Digital Wanderer

We live as long as we fly

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Vietnam — 10, sodas and darkness

2011-05-30

In the morning we got up, and rolled out. Not much to tell, anyway. Mountains again, everything unhurried again.

Vietnam 5 - Cycling


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Black-and-white view of a village or small town among the hills, where active construction is underway. In the foreground, several buildings under construction with workers, piles of sand and building materials are visible, as well as already finished houses along the street. 

View from the hotel window

On a sunny tiled floor with decorative patterns stands a metal tray with three bowls of instant noodles, water bottles, an empty glass, and a small bowl with condiments. Sharp shadows from foliage and a grate fall on the floor. 

This is probably the guests having a meal

A young smiling Asian woman in a plaid shirt stands on a sunlit balcony. In the background, a drying rack with hanging laundry is visible.

A hotel worker

 A young woman with wet dark hair in a yellow polo shirt is talking on the phone on a bright terrace overlooking the city.

Another one, feeling shy

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The inevitable canopy

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View in one direction

 A long narrow corridor of a residential building with a patterned tiled floor, wooden doors on the left, and columns on the right. At the end of the corridor, in front of an arched doorway leading outside, stands a green plant in a clay pot.

And in the other

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So that's our hotel

 A black-and-white photograph of a street scene where a cyclist with luggage rides along the road past residential houses and a shop with a Vietnamese sign. On the right, a pole with numerous wires and a large pile of bricks under a temporary canopy are visible.

Had breakfast at the familiar local joint

A brown goat kid with black legs and a black muzzle stands on a light concrete area, tied with a rope to a tree trunk. In the background, buildings with wooden doors and a turquoise wall are visible.

There's a goat right by the diner's entrance, nobody's surprised

A toddler with dark hair in white pajamas is drinking from a yellow bottle while standing next to a wooden table. In the background, a wall with a green pattern and blue plastic chairs are visible. 

Inside there's a kiddo, but nobody gives a damn

A country road winds among dense greenery and simple rural houses under a bright sky. On the left by the road stands a blue sign in Vietnamese, and above it wires stretch on poles; the back of a person is visible in the lower left corner.

A town sign, the name's on there too, in case anyone goes

A triangular warning road sign on a red-and-white pole indicates the danger of a car driving into the water or off a cliff. The sign is installed on the side of the road against a hill covered with dense green vegetation.

Danger!

Green hills covered with trees and shrubs, with characteristic karst mountains rising in the haze in the background under a bright sky.

Views

A black-and-white photograph of a domestic Asian water buffalo with large curved horns and a rope bridle, standing on a mud-soaked path against a background of forest thickets and a bamboo fence. 

One tough cow

A cyclist is riding along a dusty dirt road, surrounded by forested mountains, where a section of large-scale earthworks with an excavator and gravel mounds is visible on the right. 

The roads too

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Muck

 Sepia photo: three Asians in a casual setting under a canopy. A man in the foreground is waving his hand, and a couple is standing behind a counter with a refrigerator and drinks.

The usual attitude of the locals, everything is wonderful and amazing

An old, faded yellow-orange poster, partially obscured by dark green leaves, depicts comics about malaria prevention: sleeping under a mosquito net, disease-carrying mosquitoes, and seeking medical help for a fever.

Watch out for mosquitoes!

A black-and-white photo of a winding dirt road passing through a foggy forested mountainous area with small buildings on the sides. 

 

A hand in a black fingerless glove holds a 500 ml plastic bottle of «Không Độ» green tea with lemon. A black bicycle handlebar and a blurred dirt road are visible in the background.

Bottled green tea is sold everywhere, this specific one is so-so

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That's me in a helmet from Rimi and an Austrian flag-colored headband, for lack of a Latvian one

A foggy mountain landscape with densely forested slopes showing white flowers, and power lines crossing a bright sky. 

The Americans never stood a chance in these mountain thickets from the get-go, and this isn't even the jungle

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Monotonous in places

A hilly landscape with steep slopes covered with sparse vegetation and cut by dirt tracks. A winding asphalt road runs across the hills, and road posts with red tops are visible in the foreground. 

Not in others

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Everything for downhill fans

A mountain landscape with partially deforested slopes along which a dirt road winds, and bright green fields in the lowland. Thickets of tropical vegetation are visible in the foreground.

And for mere mortals

 Bright green terraced rice fields in the foreground lead to hilly slopes with construction sites, village huts, and a muddy stream under an overcast sky.

The best specimen of a terrace I've got

A two-story white house with gray balustrades, columns, and wooden shutters/doors. In the foreground, construction debris on a dirt road and part of the rough wall of a neighboring building on the right are visible.

Your average cool house A rural landscape with terraced fields, a village of simple houses, and a muddy river below. In the background, cleared hills are visible, where orange excavators are working, building a road or clearing the area.

Building a road, digging quite a bit

In the foreground by a river with muddy water, there is an open-air brick production with neat rows of stacked blocks and a pile of logs. On the opposite bank, green forested hills are visible under an overcast sky.

The Daugava doesn't even come close!

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This is herbal tea, an acquired taste. I am a fan.

A young woman sits on a blue plastic chair in a small street kiosk, holding a mobile phone and looking at the camera. Above and behind her, shelves and hanging packages with goods are visible, and a blue awning hangs on the right.

Dropped by an eatery to grab a bite

A young Asian woman in a plaid shirt smiles at the camera. In the background, in a room that looks like a cafe, four more people are sitting: three women and a man. 

One of them is named Huong; which one, and how it's pronounced, I don't remember

A young smiling woman in a light shirt and jeans stands with a mobile phone in her hands at the entrance to a cafe or shop under a canopy. Blue plastic chairs, tables, and a counter with goods are visible in the background.

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Like I said, the Daugava's got nothing on this

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This specific green tea is good (as good as a drink with sugar and preservatives can be)

A long narrow dredger boat with pumps and hoses, partially covered by blue and orange awnings, stands in a muddy brown-green river. Sloping earthen banks with sparse vegetation are visible around.

An excellent boat

A two-story yellow house with a red roof stands on the high clay bank of a muddy river, surrounded by green trees and hills in the haze. A long staircase descends from the house to the sandy shore with a moored boat. 

These are the kinds of views I went to Vietnam for

Women sellers at a street market in Southeast Asia stand by counters with fresh vegetables, greens, and seafood laid out in baskets and basins on the ground.

Everyone eats vegetables here, all the time

 A blue plastic bucket of water filled with bivalve mollusks stands on the ground next to a basket of fresh greens.

Seafood too

A dirt road leads to a closed railway crossing with a red traffic light burning against a forested mountain. Rural houses, power lines, parked motorcycles, and a pile of red bricks are visible along the road. 

I just love it when there's such a cute railway crossing right in the middle of town

I really love railways in general, simple as that.

A busy dirt street with many motorcycles and people, lined with buildings with market stalls and an abundance of hanging electrical wires under an overcast sky.

Motorbikes and people everywhere Three men, two in green uniforms and one in a blue shirt giving a "thumbs up", stand in the doorway of a small white house with a brown roof. In front of the house, a red-and-white barrier with plants is visible, on the left – railway tracks, on the right – a large metal tank, and in the background – forested hills.

He approves of our voyage

A black-and-white snapshot of a street in Southeast Asia. A woman in a conical hat is pushing a loaded cart while looking at the camera, and simple village houses, a cyclist, and mountains are visible in the background.

Those who don't have a motorbike have to harness up themselves

A multi-story house in a tropical area with balconies decorated with balustrades, and an unfinished concrete top floor. In front of the house, lush vegetation and a dirt road; mountains are visible on the horizon under an overcast sky.

Another standard house, although a very big one Green terraced rice fields in a mountain valley with a small village house among the trees against the backdrop of hills and mountains towering in the fog.

Beautiful terraces again A winding dirt road skirts the slope of a hill covered with dense green vegetation and partially cleared of it. In the background rise other hills, hidden in a thick foggy haze.

A serpentine or just a mountain road again

 A woman in a pink sweater and a dark headdress sits on a blue plastic chair surrounded by three small children on the veranda of a wooden house. A man sitting on a chair is visible in the background.

Drove up to the peak

It was nice here. First, we were treated to some pink herbal tea. Second, they told us it was all downhill from here, meaning we were at the pass. Unfortunately, it was already getting dark, which didn't inspire much joy.

A smiling man of Asian appearance in a sweat-soaked dark shirt is sitting indoors; on the left in the background, a woman in a pink sweater with a child is partially visible. 

The dude showed us that the tea I'm drinking is made from wood (there's a photo below)

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Resting

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This is the wood the tea is made of (it's cold, tastes so-so, but that's because it's unsweetened)

A white porcelain cup with a handle, filled with a clear pink drink, stands on a table with a light tablecloth with a green pattern.

Here it is, the tea

A black-and-white image of a man exhaling thick smoke from a tall pipe, possibly bamboo. He is sitting in a dark room; a white teapot is visible in the lower right.

Everyone's toking from bongs

Unfortunately, we made it to town already in the dark, on a bad road with potholes and mud, as well as with not-so-great lighting (except for me). For the umpteenth time, I'm convinced that you absolutely must have a headlight on trips like this, and a taillight too.

Things got funny with the hotel. Luckily, despite the late hour, there were still people out on the street. We just used hand gestures to show them what we needed, to which they pointed down the road. That's how we made it to the hotel. It was open, the lights were on inside, but no one was there, and the front door was locked. We had to call the number written in big digits on the sign. The person on the other end didn't speak English, but understood enough.

Why did they understand? Because I was calling the opposite side of the street. I figured I should go ask over there first, but for some reason I decided to call. Anyway, the guy came running over quickly, found the receptionist after a while, who then let us in and explained the entrance was on the side. I don't remember the price for the hotel, but they're roughly the same everywhere. You can haggle, but if you're fine with the price, there's no need. I consider anything under 10 bucks for a room to be a godsend, no point starting a debate over it.

 Two gray armchairs with wooden armrests stand next to a low wooden table with a tea set and a white teapot on it. In the background, a window is covered by beige curtains with a floral pattern and a dark green stripe along the bottom edge.

Next to the thermos is a micro-trashcan, a rare sight

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Bed canopies are a sign of quality!

Bathroom interior with a white bathtub and walls covered in light beige tiles with a red-and-blue border of stars and crescents. Above the tiles is a white electric water heater.

A boiler, of course

A bathroom with beige tiles on the walls decorated with a decorative border of stars and crescents. Above the sink is an arched mirror with an etched pattern reflecting turquoise blinds, and a glass shelf, holders for a brush and towels, as well as part of a toilet are visible nearby. 

The bathroom is large, the shower doesn't flood the toilet paper, a rarity

A combined bathroom with walls tiled in beige, featuring a white sink and a toilet with an open lid. Metal towel and toilet paper holders are mounted on the wall, and an inverted red plastic basket lies on the floor next to the toilet.

The toilet

There were two big (huge, 8 cm long) cockroaches in the bathroom, dead ones. I'm not gonna show you a photo, I'm scared of bugs myself.

On a table covered with a red tablecloth, there is a plate of rice with fried meat, red pepper, and greens, as well as a bowl of rice with stewed green vegetables and cucumber slices. On the side, a clear container with broth, a tin can of a drink, and partially a person eating with chopsticks are visible. 

We also found a place to eat, though not right away

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Plenty of variety, though. The greens are shared

Fried beef with tomatoes and green onions in sauce on a plate with a blue-and-white pattern, next to which lies a plate with sliced fresh cucumbers.

The meat is separate

A large white bowl is filled with boiled rice, into which a pink spoon with a few grains of rice is submerged. In the background, leftover food in another plate and part of a red tablecloth are visible.

A mountain of rice  (I don't remember, but I think everyone gets their own mountain)

On a white plate with a floral pattern lies a mound of sliced boiled pork with skin and cartilage. The dish is garnished with a lime wedge and sits on a checkered tablecloth. 

Exotic in a way - pork rinds, from the ears probably

A hand uses wooden chopsticks to dip a piece of light meat into a bowl with a thick brown sauce. Cucumber slices, a lime wedge, and parts of other dishes are also visible on the table on a red tablecloth.

Dipping it in sauce

Wooden chopsticks dip a slice of red tomato into a light sauce in a white bowl, against a blurred background showing other dishes and cucumber slices.

Tomatoes are dipped too, in a special spicy sauce

 A smiling man in a black tank top sits on a wooden floor and holds a small child in a yellow-and-black striped sweater. Home furnishings with wooden shelves are visible in the background.

The waiter (or maybe the owner-cook rolled into one) named Lam

Stuffing your belly, as usual, costs somewhere around 3-4 bucks per person. There's no English menu, so you have to point fingers at other people's tables. No need to be shy, nobody cares, just smile a lot and fake a look of struggling to understand on your face.

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