bike ($2) which I was not going to pay. After a brief argument (the baggage guy speaking Vietnamese and me speaking English), I walked over to the bikes and rolled them outside. The best part of it was that a different baggage claim guy actually helped me escape without paying the bribe - maybe he's doing his part to reduce corruption in Vietnam.
We spent a couple days exploring Saigon where scooters and motorcycles rule the roads. There are relatively few vehicles on the road as most people get around on scooters. The scooters have free reign to do virtually whatever they want... ride the wrong way, blow red lights, ride on the sidewalk, merge without looking, honk incessantly, etc. It sounds like anarchy but somehow it works surprisingly well. I think it works because everyone is going pretty slowly, expecting people to be coming from any and all directions and no one gets rattled or angry with the chaotic road conditions. Somehow we have adapted to riding in these conditions and have become part of the flow of Vietnamese roads. I did have a guy come up behind me today on his scooter start pushing me with his foot on my rear rack...that was outside my comfort zone! We caught up with an old friend Peter Kim who lives in Saigon which was great! We visited the War Remnants Museum (really well done but super depressing museum about the Vietnam War) and the Reunification Palace (amazing 1960s modern architecture palace that used to house the South Vietnamese president and was stormed by tanks and planes in April 1975 to end the War). We also got our bikes tuned up in Saigon including new chains for both bikes.
The past two days we've been riding through the Mekong Delta which is really nice in that it's super flat, scenic and pretty easy to get on quiet, low traffic roads. We've been riding through incredibly green rice paddies and today we took two ferries to get across the Mekong River which was a cool experience. However, the weather continues to be stifling with a searing heat that we've never experienced before. We've vowed to get up even earlier so that we're done riding by midday. It's two more days in the Mekong Delta and then we're on to Cambodia!
We spent a couple days exploring Saigon where scooters and motorcycles rule the roads. There are relatively few vehicles on the road as most people get around on scooters. The scooters have free reign to do virtually whatever they want... ride the wrong way, blow red lights, ride on the sidewalk, merge without looking, honk incessantly, etc. It sounds like anarchy but somehow it works surprisingly well. I think it works because everyone is going pretty slowly, expecting people to be coming from any and all directions and no one gets rattled or angry with the chaotic road conditions. Somehow we have adapted to riding in these conditions and have become part of the flow of Vietnamese roads. I did have a guy come up behind me today on his scooter start pushing me with his foot on my rear rack...that was outside my comfort zone! We caught up with an old friend Peter Kim who lives in Saigon which was great! We visited the War Remnants Museum (really well done but super depressing museum about the Vietnam War) and the Reunification Palace (amazing 1960s modern architecture palace that used to house the South Vietnamese president and was stormed by tanks and planes in April 1975 to end the War). We also got our bikes tuned up in Saigon including new chains for both bikes.
The past two days we've been riding through the Mekong Delta which is really nice in that it's super flat, scenic and pretty easy to get on quiet, low traffic roads. We've been riding through incredibly green rice paddies and today we took two ferries to get across the Mekong River which was a cool experience. However, the weather continues to be stifling with a searing heat that we've never experienced before. We've vowed to get up even earlier so that we're done riding by midday. It's two more days in the Mekong Delta and then we're on to Cambodia!
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