Vietnam...

Our boat dropped us off in Chau Doc in the early evening. We hopped on the bikes, rode around the town and found a cheap hotel. Chau Doc is quite a lively place at night, bustling with people, motorbikes, vendors, etc.

Day 11: We left Chau Doc and headed southeast. Our destination for the day was Cantho. We decided to take a less direct route from Cambodia to Ho Chi Minh, cutting a little further south, in order to ride through the Mekong Delta for a bit and avoid the superhighway that runs directly to HCM. The ride was fairly flat, full off little towns and bridges over small rivers. Those parts were pleasant...the wind and traffic was not. We had a killer headwind fighting us all day. And even though this was not the superhighway, it was by no means devoid of traffic. After 5 hours of exhaust fumes, deafening honking (it seems that every horn on every vehicle in Vietnam is stuck in the on position), and near death experiences we rolled into Cantho...72 miles for the day. Cantho, a city of about 300,000 had a nice riverfront full of markets and restaurants.

Day 12: Todays ride was from Cantho to My Tho...essentially heading east all day. The ride was very similar to the day before...including the brutal headwind and traffic. It seems that the prevailing wind direction in SE Asia this time of year is southwest...and we are traveling northeast...so we've seen a lot of headwinds...but Vietnam was by far the worst. Panniers tend to act as sails pulling you backwards...fun! After 65 miles, we arrived in My Tho. Only one more day until Ho Chi Minh.

Day 13: Another day of traffic and headwinds. The traffic much worse since we were getting close to HCM. The last 5 miles or so was probably the scariest traffic I have ever ridden a bike it...I'm quite amazed that I made it without a crash. There are millions of motorbikes in the city. Lane markers don't mean anything. Bikes are traveling in both directions on both sides of the street. And of course everyone is honking the whole time. After 45 miles, we had reached our destination, got a hotel, and retired the bikes...

Days: 13
Miles: 715
Broken Chains: 1
Flat tires: 2
Number of times someone has tried to get Josh to marry a daughter/friend: 3.