Today the craziness ends and tomorrow life should get back to normal…. Of sorts. Every year TET (New Year) brings this country to a stand still. The mass phycology around the holiday may be a part of whyVietnamseems to be so far behind others in the business word. In past blogs I have spoken of the “nap time” where almost everything shuts down between 11:30 am and 1:30 pm. It can be a frustrating thing fot those of us that are used to normally open business. Here is how it might go.

I will pull into a motorcycle repair shop at around 10 am after morning chores and breakfast to have a job done. Well….. the job might take up to an hour or so, therefore, I am often told to come back at 2 pm. I do not think so!! At 2 pm, I should be returning to work…. Often when I do return after 2pm, I get told they are now too busy to be able to do it today and come back tomorrow. Ack!! What nonsense. Amazingly it gets worse as TET nears. In November I was having some shorts custom made. “you better hurry” I was told, “They will be too busy getting ready for TET. Wha? Well by golly…. It was true. For 2 weeks prior to TET I found it impossible to find a mechanic to do repairs on one of my large bikes. They all claimed the job would take more than 4 hours and therefore I have to come back after TET. Sheesh!! I am sooooooo happy. Luckily for the first 4 days I was booked on a Solo Central highland tour. It was a good distraction from the tedium of a shut down country and with the exception of difficulties finding placed to eat. The tour took us to Tuy Hoa and then over to Ho Lak. On the 3^rd night I asked Toril if she would be interested in continuing sightseeing or if she would be interested in venturing into the unknown….. two foreigners lost in the jungle. To my surprise and delight, she dais go for it so out came my map and gps. After some study, I had a plan and to confirm this was a good idea, I went to discuss the rout with a couple of easy riders. “Oh no” they declared. They claimed that nobody goes that way and the roads are too bad….. especially for a bike like mine. Aha!! I had my confirmation!! If they would not attempt to go there, then it was exactly what I was looking for. South of Lien Son we drove until we reached a crossroad about 125 km north of Dalat. After about 30km of drivable road, we passed a giant Dam they Toril was thrilled to see as her husband worked in this very area in the past with the department of energy. This was most likely where he worked. Not much further up the road is when the real adventure began… Oh Oh… we ran out of pavement! Using my much less than perfect Vietnamese, I was able to get directions from some young men buzzing around on a motorcycle with a death wish. Until now I do not know if we were the but of a joke but I ended up on the worst road of my lifetime. It wad 15 km of hell but I had no way of knowing how far. We bounced and grinded for many Kms in 1^st gear to the wide eyed amazement of local farmers who had never seen a foreigner, less a big motorcycle before. I would have enjoyed the reactions if I was not so consumed with surviving the drive. Unknowingly we were about ¾ they way through and I could not take much more. My arms were sinew and vein swelled by the effort and the road actually tore away some metal from beneath the bike severing the spring for the kickstand. I had Toril walking sections of the road when we encountered a father, and a newlywed couple dressed in the colorful hill tribe garments catching us with their smaller and less cumbersome bikes.  I asked ( and he obliged) for him to carry her for the rest of the way and I bounced along behind. Finally we made it to drivable pavement at which time we turned in the totally wrong direction and headed directly away from where we wanted to go. Again my
amazingly bad Vietnamese was able to get us turned in the correct direction and in a couple of hours, we ended in the destination that we had set out for. Dusty, worn out and hungry, we found a place to eat and grinned at each other widely in that we had done something that no other foreigner in this country had ever done. The 2 hour experience of the 15 km road is now part of the most cherished of my memories….. The amazement and genuine friendliness of the hill people and their helpful nature will be with me always. Did those young men send us off on a road to hell for a joke? I should probably thank them for that….. It was one of the best days of my life……. Adrenaline flows.

Tomorrow I hopefully will repair the wounds to the bike because later in the morning I am off on a trip toSaigonon roads skirting the Cambodian border……. More Adventure….. I love retirement. Sadly, I wish my wife was an adventurer also….. I do miss her on the long trips.

I am seething with frustration and I feel at the moment I have to get it off my chest!! There are some things inVietnamthat make me so angry, I want to lash out!!! There are mostly stupid insignificant things but enough to send you over the edge….. HEY!! Don’t give me that look…. You feel it. There are things in our society that really pisses you off….. and here I have mine. Please allow me to do a little venting ant tell you of a few peeves that get to me…. I will tell you of the big piss off at the end.

Firstly there is the frustration of getting a person to actually follow instructions or do a job the way you want to do. To some, this is the biggest frustration, but to me, it is a minor one. As an example in this case, I had a family member build a shelf for me. I asked for a IKEA like shelf made from 3 or 4 metal rods to stretch a 6 foot span in our hotel kitchen. Easy enough you would thing but…….. I returned home to find that my hired nephew had decided that a tempered glass shelf was much better than the open

bare shelf I asked for. He even got me a very good deal on the glass and it was not much more than the bare and open shelf I asked for. Because he is family, I did not blow up and simply grinded my teeth… patiently waiting until he finished the installation. OK!!! All is finished. My Nephew was proud of the job contrary to my opposition and smugly he looked at me with a dare to prove that his shelf was in any way inferior to the simple 3 rod open slatted design I had wanted. Grrrr…. Grind, grind, grrrrr…. I am controlling myself…. I responded to him by simply putting my rice cooker, microwave, and large toaster oven on my new shelf and said 3 impossible words…… PLUG THEM IN!!!! All I got was sack jawed responses and confusion….. To this day I have power cords interfering with the counter areas below because a very simple instruction could not be followed. And then there is the more common phenomenon of having to take apart and reassemble your motorcycle after a mechanic has repaired it to put the correct bolts into their original places  I could go on and on about things that frustrate such as funerals throwing small money in the street causing children to run into traffic collecting bills, or, shopping malls and stores pumping up the volume in the belief that louder booming music will attract more customers (sorry to say with the Viet’s this may be so) So let me tell you about the biggest frustration for me…

It all started with noodles two years ago. The store I purchased a certain brand of noodles that took 6 months to replace inventory depleted in only a few days. It seemed the time I spent trying to explain the principals of supply and demand just would not soak in. In our hotel we now offer breakfast. It is a good breakfast and besides quality, I want to offer something else special. You can get toast with peanut butter or jam, a good cup of western style coffee……. Eggs anyway you want them and…….. Supposedly hash browns. YES!! Melt in our mouth, buttery, golden Brown hash browns. I discovered them in a market in Nha Trang and offered them on my menu. True to form, they ran out of stock and it was months before they were re-ordered. HELLO!!!!!! Supply and demand I told them yet again, but it is a concept they seem not to understand. I bought 2 cases when back in stock thinking that it would be enough, but they were such a success with the hash brown starved traveler, I returned 2 days later to buy their whole stock. Wishful

thinking…. They were out of stock already and it has now been 2 months since we ran out. What really would have me pulling my hair out if I had any is that we have a new supermarket open in town that had in its freezer section a frozen fish filet that I liked very much called Pacific Dorey. I had purchased 3 packages and enjoyed the fish so much at the next days breakfast, that I jumped on the motorcycle and headed back to buy more.

Sorry!! Dorey out of stock! I talked with the meat department people and asked that it be restocked. As before, they did not seem to understand why I wanted that fish when there is always Basa available. Yes Basa ia available everywhere but I would like something different!

For 6 months I have braved going into the Citimart in Nha Trang checking the freezer section for the frozen filets. I often do not last long and am forced to leave without purchases because of the booming loud background music. Once a week I check and the freezer section and ladies watch as I sadly walk away with my fingers plugging my ears, but today!! I walk in and endure the loud warbling voiced vocalist. THERE!!!!! At thee top of the fish section was what I have been waiting for. I saw from a distance but knew it was so! I rushed up and seized the long awaited package and proceeded to dig deeper and deeper into the freezer chest in search of more. The freezer ladies rushed up and told me to not to bother digging through the freezer.  “Ok”, I say, “can you bring me a case of these filets?” I ask. The ladies are talking excitedly to me and shaking their heads. They all knew how long I have been checking for this product and I had just grabbed the only remaining package from a shipment they received 2 days ago.

Noooooo!!! I feel like Charlton Heston falling to my knees in Planet of the apes….. Damn them!! Damn them all!!!!!

I am sitting in a budget hotel in Tuy Hoa nursing a painful leg. Normally I would stay in a nicer place but there is a festival going on and I arrived with my highland tour customers unaware….. Ahhhh so the adventure goes. Today I talk about Pain and luck..
The hard surfaces in Vietnam have taken their toll. I wrote about in the past, how dangerous it was for children growing up here and how many of them end up with scars for life…….. Well…….It can be dangerous for adults too. I spoke about how uneven the sidewalks were, and how everything here is made from a hard material. Almost all floors are ceramic, granite, brick or cement. I do not think that as of yet I have met a single woman that does not have scars on their legs, arms, or head from some kind of incident. Pain and suffering is a simple fact of life here and most people just heal the best they can and move on. I have a great deal of respect for the toughness and resolve of the

Vietnamese and perhaps it has rubbed off a bit. Ah…. Alas… I am drifting from the topic. Again, Vietnam has all sorts of perils a person would never consider. Uneven sidewalks is just one of them but others are just bizarre…. For example. A person decides to take the stairs down to a lobby because of a slow elevator. Down 50 or so stairs you trot and then there is a single step that is shorter or higher than the rest. Your momentum is thrown off and a person has to quickly recover balance before slamming into hard surfaces. It seems there are no safety standards here and it takes a toll on people every day. Anyway….. let me tell you about a little bad luck and the hard surfaces in Vietnam.
About 1.5 months ago I was answering questions about travel in Vietnam when I simply fell asleep at the computer. I have done this many times in Canada but the result is not the same. In Canada I occasionally fall asleep and wake up as I am falling to a soft carpeted floor. I collect myself and simply go to bed. Well……… The same thing happened

here but I was on a tall stool in front of my computer, I fell a long distance and woke up with my scalp bleeding and my shoulder broken. I know mom……. I should be more careful and do not worry…. Your daughter in law made sure I was well chastised!
My shoulder recovered enough to do some work again so I took up the task of doing some repairs to a motorcycle I have purchased for my tours. I am used to safety switches on north American products and was I surprised when the motorcycle lurched forward as I started it in gear. I was able to catch it as it fell but the hot exhaust came in contact with the front of my leg. Sssssssizzle it went and after righting the bike I was treated to the sight of a big chunk of my skin fused to the exhaust system. Curiously, I felt no pain until 2 days later. Someone told me in the case of serious burns, pain is often not felt until days later…… and boy was he right. If that was not enough…….. 2 nights before the current tour, I was sitting outside chatting with guests as they were off the next morning. Only moments after the last guest headed for bed, I again fell asleep and fell to the

sidewalk. In this instance I was not hurt but ended with a big scrape on my scalp. I have to tell you at the moment I look and feel like one sorry sop.
We have returned from the tour and it was a success. Ahhhhhh some much needed rest and recovery was on my mind. In 2 weeks the burn is still seeping and the leg swells up to twice the size if I am standing……….But the worst of it was that while I was on tour, my night receptionist took it upon himself to inform all of the women in my life that my latest injury was caused by drinking too much and passing out….. Eeek!! That young man has a lot to learn about what to say to another’s wife! Mom……. You would have laughed

in the isles at the brow beating I received……. And I fell asleep because tired….. Honest!!

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To eat or not to eat snake for dinner?…. That is the
question. Well………. why the heck not!!

I have had snake on a number of occasions in a soup base but
have been unable to eat because of the toughness of the skin. My buddy Hau was
determined that I experience a well prepared snake so off to the Mekong we drove on little 110 cc scooters. My friend Brad
from Canada is back in Vietnam and he
was also invited. With sore rear ends we arrived in Ben Tre after about a two
hour ride on hells highway. Hau had called ahead and told the chef that the
snake was to be tender and easy to eat so that I could finally enjoy the delicacy.
I am sure (tongue planted firmly in cheek) that Brad was looking forward to it
as much as me. After an appetizer of deep fried banana flowers, out came the
first course.

A plate of deep fried snake bones with flesh removed was
served on a bed of lettuce. The idea was to enjoy the deep fried crunchiness of
the treat while drinking our rice wine mixed with snake blood. Ok….. so far so
good. Brad and I were managing to crunch on the bones and drink the blood when
out came the main course. The meat and skin of the snake was cut into small
bite size pieces and served in a soup with vegetables. True to the chef’s word,
the skin was softer and edible (though still a bit tough). Hah I thought!! I
could finally say that I hade enjoyed (enjoyed being a loose term) snake but
wait!! We were not finished yet. A stir fry dish with unidentifiable items and vegetables
arrived. After eating a couple of the vegetables, I lifted up a string of white
objects attached to some tough gelatin like substance. “What is this?” I enquired.

“Snake eggs” Hau enthusiastically replied as he served a couple to put into Brad’s
bowl. “C’mon guys” Hau exclaimed, “They are just like Chicken eggs”…….. UhHuh…..
I watched as Brad stone faced consumed
the eggs. Damn him for keeping a straight face! So it was I used a spoon to
sever an egg from the disgusting looking material holding them together.

The egg really did not have much taste. It was much tougher
than a chicken egg and it took some pressure to pierce the skin. When I did and
the yolk sac exploded. It had to be one of the most unpleasant experiences I
have even had. Even the snake blood could not was down the taste. For the rest
of the day, Brad and I had chills at the memory of snake eggs exploding their
contents into our mouths….  I did not
have the will or courage to try any of the other internal organs offered in the
stir fry. Next time I am asked to eat snake……. Maybe I will just eat a bullet
instead.

I must clarify that this was water snake commonly served in
the Mekong Delta and not Cobra Maybe you can tell me if Cobra’s eggs are better……….
Hmmmmmm?

In the past couple of years I have noted the presence of
increasing numbers of young men that take pride in their looks and have no
issue with public thoughts of how people will react to their effeminate
mannerisms. The Vietnam version of lady boys are visible in most tourist areas as bar hosts/hostesses
and such. I asked one young gay man that I know about this phenomenon, and his
reply that being and or looking gay is fashionable. Huh?? The lady boys here
dress like women and wear make up and will interact as women but a person can
easily see in most cases that they are men. They seem to be generally accepted
by society and nobody gives them surprised glances. The phenomenon is not only
held to tourist areas though, but nightly am unused football stadiums and
amusement areas throughout the south and central (not sure about the north)
there are stages set up and every evening lady boys will belt out Karaoke songs
to families and conduct bingo like games and other amusements. I have not seen
a single person look as if there is anything unusual about this. I have long
since become used to these people and even enjoy their flattery or interaction
antics…… There is a dark side though. At night a lone male walking the streets

of Saigon may encounter a couple on a motorcycle
that are there to relieve you of your wallet.
After all, a man does really not want to hit a lady now do they?

The next day found us on a highway outside Can Tho trying to
find a homestay that had positive reviews on the Trip Advisor website. Our
drive eventually took us to a snake and frog restaurant/Karaoke Hotel (use your
imagination on that one) where we were to be met by a fellow to pick us up. A
young man met us and we headed to a well used canal boat over a busy highway

and then down a muddy road under construction down to a muddy canal side where
we boarded. A fifteen minute chug down the canal found us at the homestay
mooring aside a long rattan and bamboo structure that had perhaps 8 or so rooms
with a small balcony overlooking the canal. If it were not for the garbage bags
floating underneath it would have made for a nice sight. My first impression
again was noise…. It was quiet now, but at 5 am all of the un-mufflered boats
would be cruising by.

The hosts had a house across a road and another series of
stand alone huts in the back. I have to admit that what they were trying to
accomplish was a nice concept, but unfortunately, the location just was not
ideal. We left back towards Saigon and after a
nap in a hammock, arrived in Vinh Long where the nicest of the homestays we
have inspected is located. To visit the homestay we catch a boat in nice
condition and travel down a section of the Mekong
before turning into picturesque canals. We arrive at a boat launch and find
ourselves in an isolated area with a nice home that has added a number of rooms
in the back. The family has you help prepare the evening meal and it is enjoyed
by all. It is the best place I have seen to date and could only be more ideal
if they had small stand alone private huts. The area is quiet but there is

still the unavoidable chugging of the occasional boat out front. I have found a
place I can easily recommend to anybody wanting to try a Mekong
homestay. Our trip back to Saigon was
uneventful and I returnef for the convenience to the same unsatisfactory hotel
I stayed a few nights before. I checked into my room to find no towel, soap,
and the bedding had not been changed….. Egad!! This last night was enough.. I
will never stay there again.

My final thoughts on a Mekong Homestay:

There are homestays that are small quality places that would

be perfect for a romantic or peaceful stay and others that look like sleep
would be the last thing that will happen. Generally, If you book with a private
tour company and specify that you want a quiet place, you will most likely get
a homestay such as the one we stay in Vinh Long. If you join a group tour
available through one of the many smaller roadside tour companies, you can
expect something more along the lines of the others we saw.

I arrived in Saigonat 11
pm and caught a taxi to a hotel that a friend reserved for me. This was a place
that many expats rent monthly and I was a bit surprised at the state of the
room. It was a decent set up with everything a person could need for long term
stay, but It looked like the room had not been cleaned in weeks. When I
returned from the Mekong, I stayed there
another night to be close to my friend, and was again surprised that the bed was
unmade and obvious that someone had slept in it previously. Perhaps it would be
an ok place if staying long term and you cleaned yourself, but for short term
stays….. no thank you! Anyway….. Please keep in mind that these are my
opinions. Even though I work in the tourism sector, I enjoy and want others to
enjoy a more real Vietnam
and not manufactured tourist facilities.

Nghia and Hau arrived to pick me up at 9 am. I was expecting
to be headed straight to Can Tho to inspect a particular homestay that had been
raved about on a travel forum, but to my surprise we headed south. We travelled
through Vinh Long and down to Ben Tre. This was to be our first stop and
inspection. The Launch point for our river boat was from a riverside restaurant
in the town of Ben Tre.
I was taken aback at the amount of tourists that were being herded into boats
to head down river. It is slow season so I cannot imagine how touristy this
place may be in busy season. The three of us had our own boat, so we did not
have to push through crowds. The craft operator chugged towards a brick factory
that was already busy with visitors, and we asked him not to stop at any of the
local attractions (as we have been to so many in the past) and head straight to
the homestay. Along the way we passed a new homestay (more like a small resort
from the look of it) being built by a local tour operator that is right on the
tourist trail. It is probably a good business decision, but probably a place I
would not stay myself. From where the craft landed, we had a choice of bicycle
or motorcycle taxi to go to the homestay. Pressed for time we rode in a wagon
like box attached to a motorcycle through very picturesque areas until we
arrived at the homestay. It was laid out as a large restaurant area with a dormitory
like building in the back for people to stay. They were constructing a building
with rooms across the road and as we approached for inspection, dogs from the
residence next door raced up angrily barking and making all sorts of noise. Oops….
With the toilet being in a separate building, I cannot see people getting a
good nights sleep. Lunch was good with the typical Elephant Ear fish. As we
were finishing the boat loads of other tourists started arriving on bicycles
for lunch. I do not know if they were to be overnight guests. We returned to
Ben Tre with the thought that even though it was a nice area to visit, it was
far to busy to offer the kind of homestay many people want. Perhaps spending
the day in the area before returning to The Vinh Long homestay (more on that
later) would be the way to go if I was guiding the tour. Back in the car we
hopped and headed for the town of Tra
Vinh. I had never Ben and the area was supposed to be comprised
from mainly Cambodian immigrants, and their influence was everywhere. We spent
the late afternoon exploring the area. The town is surrounded by temples that
are built as they are in Cambodia,
and if I did not know better, I would say that is where I was. We were having a
little difficulty finding a hotel that was a decent standard. After driving
around a bit we found the 3 star Cuu Long ( a government run hotel) When we
were enquiring about the prices, we were told that my two Vietnamese companions
would only need to pay half the price I would be required to pay. The
receptionist must have assumed that I did not understand Vietnamese, and she
was a bit taken aback that I became irritated and told her that is she or her
family ever came to Nha Trang and stayed in my hotel, that I would charge her
double because she is Vietnamese.

To her credit, she got the point and lowered the price to a
reasonable rate, but in the end, the three amigos elected in taking a triple
room. (I feel sorry for Nghia as I am a snorer and he is a light sleeper.) After
dinner, Hau retired early leaving Nghia on our own to find something to do. This
is a small place and we were told everything was closed by 9pm…. Not so!! We were
able to find a coffee shop that had cold beer and after relaxing and talking a
bit, we headed across the street to see what some fuss and noise was all about.
Huh….. Imagine that….. It was yet another Ladyboy review. This was about the 6^th
different town or city where I encountered such a think. They were on stage
belting out Karaoke songs and playing gambling games to raise money. Nghia and
I decided to join the fun and purchased cards for a bingo like game. The people
were thrilled to have a foreigner playing with them and the ladyboys were
calling out how much they loved me. It was all in good fun and. Tra Vinh is an
interesting place to visit is you want to be off the tourist path, but do not
expect any English service anywhere.

Next post will more on Ladyboys “Vietnamstyle” and off to the  Can Tho homestay that I have read about in the
travel forums.

The Mekong Delta has become one of my favorite places to
travel, especially when heading places relatively unvisited by foreigners. I
love the surprise and following interaction with local people that have never
or rarely seen a foreigner. Recently, I just returned from such a trip.

One evening, Nghia and Hau (my friends from V’Explore)
called me up after having a few beers in the evening and were asking to get my
rear end down to Saigon so I could join them
on an inspection tour of some Mekong Home stays. (A homestay is usually a
family home that has had additions, or allocated rooms for guests to stay. The
accommodation can range from a grass hut and a fan, to a hotel like room in a
large house and is quite often offered with a tour to the floating markets and
other local destinations. As is so usual in Vietnam, things can go sideways
very quickly, but sometimes (rarely) can be straightened out almost as quick.

I arrived at the airport for my flight and checked in the

same as I have done many times. I am travelling light and did not expect any
problems when the clerk asked me for my credit card. “Xin Loi” I replied. My
credit card is at home. I was told to speak with customer service. Hmmmm…..
Whatever…. In Vietnam
strange things happen so I went to customer service 45 minutes before my plane
was to depart. I handed them my e-ticket and frequent flier card and asked it
there was a problem. The receptionist stated that a person who booked a flight
was required to present their credit card for verification if booked on online.
Whaa???? This is news to me. In 2 years of flying all over Vietnam, I have
never been asked this before and stated so. She responded to me as if I was a
liar and began to test my patience. I was told that I could fill out a form and
submit it and in 10 to 30 days I would be refunded. With gritted teeth, I
calmly explained to her that I did not have a lot of cash to purchase another ticket.
Her reply was “then you will not be catching a flight” and my ticket was
cancelled. I tried to explain to her I was working, and meeting with business

people in Saigon to promote tourism, and I
knew she had discretion as I have flown perhaps 20 times without going through
this process. Again, she treated me as if I was some kind of idiot and
explained the official line. I had had enough. I barely had enough cash to
cover another ticket, but now horns were locked!! My last pitch was that if she
did not let me board, I would have the boss of Vietnam Airlines get involved. Again,
she gave me a brush off. It is now 35 minutes before take off and the airport
is 40 km away from home…… time to play my hidden trump card (something I do not
like to do).

As it happens, many of my close Vietnamese friends are
connected or related to people in authority. Nghia is one such individual and I
dislike very much having to abuse our friendship by asking for favors, but in
this instance his help was required. At 9:45 pm I caught him entertaining

friends and explained the situation. Nghia was afraid his Vietnam Airlines
Executive friend in Hanoi
might already be sleeping but gave him a call on my behalf. Meanwhile the lady
behind customer service watched with unease and was perhaps beginning to take
what I was saying seriously. I hung up and was waiting for a return call. It is
now 35 minutes to take off and announcements are being made that check in will
be closing. I was just about to give up and dig out my cash when the phone rang.

With a relieved laugh, Nghia jokes about how I wait until
the last moment for his help and tells me not to worry, that a new ticked was
on the way. Sure to his word, about 3 minutes later customer service received a

new e-ticket in my name at no cost. Well…… The customer service people seemed
to take note of that. So much so that they offered and quickly completed the
refund form for my cancelled ticket on my behalf. They also told me that they
would put a priority on the refund. Aha!!….. Now I am guiltily feeling a bit
smug! A person has to love when a demeaning person can be put in their place,
but I have to say that I would rather this situation never happen.

Up the stairs I hurried to security where after my bag
cleared, a security woman declared that I had fish sausage in my bag as a gift
for my friends. “Thui” (stinky) she demanded. “Thom” (smell good) I replied. I
had wrapped the sausage very well but she insisted that it would stink up the
aircraft. Back and forth we went for a while before finally I gave up and ran
back downstairs and checked my bag……… Funny thing that the scissors were
allowed They had no problems re-opening the check in counter for me, and the

same young lady who was the one who sent me to customer service, checked in my
bag, also ran up and saw me off to the aircraft. I made it!! I was off to Saigon to arrive at  around 10:30 and was expecting to have to deal
with a headache taxi driver.

Shook Shook Shhok Tic…….. Shook Shook Shhok Tic… complained
the chain on my motorcycle as we left late for the second time. Oh!! Did I
forget to mention that while the motorcycle was being looked at, I decided to
make some adjustments to my chain.  This
is a big bike and there is no center stand to put it up on so the procedure is
different than on scooters. The so-called mechanic seeing me doing my own work
waved me away and had his child apprentice do the adjustment. I stood back and watched
as he began to spin the tlighteners without looking at the axle markings….. Oh
No!! I did not stop him fast enough and now not only am I leaving with my rear
braking system in a bag, but my rear tire is misaligned causing the chain to
make irritating noises. At least the bike was still safe to drive, but it was embarrassing
passing other vehicles with the irritating noise.

The plan had been for a short driving day and thankfully we
were able to overnight in Kom Tum instead of our original destination only 40
km further up the road. We spent the afternoon visiting an old wooden church,
sight seeing a beautiful lake, and then exploring an Ethnic Village
before checking into our hotel. Luckily, there was a Honda shop across the
street and with a little explanation, I was able to have them align my rear
wheel correctly. I did not even dare have them look at my rear brake. I
returned to our hotel in time to organize everybody to go for a local meal of
Goi Cuon. (One of the unique features of a tour guided by me is that we eat at
some very local and delicious (but safe) places where a visitor would never
dream of going themselves) Anyway……. The next morning we were off for a
beautiful day of driving into the high mountains. We stopped along the way at
numerous villages and hill tribes where Chris and John spent time mingling with
lovely fold that wanted them to hold babies and take photos. The day was a pleasant
one and we ended at the town of Kham Duc.
There was time to relax so while the others did so, I buzzed around town to get
a feel for the place. I love this town. The people were engaging and friendly. After
another unique meal Chris John and I went to a stadium I had found earlier in
the day to see a Lady Boy performance that was to start at 8pm. As the three of
us crossed the dark field towards the stage, we fell in a hole!! That’s right!
There was a trench about 2 feet deep that was directly after the gate entrance
that was impossible to see in the dark. Chris lost her glasses (she found them
later thankfully) and I was covered in mud. What really burned me was that at 9
pm the lady boys had still not arrived, se we went back to the hotel for an
early sleep. The next day we would leave a bit early for a busy day.

The next day it began to rain. We travelled through some

amazingly beautiful country towards Danang….. in the rain. About three quarters
of the way to Danang, we turned south to Visit the My Son Ruins. The rain did
not stop and obviously it had been raining for some time. Besides the road
being very rough, there were many sections that were flooded. There were two
sections along the way where over muddy and gravel sections, we were forced to
drive through almost waist deep water at high speeds in order not to stall and
become flooded. Needless to say that Chris and I were drenched and covered with
mud. John and Tien were also a sight to see and battle weary, we finally found

better roads to take us to the ruins. The final hurdle was a river we had to
cross on a ferry that was so small, my motorcycles wheels protruded beyond the
sides of the craft. On the far side, we were asked to pay double because of my
bike, or perhaps because I was a foreigner. Along the way we stopped for lunch
in a place that charged us extra for foreigners…. As a matter of fact… The
closer we got to Hoi An, the higher prices were getting. It seems the area is
rich with people wanting to milk the foreigners for money. Perhaps they are
used to tourists not having any other options… I do not know, but the
overcharging was making me angry. The drive was beautiful though and after a rainy
visit to the ruins, we ended our Journey in Hoi An. Chris and John had settled

on a hotel and after everything was unpacked came time to say goodbye…. We must
have had flashbacks of our 5 day journey and all the fun and hardship as saying
goodbye was a bit difficult and amongst the hugs and tears, we realized
customers had become friends.

Tien and I decided to drive the nasty highway 1 back to Nha
Trang and started back the same day. The pounding rains did not stop and
through flooded sections of roads and typhoon driven winds we travelled until
in Quang Ngai we found shelter for the night. The next morning we headed out
into the rain at 6 am and never got a break in the weather until about 2 pm……
Thankfully it was all over. We arrived in Nha Trang around 5 pm exhausted and
dirty from the long day. All in all, it was a good trip and we will do it
again. No doubt there are more adventurers out there who are interested.

The next morning I put my motorcycle up on stands and in 30
minutes had removed the new rear brake installed in Pleiku. In another 45
minutes I had reinstalled my original braking system, bled them myself and had
them fully operational.