Indochina Day 18, DIY Scooter Tour

Tuesday June 14^th

Got up early this morning and hung around the hotel for a bit. Couldn't find Richard who was going to show me where to rent a scooter, so I rented one myself, for all of five dollars for the day. So, I set off about nine. I didn't want to totally get lost, so I headed to the beach and then took the road to the left, or north, following the coast. I wanted to visit more rice paddies, so I hoped that the road would take me out of town. I was careful about watching turns and doubling back on the same road. Eventually I found some rice paddies and some fish farms. I left the bike at the edge of the paddies and walked in along little paths in order to get some better photos. It is interesting to watch them work, and it is definitely hard, dirty work in the hot sun.

After that I found a different beach that was actually nicer, prettier and had a lot less people. There were a few tourists and not much else except for a few loungers to lay on. So, I parked the bike for fifty cents and hung out on the beach for a couple of hours, swimming, walking and relaxing. I went for a walk along the beach to check out a few fishing boats, which were round! That was great, there was no one there.

Then I rode off again and went to the river front area. They have a lot of it blocked off to make it a walking area for the festival tonight, but I managed to find a way to park near the river, right beside the fishing boat ferry that brings people and scooters across the river. It was interesting to watch as they drove the scooters onto the roof. From there I could wander around a local market and see what was for sale.

Then I went back to the original beach area and hung around there for a bit, before it looked like rain and I made my way back to the hotel. I went for a swim in the hotel pool and just relaxed there, before heading to the room. Talked with James a bit and then did some blogging, before meeting the group sans Richard, in the lobby. We all headed down to the river, found a different restaurant and had a good meal. I ordered a seafood soup, which was good, and a green papaya salad which I never got to taste because it was served to Andrew and he ate it! I had his Vietnamese noodle dish, which was okay. After that I went for a walk around the town to see some of the lanterns they had hung on the bridges and the lit up statue lanterns there were standing in the river, before heading back to the hotel for the night.