5. Cần Thơ
29.08.2023
The first city on my way through the Mekong Delta with the goal to cross the land border to Cambodia in a few weeks time is Can Tho. Here are some photos I took during the trip from Saigon through the coach window:
31.08.
Rainy, cloudy, dark day today – perfect for sitting in bed with the laptop on the top of my lap :-D doing some chores like rebuilding my website because as I found out that my half finished one from some months ago was deleted when I did not go for a Squarespace subscription plan within a few weeks time. Argh.
I changed my hotel room this morning because the aircon was dripping onto the wardrobe and from there further down on the inside. This apparently isn't a new issue because the entire wardrobe showed severe water damage (as did all walls and the ceiling but for other reasons) and the top and the shelves inside were drooping down due to the water softening the wood . The owners “fixed” it by putting kinda water-resistant wallpaper on the shelf inside the wardrobe (instead of eliminating the root cause) but of course the water has to go somewhere so this furniture piece needs to be trashed in my opinion since it is completely unusable, mouldy and smelly. I made clear that without a new room I would check out today. The new room smells funny but it was an upgrade apart from the bathroom that has a water damaged ceiling and an extremely lowered ceiling part over the sink so that people over 1,70m easily smash their head against the edge (happened already twice to me this morning). Okay, enough rambling about my current hotel.
- Maybe some words in general about Vietnamese tourist accommodations: On the photos things look shiny and nice, sometimes even luxurious but as in most other South-East Asian countries things reveal themselves to be much different when you are looking at them up close. Any decay or wear and tear doesn't get fixed or only in such an amateurish DIY way that it looks atrocious, unsafe or at best sufficient. Prime example is the cabinet in my room. The wood veneer on all edges has come off showing the particle board structure underneath. The fix they applied was covering all edges in blue packing tape which already comes off, too. My moving boxes were tape-wrapped neater than this cabinet but hey, I can deal with all of that as long as my room is clean (by Vietnamese standards which means there is still cement and grouting on the wall and tiles, mould in all shower corners and the paint is peeling off).
Tomorrow I say goodbye to Can Tho and travel by bus to Rach Gia, a beach town 100km West of Can Tho. The price for this trip is actually higher than for the 220km trip I took by bus from Ho Chi Minh City to Can Tho. Additionally I need a taxi to get to the departure point, a bus stop a few kilometres outside the city centre. Fortunately by Western standards it is still cheap (AUD 15.00 for the bus plus AUD $4.00 for the taxi). In Australia we have Uber for taxi rides, in South East Asia a company called GRAB has taken over. Especially in Ho Chi Minh City you see motorcyclists with their green jackets with a white GRAB font/logo on it everywhere. But you can also get a lift by car, let them deliver food or basically anything to your doorstep or wherever you want it. I have never installed any ride apps on my phone in my entire life but that has changed now because somehow I need to get to the bus station and I am not dragging my luggage for 5km in the morning if I have a bus to catch.
My journey isn't even 2 weeks old but I feel that I have already a good idea which of my expectations and hopes haven't and probably won't materialise, which travel items have been a hit and which ones haven't seen and won’t see any action.
1. My luggage bag High Sierra Composite V4 84cm:
I am pretty happy with it so far. It is incredibly light for its size of over 94 litres (3.1kg). I already used every of the 3 well padded handles on different sides of the bag, rolled it over abysmally maintained roads and sidewalks for at least 7km and have seen it being handled rather roughly by coach staff shoving it in the luggage compartment of their bus. My main concern are the zippers – if they fail, this bag becomes almost unusable. To be fair – that is the case with almost any suitcase or bag. For that reason I am very careful not to put too much tension on the zippers whenever I open and close it. If it is really tight I will open up the expansion zippers that widen the main compartment for an extra few litres and once the main zippers are closed I compress the bag again by zipping the extension part back up. Not sure if that counts as a hack. I haven't used the recessed backpack straps yet, because rolling is much easier and 21kg on my back in hot and humid weather isn't something I need other than in emergency situations but when I tested the straps at home, they worked well and were surprisingly comfortable. All the extra compartments at the front for laptop and another one for shoes come in really handy. The bag stands up securely by itself which is a big plus to save space in tiny hotel rooms. On average I open and close my bag 10x per day, so if the zippers still work after 6 months this bag will get my unequivocal seal of approval for long-term durability. If I had to criticise anything it would be that compared to a traditional suitcase you have only one main compartment instead of two more or less equal halves. That means organising things is a bit harder because you need to stack more stuff on top of each other and so far I haven't mapped out in my brain where exactly each of my hundred items I carry with me belongs in the bag. My situation is a bit tricky because I carry a few hard and bulky items with me like a Bullet blender and a collapsible bowl for meal prep (and also for laundry washing - yes, I make sure I thoroughly clean it between those different tasks). I simply can't have all everyday-items on the top layer. Therefore I have to dig and dive deeper to retrieve the item I am looking for. In consequence, the bag content becomes messy quickly. Other than that, the High Sierra Composite V4 84cm has been a great purchase (AUD $259.00 on special, AUD $340.00-390.00 regular). High Sierra is part of the Samsonite group and service centres are available around the world so the lifetime warranty might be worth something in case a repair is required. By the way, I bought the bag with my own money and this review hasn't been sponsored. ;-)
2. Did I pack the right things for my travel?
Too early to say but I haven't used any of my warmer clothes yet, excerpt from a pullover on the airplane. I wished I had taken more T-shirts but then again, I wouldn't have had the space to store them and I was already pushing the weight limit for my checked-luggage.
I have a rather old, heavy TRAVELSAVE by pacsafe with an integrated steel mesh, steel cable and a probably unnecessarily heavy padlock for my laptop and some other valuables. It looks very similar to the photo which likely shows a newer iteration of it with carry handles and 2 fabric loops.
It can't fit all my cameras and lenses and being over 10 years old the inner lining has several tears meaning I am hesitant to store my laptop in it because the steel mesh might scratch it. Therefore it usually only holds some excess cash of different currencies and my passport. I feel the theft risk in the hotels I stay at is very low. Yes, the doors to my rooms could be opened easily by anyone with basic lock picking skills or a good foot kick but what is the motivation for someone to take the risk of getting caught for breaking into a low budget hotel room that contains an unknown amount of valuables? Phones and laptops can be locked remotely nowadays, the same with credit cards so I don't think my usual travel accommodations are a prime target for professional criminals. As long as I don't leave my door open opportunistic thieves should be kept at bay. And last but not least I have the ease of mind that all my precious cameras and lenses are insured.
The only casualty of my trip so far is my beloved carbon fibre umbrella that I must have lost either on the plane, on the way from the airport to my first hotel or exactly there. Pity, because it is rain season and an umbrella would have been convenient to have when going out for lunch, buying water or having a walk to a bus stop.
Another “luxury” item I brought with me is 1kg of eco and vegan friendly washing powder in a sistema container (something like Tupperware) that doesn't have all the nasty, potentially skin-irritating substances in it you find in most other laundry detergents. In reality sometimes I have to use a professional laundry service, though, due to time constraints or the inability to hand-wash and dry my clothes before I have to check-out. The positive aspect is that with every use, my bag gets lighter and at some point I can transfer the remaining powder into another smaller container or bag to not waste any space in my luggage.
3.What did I learn about Vietnam so far:
I. The cliche is true: Vietnam is the land of beauty SPAS – they are everywhere in high density and they offer everything from hair washing, hair cutting, manicure, pedicure, facial treatments, whole body massages and sometimes even sauna. The astonishing part is that 80% of the spas are just a small room of 10-20 square metres, maybe with another room in the back or at a higher floor accessible through a narrow, steep staircase. If they didn't have a sign over or next to their door you might think they are just private homes...that is because they often are. The word spa has a much broader meaning here and you never know in advance what kind of establishment to expect until you see it with your own eyes. Some spas in side alleys of Saigon multi-function also as living room, storage room, kitchen and bedroom.
II. In Vietnam people have a different sentiment when it comes to privacy. It took me a bit to get used to. People don't care that others can see them sleeping on the floor right next to two scooters and a little sales cart on wheels with household utensils or food for sale. They are not concerned others might judge them for a messy, seemingly unorganised home.
Before I continue, here are some photos I took in the streets of Can Tho during the 3 days I stayed there:
In Germany I liked to go jogging at night time, especially around Christmas to look through big living room windows of the houses I passed and then imagined what type of people might live there and what kind of life they have. In Vietnam you involuntarily have that experience on a daily basis in a different setting – and I still enjoy getting a sneak peak into other people's homes/lives. The contrast to the lifestyle in a German or Australian household is fascinating for me and I wished I could take photos of all the curiosities I come across during my walks in Vietnam – in fact, sometimes I do when it doesn't seem inappropriate.
III. Another thing Vietnam is famous for – and rightfully so – are sweet drinks: sweet coffees, smoothies, shakes, teas... they are sold at the side of the road as well as in fancy shops. The drinks come in all colours and flavours imaginable. Personally I try to stay away from them for health reasons and so far I have been successful. :-)
IV. Traffic! My first blog post covered already a bit of it. You learn quickly that you have to walk confident and rather fast if you don't want to be stuck at a busy road forever. If there are traffic lights and you see the green light – expect 80% of the cars and scooters to oblige to their red light and wait...and watch out for the other 20% of traffic offenders in a rush or simply not giving a hoot about you crossing the street. Honking in Vietnam doesn't always mean: “hey, what are you doing?” More often it is a preemptive, almost polite “watch out, I am right behind/next to you” signal. Big busses honk almost every time they are approaching a scooter they are about to overtake. Although I condone the idea of warning other traffic participants, it obviously leads to a lot of noise pollution.
Last paragraph for today are about two encounters from yesterday which put a smile on my face. I was walking through the city hoping to find a shop renting out bicycles (Sadly, it turned out to be a fail.) when suddenly someone was yelling repeatedly “Hey!” I already suspected that I was meant to be on the receiving end of the shouting - and of course I was. Around 40m away from me a group of 3 women and a man sat at the entrance of a house behind a small booth selling coconut juice. In Pixar Madagascar Penguin manner I smiled and waved. They responded in kind. I approached the group to figure out what they wanted after I had taken a few pics of the river I was strolling along. I knew already that they didn't have any specific reason for their doing other than being curious about having a foreigner in their area. I was in good mood and started the interaction positively by signalling that I was interested in buying a coconut from them. They were over the moon and offered mea plastic chair to sit down with them. I body-languaged that the coconut water was yummy and they appreciated it. Once I had finished, one of the women chopped the coconut in half and scraped out the meat for me to eat. However, with zero English knowledge on their part, our conversation stalled before it even began. I whipped out my phone to get google translate going, but I couldn't figure out how to activate the voice translation function. Texting was a bit tedious on the tiny phone display and we sat for a few moments in silence before they started chatting away with each other in Vietnamese. Things changed when one of their friends dropped in and launched her google translate app. I have to say Vietnamese people are getting straight to the point. I received 3 questions: 1. Where are you from? – pretty standard question, no surprise here. 2. How old are you? - My answer caused a bit of discussion between the four. It seems like they had made guesses and bets beforehand. Question number 3 which obviously suffered from translation issues was along the lines: Will you accept any of the 2 women in front of you to marry? Well, I hadn't spent more than 7minutes with these people and it hadn't crossed my mind for a second to consider them as potential wives. I diplomatically responded that the translation was unclear but that I thought all of them were very lovely people. - Lucky for me, that answer found everyone's approval. When I passed by again on my way back to my hotel, I thought it would be nice to get a photo of the group in memory of the funny encounter. However, only one of the women was at the stall, so I asked with body gestures if she would be okay if I took a photo and a selfie with her… and as you can see in the accompanying photos to this post – she said yes. :-)
A few minutes later I walked past a man with kid who was eager to talk to me and practise his English. I enquired about directions to the nearby lake, but he couldn't understand what I meant even though I pantomimed water, the shape of the lake and what not in a poor performance of Charades. I was about to leave when he asked me if I could take a photo of him. I still don't understand what people get out of that when they will likely never see the result but as a photographer I was thrilled to have a willing local subject for an impromptu portrait session. I directed him to go around the corner and stand in a small alley with a bit of greenery and colour pop. I only had my little pocket camera with me and we didn't spend more than 20-30seconds for the portrait and selfies. I haven't even reviewed the pictures yet but I am confident they will turn out well with a bit of colour correction and cropping – if needed at all.
