Day8 Ninh Binh to Sam Son
So I'll begin with a dad joke, which has an element of truth. This morning Jen enquired if I had a razor with me and asked if I intended to shave me grey stubble - as we were on our way to Samson I thought there is no way I'm shaving, I need all the strength I have for this trip. I know it doesn't really work as a joke but the thought tickled me.
So today's ride was rather dull and not too unlike cycling busy A roads in Britain, that's if you take some of the paddy fields out of the equation. We passed lots of industrial areas - masons producing headstones decorative statues, cornices and plinths out off slate and marble. Metal fabricators and wood and timber carpentry. It's strange that all these craftsmen appear to be located in specific towns or villages.
We did our first real hill in Vietnam which was off-road and extremely steep; we had to push our bikes to the very top. It was in fact the prettiest part of the trip and sat upon the summit was a highly decorative Buddhist temple sat next to a mobile communication mast. It struck me that this was quite fitting as one being an ancient place of worship and the other facilitating our worship to the 21st century God of the internet and our beloved smartphone.
Anyway we are at our hotel which is very swish and the poshest to-date. We'll make the most of it as it's also the most expensive.
Looking forward to seeing the beard develop!
ReplyDeleteSome great blogs Pete almost feel I am experiencing the journey. Interesting philosophical point about ancient and current control mechanisms worth a discussion over a beer sometime.
ReplyDeleteKeep em come lucky devils
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