Living the Dream
I'm in Saigon now. I walked through the city yesterday to sign up for my 1 month intensive language course and I had that great feeling where things just feel right, a challenge coming up, a new and exciting environment, life as it should be. It was total chaos at the University for signing up, lots of very polite young people looked after me, as did the bemused Franciscan monks when I mistook their Seminary for the University.
I spent the last week in Phan Rang with Conrad, working at his office and cycling. I'm working up to a 90km mountain ride to Da Lat, but I need to get used to the heat and distance first. Found a sweet little 40km loop along the coast and then through a hidden mountain valley with a massive natural amphitheatre and a tempting dirt track heading into it. I'll be exploring there again as soon as I'm back in May.
Vietnamese back roads are pretty nuts. Miles of salt farms, huts on stilts, pigs chickens and cows everywhere, desert swapping to lush greenery then back again, winding through tiny but packed villages. The road is a single lane often covered in sand and crossing dry river beds, must be fun in the rainy season.
A small 'thumper truck' loaded with onions slowly catches up and passes me, the copilot grinning and reaching out a hand to pull me along, I love little moments like that. The dude on top of the load is pretty chilled, nodding to me. 10km later he glances back and does a total double take to see me still sitting right behind them, guess he wasn't expecting that. I'm totally covered from the sun and with wraparound sunglasses so he can't see my big grin, but he is smiling and waving anyway.
The single lane doesn't stop the occasional car overtaking completely on the dusty verge, all chilled though.Eventually the lane winds through a village, people offering me to come in for a drink but I'm on a mission so it's back along the coast to the resort and a couple of beers.
I spent the last week in Phan Rang with Conrad, working at his office and cycling. I'm working up to a 90km mountain ride to Da Lat, but I need to get used to the heat and distance first. Found a sweet little 40km loop along the coast and then through a hidden mountain valley with a massive natural amphitheatre and a tempting dirt track heading into it. I'll be exploring there again as soon as I'm back in May.
Vietnamese back roads are pretty nuts. Miles of salt farms, huts on stilts, pigs chickens and cows everywhere, desert swapping to lush greenery then back again, winding through tiny but packed villages. The road is a single lane often covered in sand and crossing dry river beds, must be fun in the rainy season.
A small 'thumper truck' loaded with onions slowly catches up and passes me, the copilot grinning and reaching out a hand to pull me along, I love little moments like that. The dude on top of the load is pretty chilled, nodding to me. 10km later he glances back and does a total double take to see me still sitting right behind them, guess he wasn't expecting that. I'm totally covered from the sun and with wraparound sunglasses so he can't see my big grin, but he is smiling and waving anyway.
The single lane doesn't stop the occasional car overtaking completely on the dusty verge, all chilled though.Eventually the lane winds through a village, people offering me to come in for a drink but I'm on a mission so it's back along the coast to the resort and a couple of beers.
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