Plus points not too busy, flat and a great tail wind. Able to press on and changed the stayover to be another 28km south. Booking is good. Ive started just looking for places but hold back from booking until I arrive and I might have another 25km in me with a good tail wind, its easily done.
For breakfast I did finally find what turned out to be the best Banh My subways stall yet, great selection of ingredients. She tried to give me 3 separate plastic bags for the two delicious rolls, I used a bag I already had.
The blades for the windmill generators are simply huge objects.
Top speed yet 57 plus kph a right Barry Sheen moment. The new hat develops a massive drag going downhill. Wind dead astern, when it’s a cross-wind the panniers and my sun helmet hat are real liabilities and I need to slow down or everything starts to wobble.
On arrival into the small town I’d be staying in, I found once more that VN drink warm lager. The only saving grace of lager (aka fizzy piss) is that its cold. One waiter had obviously lost his only braincell as when asked for Bia he looked completely blank. Happily an old guy in a string vest, the manager of a roadside cafe nearby, understood my shouting from the road Bia Saigon Lanh? A True Saviour for the parched of throats.
The accommodation Narnia Quat Gio had reasonable reviews, I’d say it was overpriced. The manager was almost completely deaf so his attempts at speaking to google translate made for some confusion all round – we wrote the words and all was good – except please may I have the key and how to lock the door from inside that took forever; a chair and an empty beer can on the door handle was the best I could manage.
Dinner place was packed and a lady from Saigon asked if I needed help with the menu. Always accept help. Warm beer – from a box on the floor it must have been 35c. No fridges round here? Locals like to have warm beer poured onto ice. Madness. My liver gave a cheer as I could only drink one can. Her husband confirmed that there is a ferry to cross the Mekon from Vung Tau. From there, cleverly skirting HCMC on the way to Chau Doc and Phom Penh.
In the morning I woke to find two young couples who needed baby bum gear from their car desperately trying to wake the manager who was fast asleep in his hammock inside the locked glass reception area.
The rubbish by the roads, in the fields and simply everywhere is shocking. Majority is single use plastics plus polystyrene everywhere, its used for cool boxes that of course fall apart.