During our van tour of Ha Noi, one normally sharp-witted rider had a brain spasm and asked, "During the [Vietnam] war, where did Americans go in Hanoi for recreation?
Phil Cousineau [The Art of Pilgrimage: The Seeker's Guide to Making Travel Sacred, 1998], "Practice listening. Listen as though your life depended on it. It does." The following quotes I also found in the same book.
Aldous Huxley, "Experience is not what happens to you, it is what you DO with what happens to you."
Friedrich Nietzsche, "Never trust a thought that didn't come by walking [or cycling]."
Irish farewell, "May the stars light your way and may you find the interior road."
Phil Cousineau on keeping a journal, "True pilgrimage changes lives ... your journey is about to change you. If that isn't worth chronicling, what is?"
James Thurber, "I don't know what I think until I read what I have to say."
In the mountain region of south central Viet Nam is the popular honeymoon town of Da Lat. Most of Viet Nam is so hot that many market stalls have hammocks for the owners to rest in. Da Lat's elevation of 4700ft means it has a cooler climate than the sweltering lowlands. For me, it was like being back in Panama with my friends Angel and Carla at their mountain home but, alas, without Carla's home cooking.
On a tour of Da Lat, I was fascinated by a ruler's palace built between 1933 and 1938. The architecture and furniture was like Frank Lloyd Wright goes art deco with pale colors to match.
In Sai Gon, "art" is available in the form of reproductions of famous paintings ... but not one velvet Elvis. It was obvious that painting a copy of a Van Gogh or Gauguin was relatively easy, but good versions of Monet or Renoir were rare. I, naturally, interpreted this as proof of which famous painters were better.
The weather in Viet Nam and for the first part of Thailand was spectacular. It's too bad some of the people on Odyssey are a few spokes short of a wheel. They don't appreciate how great this trip is.
The island of Phuket in Thailand is famous for great sunsets. Patong Beach is gorgeous. During the day, the beach is filled with people from all over the world sunning on lounge chairs. At night most of this tourist town is in the bars. Many seats open to the street are filled with young ladies. They all wanted to get to know me. I didn't ask how much they wanted to be paid to get to know me. I was only interested in finding the gelato stand and getting some GOOD chocolate ice cream after the drought of Vitamin C in China and Viet Nam. I succeeded, the bar girls did not.
Many things can be purchased very cheaply in Thailand. I got a one-hour foot massage for 250 baht ($5). I spent an hour riding an elephant for $14. A hand tailored silk suit can be gotten for as little as $50. I would have bought clothes if I had lost the weight I had hoped to lose during Odyssey. It's hard to lose weight when I can get five scoops of Swensen's ice cream for less than $1.40.
The first day's ride out of Phuket was the first time since Germany where the road was smooth, the shoulder wide, and the locals quiet. There was, however, more glass which quickly led to my first flat since Europe. Once off the island, there was little in the way of scenery 'cept a few carsts and rice patties, so I could concentrate on just riding down the road enjoying the 85F and clear skies.
Within a few days, we had our first RAIN since Pennsylvania. I missed riding that day because the heat had done a number on the parts of me that touch the bike; hands, feet and especially my saddle rubbing rear. For the past two days I sagged for the first time in six months. Tomorrow, I'll be back on my bike as Odyssey crosses into Muslim Malaysia. Amazingly, there's only three more countries before I ride again in the USA. Maybe by then the Presidential election will be finalized.
Keeping the rubber down and the spirits high,
Bruce