Summary of our Indo-China trip

#thailand #Cambodia #vietnam #newzealand #travel #adventure

It’s been a few days now since we arrived in Auckland, New Zealand, having flown in from Ho Chi Minh city, via Bangkok. The first thing you notice is how quiet it is here, where have all the scooters gone, where is all the traffic, the noise, the people? It is difficult not to compare, but after spending two weeks in Indo-China, it really brings home exactly how quiet New Zealand is – and that is not a bad thing at all.

But before I move on to tales from New Zealand, I can’t help but share some of the things we have been reflecting on over the last view days since leaving Vietnam.

First and foremost, as it does seem to be thing that is most noticeable….. The scooters! Never mind Katie Melua singing about 9 million bicycles in Beijing, fact or not, she needs to get herself to Ho Chi Minh city and check out the scooters. Our guide told us that according to government figures, there are 7.5 million scooters in Ho Chi Minh, however apparently, according to industry figures, there could be many more than that (if you’ve had a scooter stolen I expect it could end up here, but it will be a bugger to find :bloke) . Our guide tells us that most families have at least 4 scooters, and often one more to be used for best. I’m inclined to believe him, having seen by how much they outnumber the cars.

Whilst still on the subject of scooters, the people of Ho Chi Minh seem much less interested in using their mobile phones whilst riding, (probably due to the sheer number of them on the road and having to concentrate a bit more) unlike the citizens of Phnom Penh, where there, it seemed almost obligatory to use one whilst riding.

We were also told by all of our guides that it is becoming increasingly more popular for the younger generation to cover themselves up completely whilst riding their bikes particularly, but also just being out in daylight. It is seen as very unattractive to be too dark apparently, they want to be more like the westerners, and to be pale is popular. We were warned if buying sunscreen, that it would have a bleaching agent in it to lift the skin colour.

Immediately noticeable in Auckland is the fact that you can cross a road without fearing for your life. Our Vietnamese guide gave a hilarious description of how to cross a road in Ho Chi Minh. Never look directly at the driver, never look scared, put your hand up in a firm manner, walk ahead, never stop, never go backwards, only walk forwards with confidence, with your eyes closed and hope for the best. Funny but it actually works (on the three occasions we tried it. This is likely to be a statistical anomaly :bloke), if you’ve got the balls to do it. We found it best to pick your moment and cross in numbers (like migrating Gnu, the strong survive :bloke).

One of the most entertaining things for Bloke and I was the many ways in which these countries made us think of Star Wars references, especially the border crossings. It was the noises, the crash helmets, the unholy way in which they transported their goods on the back of the scooters. So many of the heavily loaded scooters sounded like pod racers or star transporters. The way they wear their hats underneath their crash helmets and the shear variety of helmet styles. We loved it, especially the border crossing between Thailand and Cambodia, I’ve never experienced anything like it. I’m convinced much of Star Wars must have been based on South East Asia.

Even the passport says Sith!!!

Found this just after the Cambodian border.

Whilst on the subject of transport, I can honestly say, I never really knew what saddle sores were until day three of this holiday. I am so very grateful for the tips people gave me prior to the trip, I used them all but still…….dear God! Even with the bum butter and the vaseline, it hurt so much at times. I think I can safely say, there is very little chance of me becoming a roadie anytime soon. My “sit bones” have only just returned to normal (as normal as cyclists sit bones get :bloke), nearly a week later.

Another thing that was evident, these countries are places to lose yourself in – if you want to drop out and disappear, this is the place to do it. The sheer density of people is staggering in the cities. Anything you want, they will get it for you (you are likely to be offered something before you can ask for it – a 20 miniute stroll in Pub Street evidenced that! :bloke) there is definitely a more sinister side, that at times, wasn’t always comfortable to be around.

Despite that, these countries are beautiful, and what we came away feeling was that, two weeks was nowhere near enough time to be there. We certainly didn’t get to see the best of Thailand, infact that part of the journey felt very much like a means to an end. I fell in love with Cambodia and would love to go back and spend a month travelling there alone. Bloke wants to go back to Vietnam and tour around on a scooter (naturally!).

Considering I love the mountains so much, I’m very surprised at how much I loved the landscape despite how extremely flat it was. We saw a few hills in the distance but apart from a few rolling hills in Cambodia, it was pretty much flat tarmac all the way.

I would definitely say to anyone, visit these countries, enjoy the scenery, meet the people, spend your money here, buy something, anything, from them (for a dollar of course), they need it – but they don’t beg.

What I won’t miss are the toilets, they don’t put any toilet tissue down the toilet, as they have no way of separating it (and if they can’t separate the tissue, what else can’t they separate!!! :bloke) . They have water hoses for your butt – if you’re lucky. And in many cases, they only have Arabic toilets (as they are called in France) and tubs of water to flush with (try coping with a deep squat after 8days of cycling big distances :bloke).

One of the cleanest examples of the facilities.

The luxury of clean drinking water is not lost on us either, being able to drink from the tap and clean your teeth using tap water feels extremely luxurious now. As does not having to worry about what you order to eat to ensure you’ll not suffer with an upset stomach. I’ve missed my cold salads.

Bloke found he was very popular in Indo-China, his moustache caused some very excitable moments. More so with the men than the women. It took a few days to realise they favour no facial hair and therefore it was commented on repeatedly, with several of the men wanting to touch it and say how much they liked it (sorry chap, you just ain’t my flavour :bloke).

I’d like to finish up by saying that I would be lying if I didn’t say I wasn’t worried about how I would cope being on holiday with a bunch of strangers for two weeks and if I would keep up with the cycling. I am very pleased to say that it was such a great group of people, I had an absolute blast and at no point in the two weeks did I struggle on either points. The bloke and I realised quite quickly that most of the group were much better travelled than we were and many of them had done at least one holiday with Exodus before. That immediately put my mind at rest, if they were happy to return time and again, then it was safe to say we were probably in for a good trip. And a good trip we had! Yes, I’m sure there were elements of the trip that all of us would have changed, but I guess a trip of this type is never going to run perfectly for everyone (“you can please some of the people, all of the time…” :bloke). On the whole, speaking for both of us, we thoroughly enjoyed it and can’t wait to follow the future adventures of all the people we met in this group. Nothing gets your travel juices flowing more than listening to others tell you of the amazing places they’ve been or indeed the exciting places they are off to next!