Cycling Day 3: Cai Be to Can Tho — 52 miles

We were picked up from the Lodge by a small boat to take us across the river to meet the bicycles and begin our long ride. Our guide taught us about water hyacinths, which grow naturally in the Mekong, and are both the source of multiple uses, and celebrated in poetry. The large leaves are used as a decorative means of serving small bits of food. The stems are dried and used to basket weaving, and many are planted along the shores to reduce the wave action. In poetry, water hyacinths are likened to women who are not so lucky in love, and maybe have had a couple of husbands, so simply float on the river.  (I think it will be my new talisman).

We biked along the Mekong and it’s tributaries and canals again today, where the path was sometimes smooth, but more often broken concrete and bumpy.  The paths are basically the village/hamlet Main Streets. All activity takes place along these narrow “roads” — the schools, cafes, small “convenience” stores. There were many bridges to cross over — some narrow and made with wooden planks, which led me to be more cautious and walk across!  The homes along the river varied in architecture — some very basic and with limited materials like corrugated tin and brick, and then others that were brick but decorated with ceramic tiles. As the path opened up there were expanses of rice paddies.  We visited one of several brick factories, where they use the mud from the rice paddies and each brick is as it has been made traditionally — very little machinery. And the kilns are fired with rice husks. Everywhere the people were smiling and friendly.

We are here just a few weeks before the Lunar New Year holiday, Tet, which is a major activity for people all over Vietnam. It is tradition to beautify one’s home before Tet, so we saw a lot of activity around the houses we passed.  Building, painting, decorating with flowers, harvesting and setting special food aside for the celebrations. There’s even one tree where the people take the leaves off one at a time to encourage the bloom at the New Year.  And everything is outside drying in the sun — the earth’s natural oven. It was a bit disconcerting to see everything from soya beans to fish to shrimp set out on cardboard and plastic to dry, with people passing by on bicycles, motorbikes and on foot.

It was terribly hot and humid, and despite drinking copious amounts of water, and stopping for snack breaks and lunch, we were all flagging by the end of the ride. My bike had a rear flat in the afternoon, and whenever we stop and lose the breeze from riding we drip with sweat. Over 6 hours in the saddle will do that to anyone, especially on a heavy mountain bike.

We stayed in a very cosmopolitan and vibrant city called Can Tho, set along the Mekong. Our hotel was very Western and lovely, and had great air conditioning. We walked to a restaurant along a river walk, which was lively with people. There were lots of neon lights and a casino, and an outdoor stage with what appeared to be a talent show of dancers and singers. Another night where sleep came easy.