Day28 Tam Thanh

 A lovely ride today characterised by the busy preparations for the Vietnamese lunar New Year. All of the villages are decorated with light and lanterns, bunting and lots and lots of flowers. There was a real sense of expectation for the forthcoming celebrations. These last from next Friday to the following Friday.







The riding was a joy today as we managed to stay off main roads (apart from the first 10 miles) and even these weren’t busy. The road was undulating and we did have a wind against us for the first time on this trip- so we think tthat is a bit of a result.

We arrived at our homestay before the roads got too hot- I believe we hit 27 degrees today, which doesn’t sound too hot but the high humidity makes it feel hotter as the sweat just doesn’t vaporise like one is used to.

We had a quick walk on the beach and admired the boats and the net fishermen hauling in their nets by hand. Of course after such diversions we had to follow up with a beer (or two in my case).

We asked our host where we could eat vegetarian food and we were kindly invited to eat with the family at 6pm. The family were so kind and thoughtful and we had a good chat as well as consuming some delicious homemade dishes- such a range of cuisine- very very scrummy. The father (who had lost a leg in the war with Cambodia) pulled out his homemade moonshine and of course it would be rude to refuse so I had 3 small glasses as well as the sneaked one from Jen. Thought I’d better write this blog before the effects kicked in. It was such a special treat to be offered such hospitality and to be so welcomed.

Tomorrow we end our southern sojourn and from Monday we will begin our journey westward into Cambodia and the mountains; saying farewell to the South China Sea that has kept us company for the past 500 Miles or so.

Comments

  1. BruceFebruary 4, 2024 at 3:45 AM

    What a lovely treat, to share dinner (and booze!) with your host family. New Year week should be fun.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Dr FeelgoodFebruary 4, 2024 at 9:32 AM

    Brill!

    ReplyDelete

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