Here's Mud in Your Eye!

Gathered around the mess hall for dinner last night. Olivia bought a bottle of vodka for about $4 and we all had a pretty giggly time. Geoff and I retired early and started to watch a movie on the computer under the mosquito netting. But it didn't take long before our eyelids were closing.

As for today's ride, I am having trouble trying to find the words to describe what happened. Zang's last words were to us "It won't be as muddy as today". He was right. It wasn't as muddy, it was muddier. And by muddier, I mean much much muddier. The day started out in a drizzle and rained on and off all day. We all had on our finest Vietnamese rain gear which helped somewhat but by the end - there were no escaping the silt and mud.

We were doing fine going through the villages and the ride through the pineapple fields was absolutely fabulous. Lots of small up and down hills and twists and turns with lots of greenery and not too much traffic. We had an opportunity to taste the local pineapple because we were all hanging around waiting for Hugh and Olivia who missed the truck and kept on truckin'. The bus went after them. A local vendor brought out some fruit for us to try. Very yummy. It felt like the rain was stopping and things might be looking up. The two lost souls found their way back and off we went.

But then we hit a snag and the real fun began. The road we were supposed to take was being

worked on and it wasn't passable. So we had to go around. Since we were in Binh's home province, he led the way. He led us right through the mud. If the road wasn't muddy then it was broken concrete and extremely bumpy. 

The mud was everywhere and trying to stay on the bike was a big challenge. In some places you just had to walk the bike, which was no easy feat either. Geoff and I had never done anything like this but the two Canadian couples live for this stuff! I was slipping and sliding all over the place - not to mention cursing. We would get to the end of one bad road and there would be another one. Eventually, we wound up on Route 1 right by the restaurant. Total 53.5km. Not too many pictures, too busy trying to stay upright!

The guy from the restaurant didn't want us anywhere near his establishment until we were hosed off. Literally, we were hosed down like those pigs we saw the other day. The came the challenge of getting into dry clothes. Somehow or other we all managed to sit down to lunch. After which was a three and a half bus ride to Haiphong - better known as "sin city". We got in too late to drop off our laundry so here we sit with our clothes strung around the room trying to dry.

First thing we did when we got in was run the bath. It felt like heaven slipping into a hot bath. They have great big bathtubs here - not easy to get in and out of of. We both curled up in the tub and scrapped the rest of the mud off. The temperature here is colder so the warm bath was a welcome treat.

Had dinner at the hotel. Food was very good, the drinks - not so much. I got tired of drinking beer so I ordered a vodka martini - hah! I have no idea what it was but it wasn't a martini. Someone else ordered a bloody mary but that didn't come out right either. Guess I'll stick to beer. 

Tomorrow we take the bus to the harbor and catch a hydrofoil to Cat Ba Island in Ha long Bay. It is the largest of the islands. We cycle for 27k, up and down hills of course, to the town. Hopefully, we should have some time to relax and see some of the town. Don't think it will rain but will probably be cloudy.  Till then.

Next time... Cat Ba Island