April 9 - The End Nearing (well, the end of the biking, that is...)

Of course there was no breakfast served at this deserted place - I was surprised to see a gardener mending the grass of the resort - maybe there really are folks staying there. Anyhow, I left, at around 7 in the morning and soon reached the oldest light-tower built by the French.

Oldest and highest light tower in Vietnam

In the midst of small villages, I saw a colorful fish market and visited it. I had a hard time walking below the low sun umbrellas.

Had to pull in my head not to hit the tent

Not only in the villages, also in the towns I found large markets - maybe Monday is such a day, or is each day so busy?

Fruits, vegetables in all shapes and sizes

A pretty hat, isn't it?

In a small village I saw a "car(t) wash" - a cart pulled by a buffalo, the animal being sprayed by its owner.

Car(t) wash

After being on the road for over a month, I was getting a bit tired of biking (hmm, even writing this blog is not as much fun as I thought, let alone reading it...), especially, if you remember, with my front gears not working, the chain being on the middle crank. It was nice riding along the coast, but it was also quite hot and the road was flat. Ho Chi Minh City was only 150 kilometers or so away, but I was playing with the thought of taking a bus or some other transport method from Vung Tau, the largest city on the coast before the Mekong Delta. I stopped at a coffee place, there were a number of smaller hammocks, when the owner saw me, he fetched a large one and pitched it between two trees. I rested for a while, sipping ice coffee.

Sipping ice coffee

Somewhat energized, I rode on, to see deserted beaches - and huge resorts, quite empty.

Not a soul - 1

Not a soul - 2

On this part of the coast, the tourism was aimed at Russian tourists - what else could the Vietsovpetro be? A quick search on the Internet showed it was a Soviet-Vietnamese joint venture with the aim of looking for offshore oil - many Russians stayed here, there is even a Russian kindergarten.

Strong ties to Russia

Late in the afternoon, I was closing on to Vung Tau - it felt like being somewhere in Italy.

Sunset just outside Vung Tau

The town was really very pleasant - even off the coast, where I was coming from, there were large boulevards, with shops, restaurants, pubs - but I had booked a hotel (of what I thought was) next to the sea. Yes, my hotel was by the sea, but it lacked what I had been longing for the entire day, a nice, quiet beach. Next to the sea was a broad road, with quite heavy traffic and the shore itself was rocky - not inviting me for a swim. I was a somewhat disappointed, as this hotel was quite run down - for close to $50, I was expecting luxurious standards. "Seaside Resort" is not a place I would recommend...

Anyhow, I went for a short bike ride along the coast - there was some life in town, but it was definitely not high season. I had a horrible ice-cream, threw it away after the first bite, then looked - in vain - for a nice place to eat, I was frustrated when in a restaurant not a single person spoke English, so I left. I went back to my "seaside" (better: roadside) resort, had some quite refreshing milk shake and went to sleep. I could hardly believe that I had been riding the entire day next to the ocean and not once did I go in for a swim...