Bike rides in HCM

Sometimes we kiwis just need to see some green.


It doesn't need to be pretty, and it doesn't matter if the roads are a bit rough, but green spaces do something for our souls.

Bike riding in Ho Chi Minh can be something of a mixed adventure - from the polluted highways with adrenalin-inducing manoevres from other traffic, to the side streets which narrow down to barely 2 metres wide, to coming out onto wide open green space with hardly anyone about.

We've enjoyed exploring on bikes several times, and today decided to go off a road we had been down before many times, but never taken the 'left over the bridge'. Today, we did.  The 'left over the bridge' turned out to be a great choice - the roads were quiet, the buildings gave way to wide open spaces, and the sights were wonderful - making me kick myself for not bringing my 'good' camera. So - there's my excuse - but please enjoy the images!!

Previous bike rides have included an area opposite District 2 across that part of the river called Binh Quoi.  Another great spot to get out of the concrete jungle...

A season of rain

Ho chi Minh City in the rain is quite spectacular. Centred as it is on a swamp over here in district 2, it isn't surprising when sudden rainstorms end up producing some pretty large puddles, which can grow into mini ponds or rivers in a matter of minutes. Driving in this can be quite the adventure, especially on a motorbike....
The build up of clouds prior to the downfall can be amazing....

The skies give plenty of warning, but so does the wind which suddenly builds up. Banging doors and billowing curtains is the precusor to the first deluge, but the duration varies considerably. While we don't particularly like being caught in it whilst out and about on our motorbikes, usually we have managed to stay indoors for the worst storms.

Sitting here comfortable and dry is certainly a pleasure compared to the contrasting view out our apartment window.

Every day there is a group of people who set up a small vegetable and fruit market on the side road. They come on their motorbikes and a small truck delivers their goods. They throw down their tarpaulin and set up their items for sale beside their set of scales. The sad part is - despite this sky - they are still out there in the middle of this current downpour.

Scenes like this sadden me, and remind me of how unevenly resources are distributed in this world. I am thankful for having employment and the means which allows me to stay inside, safe and dry. I just wish it was the same for them.

Thankfully today, the rain eased. Persistence paid off, and the market is bustling away, with only a few drops of rain to dull the trade.

Living Local

Making discoveries is what makes life and living fun!  We can all get a bit bogged down in the daily grind, regardless of geography, so one of the things we often do as ex-pats in a new and unfamiliar place is follow advice or our own noses just to see where we end up.

Sometimes, we end up down the end of a street where things look dodgy and we high-tail it back out-a-there, quick smart....

Other times we find an oasis of sorts - a garden in the midst of the grime and grunge of inner-city living. Thanks to our friends at 'Tiny Hearts of Hope' we discovered this lovely place yesterday.

 These hanging art-works were a feature at 'TET' - Vietnamese new year too.

 Finding hanging gourds made us laugh in memory of our accidental garden tour in the 'Silver Hair' 'Noble County' community area in Suwon....

 This garden had numerous statues and sculptures to appreciate...

And, in the background a small pond filled with greedy coi carp that fought each other to grab food that was thrown by visitors....

Lately we have been blessed with visitors from home, which turned us into tourists and tour guides at different times. Some of our exploits have already been shared on FB, but the inaugural arrival of my new 'toy' has yet to be documented. I felt it deserved more than a cursory FB status update, so here it is - evidence of the successful purchase of an environmentally friendly electric motorbike!

Funny thing was....that it doesn't particularly do so well with 2 bodies on board, and apparently electric motorbikes don't really like water. Who'd-a thought it?!!  Our friends, the Stentons were here when I took ownership of this wonderful new toy - called a Yamazuki. So, the introduction into the family involved Sue jumping on the back and us heading off to the Song Saigon - the Saigon river - to gaze at the view, and then head back to the apartment. The initial effort of getting up and out of the underground car-park should have been enough of a warning sign - we couldn't make it up the steep grade out of the basement without Sue having to get off, but, I was determined to take our friends on a scooter tour, so persistence and perseverance won over common sense.

Unfortunately, there was flooding - quite odd, as it hadn't been raining - and the bike started to react quite badly to this unwelcome component - moisture. Yikes. With the water and mud came a strange and unwelcome surging motion - next, the battery indicator started to dip rapidly towards the 'E' for empty - yikes again!  This then led us to step fully into the Vietnamese way of dealing with motorbike problems. Yep, 3 up on the petrol bike, with me going ahead and getting an occasional push via Mike's foot.

We limped along the back road until we came to a restaurant we had eaten at once before. We asked if I could plug my bike in while we had a drink, and got it charged up enough to limp home. Not a great start, but the optimistic Mike suggested that the battery would react well to being completely drained and then fully re-charged. Yay for optimism!! Sure enough, all my jaunts ever since have been free from drama - well, except for congested traffic drama, which is a whole other story.

Owning the Yamazuki means a bit of independence, I can ride around freely, as I don't need a licence or to be registered, and - don't use any petrol. All good as far as I can see! The one thing that is a little strange is that it is relatively silent - so I sometimes have to use the horn to let people know I'm there. We will keep the 'regular' bike though, as I am not confident that mine has enough grunt to get up and over the bridge!

Living local - and loving the discoveries that brings.

Ah, Italia!

Arrived 29th January; departed 7th February. The question really is - was that enough time to have your first ever jaunt into Europe? Of course not!!

Italy - a place we had often talked about visiting, but seemed beyond us for many years. So far from home, so expensive to visit, so many things to see there, but never enough time to see all that you might want to. Finally - a chance to go and a great reason to visit - the TET holiday in Vietnam involved 10-12 days of holidays where we currently live, but many places would be closing as Vietnamese families head to their family homes and have their annual holidays themselves. A great time to leave!

The main reason to go though, of course - money! The flights were reasonable, and it was off-season, which meant hotels at at least 1/3rd of the regular price, no queues anywhere, the annual sales were on - not that I was buying anything much....

We split our time between Rome for the first half, and Florence for the second. As you'd imagine, we saw all the wonderful things you'd expect - the Colosseum, the Vatican museum, St Peter's, and numerous other ancient buildings (or ruins), as well as enjoying great food and an evening of opera at a nearby church.  Florence - the same - the Duomo, the Uffizi gallery, the Academia, and numerous churches with incredible artworks from floor to ceiling.

But - the inevitable happened. Art and culture overload. Seriously!! By about day 8 we had both reached our 'art and culture' saturation point, so headed off to a bike hiring shop and went exploring on a couple of mountian bikes. Best thing we could have done - finally it had stopped raining, and the views from up the hill towards the village of Fiesole were spectacular. Well worth it - in spite of the usual hassles of rental bikes that slip gears like a ice-skater on the Danube.
As usual, most holidays are highlighted by the unexpected things - the funny events, sights, experiences that take you by surprise.  First of several were the hilarious 'do not enter' road signs that featured around the city of Florence. The city is gradually closing off more and more streets to traffic, to cope with the large amount of foot traffic from the thousands of tourists who visit there each year. I loved the sense of humour behind the signs. Here's a slideshow of a few I caught on camera:



While out walking another sight that caught my attention was the huge number of small cars - from 'smart' cars to electric cars, 3 wheeled delivery 'trucks' to covered scooters - they seem like a great idea for a city such as these, but would also be fantastic here in Ho Chi Minh - unfortunately the trend here seems to be to go for the 'status symbol' - a 4 wheel drive urban tractor. If you've ever seen the streets of Ho Chi Minh, you'll know why I was captivated by the following vehicles!

With a wonderful 10 full days, we have headed back to work with plans bubbling around in our minds about 'where next ...'!!! This traveling bug has well and truly bitten us. Ciao for now!