Once we'd cleared Saigon, recalculated our route, turned back and cleared it again, Bry had earned her morning ca phe. (Yeah, some translations are easier than most). We pulled off the highway and this lady (below) prepared the traditional variety: a percolated, iced, sweetened mother of all caffeine fixes.
The locals seemed to find our laden bikes something of a spectacle. But their laughter was kind and they offered us their chairs so we were happy to share their shade for a little bit. You don't feel the heat of the sun so much when you're riding, but it's still vicious.
A few times now we've seen little burning offerings of food, leaves or incense on the footpath, and small shrines in shops and hotels. We've been told that people burn offerings 3 or 4 times a month to keep their ancestors full and happy. It's not clear whether this incense bowl was mistaken for an ashtray or if someone's forefathers were just craving a fag. But the image appealed to Blandy for some reason and she referred to my Dad's 'land of contrasts' comment when she took it.
The next stop on our epic roadie was at this rather forlorn fun park. Once upon a time it must have been magnificent - some of the statues were ginormous and the detail was phenomenal... but half the rides were 'closed for safety reasons' and we could probably count more fingers on our hands than we could fellow patrons in the entire 105 random hectares of the place. We took one ride, which was not unlike indochina's answer to Caroline bay on acid in the 80s (for those who know Timaru and/or the 1980s).
This 'wish tree' right in the middle of the park was choice and reminded me of something from the novel "birds without wings" which my book club is reading this month. There's a wish written on each of the ribbons and for a small fee you can have yours tied on there too for good luck. We couldn't think of any wishes that hadn't already come true so ours aren't up there. Don't be fooled by the people in this photo either, three of them are probably staff having their smoko break.
This dragon isn't real.
After leaving the ghost-park we came to a small resting area and stopped for refreshments. A lady rode up on her scooter with this precarious load. Blandy was curious about the dinky wee banana- leaf parcels, and was rewarded with a free sample. We didn't have the language to find out what it was, but luckily a helpful lad pushed his nose up and snorted to convey that it was pig right before she was about to gulp it down. Then she had to backpedal swiftly without trying to offend anybody. Poor Blandy.
Finally we made it safely to our destination: the seaside town of Vung Tau. It was a journey of only 113km in the end, but we felt we'd earned our rest.
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