I went for a short walk around the neighbourhood as I wanted to see what the traffic was like on a Monday morning. I was told that Sunday's traffic wasn't even all that busy and I wanted to see that for myself. I also needed to get a jug of water to last me for the 4 hour bus ride to Can Tho.
Circle K is popular here. It's similar to 7-Eleven. I picked up 1.5 litres of AquaFina water for 10,000 VND (that's 57 cents/Cdn). Now doesn't that just reiterate how we are over-charged for water in North America? I go into the Circle K and get a bottle of water from the cooler but there doesn't appear to be a clerk on site. I wait and wonder why no one has come out from where ever yet. I look around and there she is!
I guess if you're THAT tired you really can sleep anywhere.
Here are some photos from the neighbourhood this morning.
These are sold to the hotels and stores.
The shop keeper comes out and sorts through the ones she wants to buy.
There is zero space between buildings.
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He was cooking fish and it smelled delicious. |
Fish cooking.
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| Mind boggling. I'm thinking if one of these wires goes faulty they probably just leave it up there and restring a new one to the source. |
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| You can set up shop wherever you like. She is selling the famous Banh Mi (Vietnamese sandwich). Made to order. |
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| I guess no one here complains about not getting parking near the door. These bikes are literally blocking the entrance. I went inside Starbucks to have a look. Minimal menu compared to North America. |
I return to my hotel to have breakfast. Yogurt, muesli and fruit salad and Vietnamese coffee.
I chat up three guys from Denmark and Norway. It's always the same conversation with strangers: "Where are you from? Where are you going? How long are you traveling for?" One guy comments that being as I've only been in Vietnam a day that I am very brave to try Vietnamese coffee. I don't know... it's something I've read about but really have no clue what I'm in for. He explains why the hotel staff asked me if I wanted hot water or ice with it. I said I would have it hot. Apparently it is very thick similar to syrup and sweet.
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| Vietnamese Coffee |
Anyways, someone from my guesthouse walks me and my luggage to the end of the soi (street) to a waiting cab to take me to the bus transfer station. This transfer station is where the shuttle bus takes you to the outskirts of the city to a much a larger bus station.
The shuttle bus station is old-fashioned in that they still write out the bus tickets by hand. I find the line-up to Can Tho and purchase my ticket for less than $6.00 Cdn. Once I get to Can Tho the ticket price also includes a shuttle bus service to my guest house.
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| Bus ticket. $100,000 VND = less than $6 Cdn. |
As I'm waiting for the shuttle bus, without any warning whatsoever, a huge shouting match erupts between about a dozen men. One man puts his hands on the shoulders of another man and pushes him. The pushed man comes forward again. So much shouting. It was like the scene out of a movie when you're witnessing all of this in a foreign language. As suddenly as it erupted, when a shuttle bus pulls up, the fighting comes to a complete and sudden stop.
I get on the shuttle and travel for about 20 minutes to the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh. We pull into a very large bus station which, as seems to be the norm for Vietnam, looks like organized chaos. I go inside the station and speak to a man telling him I am looking for the bus to Can Tho. He motions me to "sit down and wait", so I sit down and wait. Meanwhile buses are coming and going and people are getting on and off buses. After about 10 minutes I ask him again. Again he tells me "sit down and wait". After about 30 minutes I am beginning to feel nervous as anyone who had been in the waiting room when I got there is no longer there. They've all left the waiting room and got on to their buses. The man I had asked a couple of time comes in from outside and frantically points and says "bus to Can Tho". He hastily walks me to the bus. They double check my ticket to ensure I'm getting on the correct bus and I stand by making sure my luggage gets put into the under carriage. Imagine my surprise when I see on the bus the two Caucasian people that had been in the bus terminal but had gotten up and went out to a bus about 2 minutes after I had gotten there myself. They were travelling with a Vietnamese woman who was with them on the bus too. Obviously it pays to have a local connection. As soon as the bus starts moving a man walks down the aisle with the ever present and complimentary "refreshing towel" and a bottle of water. Then the driver blasts the music through the speakers and I put on my noise cancelling headphones and crank my own tunes and listen to music of my choosing.
The scenes out the window are so fascinating. I keep my eyes peeled out the window for the entire four hour trip. Two hours into the bus ride, we pull into a large station where all the buses pull in for a bathroom and snack break. We are here for about 20 minutes. I follow the Vietnamese woman with her two Caucasian friends as I see her pointing and presume it must be towards the bathroom. This building is the size of a small department store. The bathroom is huge and filthy. At least there's one bar of soap to share between the sinks but absolutely nothing with which to dry your hands.
I get on the shuttle and travel for about 20 minutes to the outskirts of Ho Chi Minh. We pull into a very large bus station which, as seems to be the norm for Vietnam, looks like organized chaos. I go inside the station and speak to a man telling him I am looking for the bus to Can Tho. He motions me to "sit down and wait", so I sit down and wait. Meanwhile buses are coming and going and people are getting on and off buses. After about 10 minutes I ask him again. Again he tells me "sit down and wait". After about 30 minutes I am beginning to feel nervous as anyone who had been in the waiting room when I got there is no longer there. They've all left the waiting room and got on to their buses. The man I had asked a couple of time comes in from outside and frantically points and says "bus to Can Tho". He hastily walks me to the bus. They double check my ticket to ensure I'm getting on the correct bus and I stand by making sure my luggage gets put into the under carriage. Imagine my surprise when I see on the bus the two Caucasian people that had been in the bus terminal but had gotten up and went out to a bus about 2 minutes after I had gotten there myself. They were travelling with a Vietnamese woman who was with them on the bus too. Obviously it pays to have a local connection. As soon as the bus starts moving a man walks down the aisle with the ever present and complimentary "refreshing towel" and a bottle of water. Then the driver blasts the music through the speakers and I put on my noise cancelling headphones and crank my own tunes and listen to music of my choosing.
The scenes out the window are so fascinating. I keep my eyes peeled out the window for the entire four hour trip. Two hours into the bus ride, we pull into a large station where all the buses pull in for a bathroom and snack break. We are here for about 20 minutes. I follow the Vietnamese woman with her two Caucasian friends as I see her pointing and presume it must be towards the bathroom. This building is the size of a small department store. The bathroom is huge and filthy. At least there's one bar of soap to share between the sinks but absolutely nothing with which to dry your hands.
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| Bus station in Ho Chi Minh |
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| Fruit for sale in the bus stop mid-way between HCMC and Can Tho. |
We pass through the country side, small towns and, as I had read on Trip Advisor, you know you're approaching Can Tho when you come over the great big bridge.
Here are some photos from along the way between Ho Chi Minh and Can Tho.
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Not this photo, but the craziest dog riding a scooter that I've seen was with a man and woman on their bike and laying on it's stomach splayed out on the seat, with the front legs hanging over one side of the bike and the rear legs hanging over the other side of the bike was a full grown golden retriever.  |
Bren..Blog #2 ends with the man pointing out your bus.End of your blog. Are you able to receive emails?..Dad
ReplyDeleteBren..Blog #2 ends with the man pointing out your bus.End of your blog. Are you able to receive emails?..Dad
ReplyDeleteHi Brenda! Thank you for your fascinating blog posts. John
ReplyDelete