At 4:30 pm yesterday I became a vegan. Last night, Yennie's mum wasn't cooking at the homestay, so I walked into Vinh Long town centre to find somewhere to eat. The huge bustling market was still going strong and I made the mistake of passing the butcher's stall. Judging by the number of hooves on display there was at least one cow on the table, now in kit form, and I'm pretty sure the head winked at me in a flirtatious sort of way. That was when I became a vegan.
In rural areas in Asia I follow some basic rules when it comes to food. They are: don't eat meat, if you can't peel it or fry it then forget it, and never, ever look in the kitchen. That's it. So last night I found somewhere that would do me a plate of chips and some bananas. Lovely. So the vegan thing was going ok but I gave it up at dawn this morning when next door's cockerel woke up and did what cockerels do at 5:30 in the morning over here. That was when I stopped being a vegan and started admiring Colonel Saunders as a man with a vision that I shared.
First long ride of the trip today. About 65 km and it was very hot in the sun. By mid-morning, I'd already drunk a couple of litres of water and needed more. I spotted a small cafe like place ahead with a few people on the concrete benches on the large porch drinking tea and I pulled up and took a seat at an empty table. I'm used to people looking at me now and I nod and smile and they do the same. A woman comes out of the room behind us and I point to my empty water bottle and hold up two fingers. She looks at me for a bit and then turns to go back in.
Something's not quite right. When she opens the door it looks like a sitting room with a tv and a fridge and she opens the fridge and it's almost empty. There is one bottle of water and she brings this over and then it dawns in me that I have entered someone's home, sat down in my sweaty cycling gear and demanded water. The other people there, presumably family and friends, start to laugh a bit as does the woman and I leap up and apologise profusely and start backing out. They won't have that and insist I sit down and drink the water. After a minute or two that's what I do. I try to pay but the woman won't allow that either. The whole event was really embarrassing. In my defence, it is very common for people's workplace, be it motorbike repair shop, tailoring, corner shop or whatever, to also be their home and there is usually very little furniture in homes or these small businesses and only a single room so it's hard to tell the difference.
The last time I did something similar was when I was cycling around Kerala in the south of India. I turned up a side track and at the end of it was a man bathing in the river. I should have realised he was living in the house just next to his bathing spot and turned around but I didn't and just asked if he knew where a particular hotel was. He looked surprised. Well you would wouldn't you. Imagine having a bath at home and a stranger sticking their head around the door and asking where the nearest Travelodge is. It's not what you want when you're soaking in grapefruit flavoured bath.
One other thing happened today that has really stayed with me. I didn't realise I needed to take a ferry just after Vung Liem and when I joined the queue I remembered that I didn't have any small denomination notes to pay. I tried to change a 200,000 VND note (c. £6) at a stall and got ripped off a bit. The owner would only offer 180,000 VND in small denominations and as the ferry was about to leave I had to accept. It wasn't a big deal (about 60p difference) but he was just taking advantage of me because he could.
On the other bank I queued up to pay and a woman in traditional clothing, baggy trousers and top and a conical hat, nodded and smiled. I did the same. She paid and walked off. I offered notes to the ferryman but he refused them. I thought this was about to turn into some sort of scam when he indicated that the woman had paid for me. It was 3000 VND, so about 10p. As I got on my bike I looked for the woman and found her just walking away and not turning around at all. I cycled after her and thanked her by putting my right hand on my heart, something I'd seen people do. She just nodded and carried on walking.
So, someone who was clearly not wealthy, paid for something for me when I am obviously much more wealthy, without being asked, and they did not then seek thanks or recognition. I don't think she saw me being ripped off as she was already on the ferry so that doesn't help understand why she did this. The whole episode is still in my mind now. A random act of kindness.
Bridge of the day is back! Check this one out.
Yes it is a bit ropey isn't it. There's lots of these and on some of the steeper ones you need to approach at speed or you might stall and need to put a foot down. The bridges are very narrow so putting a foot down might result in missing the floor and ending up in the oozing mud below. The trouble is if you go too fast, you don't have time to react to inevitable holes in the middle of the bridge and then.... You get the idea.
In other architectural news here's some brick kilns. You weren't expecting those were you? Aren't they brilliant.
Finally, I thought the tombs that I saw yesterday were Buddhist but today I came across this small place of rememberance that I think is Catholic.
A lovely place to be laid to rest I think.
Today has reminded me why I love travelling. It's nothing to do with the beaches, resorts museums, galleries and tourist sites. It's the day to day contact that you have with people who you don't know and will never see again and the places you pass that local people would not give a second glance.
I'm off to find something to eat now. I may break my food rule if I can find a cockerel or two. Noisy buggers.
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