21 April 2011

SpiceRoads Cycling Tour – Day 4
Vinh to Huong Khe (70 Km)

It’s no wonder us Americans are always at war somewhere in the world – we can’t even get along on a bicycle tour.  Gina and I like to think of ourselves as being fairly drama-free, but that little illusion fell apart this morning when we publicly quarrelled with the other American on the trip.  Maybe us Americans really are more high maintenance than other peoples of the world.  Maybe our tendency to speak up and out is both a blessing and a hindrance.  I suppose whether it is one or the other depends on which side of the conversation you fall.

Regardless, when the drama ceased the scenery picked up for the better.  There have certainly been frustrations with SpiceRoads on this trip, with the differences between what the itinerary promised us the riding would be like versus what we are actually experiencing.  But this afternoon delivered a quieter section of highway, less traveled by trucks and more traveled by school children and water buffalo, a combination we have become quite fond of.  Here on the Ho Chi Minh Highway, where there are buffalo there is peace.

There was also peace to be had at our evening accommodation.  A buck a beer does wonders for national relations, and $6 later, all the morning’s drama was forgotten and forgiven.  If only the whole world worked this way.