I left Thành Hoa and headed west and within a few miles the traffic began to thin out. The drivers pass each other with abandon. Twice, I had to pull off onto the dirt to allow oncoming buses room to pass. Only a thirty-five mile ride to the Ho Chi Ming Road. About halfway there the topography became very scenic and the hills steeper. No one is a fan of hills but my bike is geared for them. Anything but the traffic of route 1. There were uniformed school children along the way alway enthusiastically call out HELLO. In general people spot me and cheerfully greet me. Others look at me with curiously stare.
Only one hill I had to dismount but it was worth it. Picture time for beautiful hills and mountains to black long horned cattle being sheparded down the road by a woman wearing the pointed cane hat, very Asian. Anyways, I arrived at the Hi Chi Ming Road thinking I had arrive at Yen Cat. There was absolutely nothing there but a small open market. For a good ten minutes I thought I was up a creek and would need to bike another thirty miles. With my transaction app, finally I figured out that I needed to ride on the HCM road a few miles south. Praise the lord! I had this happen to me in Idaho where I ended up climbing twomore mountains to get a place where I could stay for the night. It was not fun. Anyways, the town was wall to wall little shops with a few modern upscale buildings selling motorbikes and other first world items. After slowly cruising down the main drag, my attention shifted to finding a place for the night. I saw a huge sign for a hotel ride into town but couldn’t find it to save myself. Asking for help was an act of futility. A few places were pointed out to me but ones I check out were a class A dumps. So where was the hotel advertised on the road? After traveling several miles in the wrong direction, a guy at one of the dump motels used his translation app and got me going in the right direction. Upon arrival to what I thought would a decent place turned out to be a nice place thirty years ago. No time to be choosy, I picked the best room. With some investment this place could be a three star hotel. Fancy lobby, high ceilings, well designed entrance with a artistic fountain with a restaurant (closed) and a large outdoor tiki bar; the elements are in place but the investors have yet to arrive.
Had anyone spoke English, finding this place would have been a cake walk. Seeing a bunch of grammar school kids I asked if anyone spoke English. They hadn’t a clue as to what I was saying. With a large portion of the world using English as an international language, particularly the developed countries, you would think Vietnam would get on the band wagon. It will just slow up their development. I keep forgeting this is a communist country and they can be stubbornly backwards in their thinking.
Cleaning up, including a properly functioning heat on demand shower, I sauntered down the road and found a hole in the wall where locals were eating (a good sign)and had myself some stir fried rice with meat and some rice noodles soup with beef. Two beers helped. For the road, I picked several oranges and a mango at a local open front store, all for $1.25. Fruit is always one of my cravings when I am on the road, something very quenching about eating fruit.
Back at the hotel, it was nap time followed by two movies on an English speaking station. HBO for free, go figure. Also, at $3/minute I almost solved a cash transfer problem which will allow me to get more Vietnamese Dong. With an eleven hour time zone difference, my window of opportunity is 9;00 to about 10:30 when I pass out. My mainland phone is on call forwarding so I won’t rack up a huge phone bill. Turning it off to talk to the bank is frustrating because they put you on hold, then you speak with someone from India!
Tomorrow I ride south to Thái Hao.
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