There is this balance, this challenge to getting off the beaten path, to see and learn what life is like in another place without getting lost entirely and doing it as a family of four. Twenty years ago I would hop on a bus and see where I landed, but as a family, it is all just a bit more complicated - each with our own needs and desires and just a lot more people in the mix.
We decided to try something different and hired a guide to help us bike from Ho Chi Minh Vietnam to Angkor Wat in Cambodia. The hope of biking was to get off the beaten path and take in the sights, sounds and smells a different way while all getting some exercise. There were lots of hesitations. How would Traverse's back do? Could we all handle the heat? None of us have been biking or training for this, could we jump on and do it? It was also a lot more costly than just taking the bus on our own, but after our day with Chu, where the girls had a blast, and we saw the possibility of life on a bike in the Delta, we signed up.
And how was it you ask? It was everything all at once. It was inspiring, beautiful, hot, dry, funny, stressful, challenging, rewarding and both ever changing and always the same. It was something we would have never been able to do on our own.
Most of the biking was on small trails or back roads where local kids would see us and come running through the fields shouting "Hello! Hello!" and grandmothers would do a 180 watching Lily bike down the path. People would stop our guide to tell him there was a road nearby and they were sure we could get a ride - after all, we looked so tired and sweaty, why were we biking? He would tell them we wanted to and we were going 50-60 km a day and they looked like they didn't understand.
There were days so hot and dusty you could ring your clothes out from the sweat, and everything was covered with orange-brown dust of the delta.
There were rewarding moments like when Lily learned to bike without hands through the deserted back roads of Cambodia. And there were the moments where tears came when she tried again later up a hill on pavement and took a hard tumble.
There were moments of awe and wonder as the water buffalo ate in the setting sun among the rice fields or the reflection of the hard work for salt farmers collecting the dryng sea water by hand.
There were moments of pure bliss watching the girls chat about life, peacefully talking together through the countryside and moments where I was counting every second until the end as my body ached and trying to hide my exhaustion and put on a happy face for a kid who was done but still had miles to go.
There were hidden temple in the woods, newborn puppies, run down monasteries and killing fields.
There was Karaoke at random houses, local kids sitting in our lap enjoying a laugh as their mother counted and cleaned snails for sale. Often our guide would stop at some random home and ask if we could hang out and take a break, both puzzling and delighting some local family.
We all got sick at one point. I have never passed out vomiting before, but now I know what that is like, but the trip must go on. Zofran, Imodium, Ibuprofen, and band-aids were our best friends.
I let go of many rules. One day Isabelle biked most of the day barefoot - who was I to say shoes would be better? She knows the risks at this point. None of us had biking clothes - we made do with what we had, and the simplicity of it was freeing.
We got behind on most everything, work, school, the blog - just taking a picture was a challenge as you bumped over the dried dirt road, dodging a dog, or pig, or kid, or chicken and the motto "you can do hard things" was repeated more times than I can count.
We didn't make any speed or distance records, but we saw, we experienced we lived those ten days fully. As Traverse said regularly, we could not think of another place in the world where you could bike for so many days on flat, basically bike trails with kids and see and experience so much rich local culture. This blog and these pictures are just the tip of the iceberg of our trip within our trip, biking to Cambodia.
So much of the biking in Vietnam was like this, basically scooter paths that work beautifully as bike paths connecting the towns.
Passing on the left through the rice field near town.
The size of the Mekong Delta was impressive. It was dry season, but for days, everywhere we looked there was water. It is this huge labyrinth of water and land producing incredible qualities of everything. Fish farms, coconut plantations, flower fields, mango and mangroves. Many of the town as connected by these bridges - everywhere.
It was fun to be on bikes after they were such a part of daily life for so many years in these parts.
And then you would stop, and look up, and be stunned by the beauty. This was in Cambodia and when our guide came to where we were standing waiting for the girls he told us these horrific stories of the history of war and genocide in this area. It was hard to balance it, with the intense beauty and calm before us.
All day - this, “Hello!” “Hello!” “Hello!” - there appeared to be a pure delight the children took in seeing us bike past. They did not ask for money or “pen, pen” as I had experienced in Nepal, just a friendly hello and they would scream in delight when you waved back. The gift of kindness was striking on this trip. I would see another mother, a grandmother who would look a little weary at us as we past, and if you smiled, you would be greeted back with an eat to ear grin - gifts of kindness exchanged, each of us a little lighter in our loads.
And sometimes you would think you were on your own, and then four heads would pop out of the water shouting “hello!” as they and the water buffalo cooled on during this part of the dry season.
I missed so much of this moment trying to bike and not run into everything, but all of a suddenly all of these kids came running out from the school, jumping off the grass piles saying “hello, hello” and giving the us all high fives as we biked past.
Towards the end of a long day, these kids full of smiles came out to say hello. They were near where we packed our bikes back in the van to “transfer” down the busy road to town so we got some more time to hang out with them (and actually get a picture). Always a smile.
Pretty soon the same kids were loosing their shyness and coming up to us. The little one in the white and purple loved Isabelle, pulling herself into Isabelle’s lap and holding on to her. As we pulled away, we all wanted to stay longer talking about what their life must be like and wishing we got to spend more time playing with them.
One day visiting a temple that we were biking past and trying banana root that is in season only for a short time each year, this little one sat down next to me and started talking up storm. When I offered her some banana root, she kept looking at me puzzled, but all smiles.
At a run down monastery that a few construction workers were repairing as we got our bikes ready this sweet family made their way out of the shadows watching everything we were doing. The little girl came up, we shared some of our snacks.
Once we crossed the Cambodian boarder we biked for a while through some dirt back roads and made our way to the ocean. It was such a beautiful surprise and off went our shoes as we headed in the water.
The beauty of the ocean life.
Low tide, fishing boats at sea and the end of the day for us all.
And then there was the food. Most of our meals were with locals at outdoor restaurants on the streets. This one full of fragrant flowers was part of this never ending stunning array of produce in this part of the world.
But to balance out all the veggies were the drinks - this one time we stopped and this women brought out these super sweet red drinks and spoon fulls of sugar to put in it for the kids . You can’t say no, so we just laughed at the craziness of the year and how many things we would “never” do at home, we just shrug as part of the experience.
Here with our guide in Vietnam enjoying a laugh, a journey an a shared meal over pots of charcoal at the tables.
This was our lunch spot anther day - near the second capital in Cambodia and the kings grave huge masses of hammocks and raised beds can be rented for your picnic. Near by is rows of food for sale, slated fish, turtles, frogs, freshwater shrimp fries and spicy mango salads. We hung out here for a few hours, enjoying taking it all in. the only foreigners in sight and delighted by the new experiences.
One option in the market - crabs with their meat pulled out, mixed with seasoning and replaced in the shell, to be then grilled and sold hot.
More biking in Cambodia - you never knew what you would see on the road.
Here are piles of fried tarantulas and silk worms for sale at a road side stand. Not for tourist, for locals in route.
On our way through Cambodia we visited a few museums, here is Isabelle at the National Historical museum reading about the history.
And little Lily going through the HUGE doors. The scale of the temples kept catching me off guard.
Live eels and frogs for sale. The frogs were all tied together by their waist so they all were jumping against each other - preventing any one of them from escaping.
And another small local temple, to be seen and experienced without the throngs of tourist we would later encounter.
The river is a way of life around here. Transporting a great load down this small canal.
The beauty of the morning markets.
I could have spent all day watching these women talk, smile and sell their goods. It actually reminded me a lot of Seattle’s pike street market, just bigger, few tourist and almost all on the ground.
Ginger and lemongrass dominated the smell of the vegetable market.
Across the way from the veggies was the meat and fish section - lets just say this part didn’t smell as good.
The Costco of Vietnam where you can get all your food wholesale.
Many of the families who sell on the river, live on their boats, traveling with the seasons and the market.
And then there were the salt fields near the boarder - mile after mile of drying salt.
Getting ready to collect another pile.
Collecting the salt to take it in and dry it again.
Raking another pile.
It seemed like in most towns you would see the town pig trying to find some place cool.
Another stop along the road - the famous Kampot Peppers of Cambodia. It was amazing to see the old paper farms, see how they are grown, sorted and dried. The place smelled amazing and learning the history of these berries was fascinating.
More markets - this time with grilled salted fish from the river.
You know when you need a break - there is always Karaoke - Isabelle and our guide showing us how it is done.
This was another temple where at the top you could purchase a bird to free.
Lily letting hers go. We thought we were getting one bird to let go - some how we got a whole cage of them to let go - there was always this sense you were missing some key detail of the conversation, but just went with it.
Last day of biking was through the temples of Angkor Wat. It was an incredible way to see the place because you got to see so much of it that is missed by the main tourist attractions. Like this little tunnel in the woods. Biking along the wall, resting in the showdowns of this ancient city that once was the largest in the world.
Ahh, rest at the end of long morning of more heat, sights and sounds.