Day 44: Vinh Long - Ben Tre - Frankie goes to.....Indochina

February 15, 2018

Day 44: Vinh Long - Ben Tre

Routing: #57, 884

That´s exactly what I had in mind when I decided to come down here! Lovely cycling even on the initial kilometers along the #57, obviously as this two-digit highway does not allow for a speedy run due to the ferry interruption. The river is much wider here and I had not only to wait 15 minutes for the ferry but the cruise itself took the same time. That may well put a lot of A to B traffic off and came entirely to my advantage. It slowed myself down in this hectic environment too.

Even better conditions on the other side once I had turned left onto the #884 at a large roundabout. Almost perfect cycling despite the rather rough surface but the traffic was now almost non-existent. To Vietnam standards that is! Over the last week I have learned to scale down my expectations, the permanent cluster of motorbikes in this densely populated area will simply not allow for any quiet minute. You have to cope with it and so far I believe I am doing well. Not one middle finger from my side yet!

Coming into Ben Tre I did not only have a recommendation for a hotel but for a particular room! Fellow cyclists Andrea and Bruce had stayed in that room no. 214 in the Hung Vuong Hotel right on the waterfront. Not available for me today but I believe the alternative (no. 202) is not that bad either! Pay a bit more (350000 dong - 12 €/15US$), get heaps more! Great day, great finish.

Ben Tre is like all the other Vietnamese cities I have been to so far. And this is meant to be a positive statement. Busy markets, great waterfront, no real sights as such but the river itself is more than good enough for me to look at from my balcony. I still walked around a bit and it is transition day today. All the flower stalls are packing up and massive stages and speakers are being build up for the festivities starting tomorrow. Talking about tomorrow....

While I was sitting on my balcony this afternoon I had another look at the remainder of the trip and realized I am exactly half way through the whole journey tomorrow. That´s timewise and pretty much geographically too. As I would have mentioned before riding down the Mekong to the delta is the backbone of this trip and I cannot imagine any better place than this balcony to look back at the last 10 weeks and say: I have done it! That and the fact there will be fireworks at midnight very likely resulting in a lack of sleep have lead to my spontaneous decision to stay a second night before I move towards Tra Vinh on Saturday where my ride along the Gulf of Thailand towards Malaysia will commence.

What a contrast! A last time through Vinh Long´s market madness...

...to the misty river atmosphere just 2 km out of town

While Germany is still awaiting the settlement for a new government 5 months after the elections, the Vietnamese do believe Mrs. Merkel will be another 38 years in office

I am showing you this one from along the QL 57 for two reasons: a) It is the very first accident I have seen over the last week which really surprises me; b) I am as surprised the Police has got the resources to put so much effort in such a minor incident

That´s one way to use all those predominantly yellow and orange flowers....

....and that´s another, less amusing one. Commemorating the victims of the American War as they call it

The massive Cao Dai temple in Tien Thuy. This religious group with millions of followers engaged themselves with own troups during the 1st and 2nd Indochina war. The temple is one of the reasons for me going along the #884 as I am currently reading a book about those wars ("Tod im Reisfeld") written by one of Germany´s most famous journalists, Peter Scholl-Latour

Along the #884. I read somewhere several scenes of Apocalypse Now have been shot along here. Probably when the patrol boat is on the way to Colonel Kurtz´ hideaway....

...and the view from my private balcony.

I have been to a couple of these moderately entertaining public performances and none of the female presenters was born as such

Looking at Ben Tre from the #887 bridge where I will leave town on Saturday. My Hung Vuong Hotel is that last illuminated building on the very left

Today's ride: 53 km (33 miles)
Total: 3,503 km (2,175 miles)

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