Profile
Blog
Photos
Videos
Good morning!
After a good sleep the alarm went off at 5.30am & we are feeling pretty refreshed. A couple of lads on the trip went clubbing until 2am but they are 24 & 25.........'nuff said!!
We have avoided the chicken noodle soup & noodles for breakfast & opted for fruit, toast & eggs. My husband Steve will read this & think "I told you to pack some porridge sachets!!" Oh well, I've got plenty of energy boosts & what i'm regretting not packing is some PG tips!
We set off in the coach for a one hour journey to Cuchi which is the starting place for our ride. On the journey our guide Montah told us a few bits if information about Vietnamese customs. Unfortunately for Montah his English is really difficult to understand & he pronounces his F's as P's which made us laugh a lot so I think most of the time he thought we were laughing at him! He told us about Coppee (coffee) shops & how they are popular amongst the Vietnamese not only for their Coppee but also the Coppee girls who are very pretty & who will serve you more than coffee!
He told us that they eat a lot of dog meat & "pish in the river". Of course he meant fish!
He explained the reason why a lot of city folk where long sleeved, trousers, hats & cover their faces is to keep pale. They even use skin whiteners. The reason being that it's mainly farmers & those who work in the countryside that have dark skin so it's a class thing. The paler you are, the more sophisticated & wealthy you are rather than a poor farmer working the land.
We arrived at Cuchi & had a tour of the tunnels. The Viet Cong dug these tunnels to protect themselves against & outfox the Americans during the war. There are over 250 metres of tunnel and they 3 levels of them at 3-4m, 6-8m & 10-12m deep. The lower level was used for circulation with an escape route to the river, the middle was for living/sleeping and the top was for meeting rooms, schools etc. we got to crawl through one tunnel which was pretty claustrophobic but I'm glad I did it. We also saw a lot if traps set for the US soldiers - see pics.
After this we got our day bags sorted & collected our bikes. It was time to start cycling! I was really apprehensive - was I fit enough? Will I be too slow? Will the heat get too much? After 10 mins of cycling I was fine. We cycled 77km in chunks of 15ish Km when we would stop for a water/snack/toilet break.
We have learned to wee whenever there is a toilet because at one facility you had to wee on a concrete floor then fill a bowl up with water from a trough in the corner to rinse the wee away! Thank goodness no one needed a number 2!
We arrived at the hotel after a hairy but exciting last 5km which was through the busy town. Our guides are excellent & stop traffic whenever they can. I never feel in danger because the local people are used to a free for all so make allowances for us. It was starting to get dark which didn't help matters!
Everyone arrived shattered but happy that we'd completed day one. I was in a lot of discomfort with my back and as luck would have it there was a massage parlour on site so Dad & I headed off. The office had 3 men in it & only one spoke a tiny bit of English. It took us a while but we soon agreed on an hour's massage for $6 each. We were then led into a separate building & waited in our rooms for our masseuses! It was one of the most frightening experiences of my life but my pain was greater than my fear! To cut a long, awkward story short what followed was an hour if being pummelled & walked on. It wasn't the most relaxing or comfortable massage i've ever had but it sorted me out a treat. I went to bed straight after, got 7.5 hours sleep & woke up refreshed & ready for day 2.......
Xxxx
- comments
Vix H Whoop first day done ! Funny to think we have both been to Cuchi and you also crawled through that tiny tunnel ;) good luck & hope your backs ok. Xx