FLANDRIA

Sorry for not posting recently…internet is slow and wordpress required more bandwidth. 

Cambodia was tough.  The mountain bike riding on rough road was really tough.  My body is all beat up, not to mention long hours of boat ride to Pailin then to the border of Cambodia and Thailand.

More details on blog post when I get back.

Some highlights was Angkor Wat, elephant ride, 89 km of mountain biking hell, beach relaxation and lots of massages!

Bangkok is a party town, at least here in the center of town.  Thailand is 100 folds more progressive than Cambodia and Vietnam.

I will sure miss the people and the many markets (floating and non-floating) in the provinces we visited.

Not really looking forward to going home yet…

We made it to Saigon safe and shocked.  Our first day was pretty exciting.  The first thing we did was visit Ben Thanh market.  It is down the street from our hotel.  The streets were busy with so many moto-bikes.  I’ve never seen so many and it was very exciting to watch.   The market was really geared towards tourists.  Lots of vendors trying to haggle us to eat at their vending area or buy stuff.  It was very annoying.   This is a place to really learn how to say “no” with a smile of course.  There were lots of exotic fruits so we bought a bunch of them including Durian.  It was a mecca of fruit market and so many other food.  I mean lots! 

The “Dong” money or thousand money…it’s very confusing.  I feel like a retard trying to calculate how much is 120,000 dong is to dollars.  Hunny was not doing any better than I did. 

We had lunch at the first vegetarian restaurant just down the street.  It is a small hole in the wall restaurant with budha food.  We ordered “Pho” in “chay” or vegetarian and some spring rolls.  It is a small family owned restaurant so every family member was eager to watch us eat and made sure we were happy with our food.  The fresh spring rolls were made right at our table.  The food was delicious, much better that what we get in California - that is for vegetarian version.  I got a hug from the mother and owner of the tiny restaurant.  She was very nice lady.

We then got back to the hotel and relaxed.  We ate lots of fruits. 

Again, were were retards…had to call someone to help find out how the shower worked, then the air conditioner.  We were at the sixth floor with a balcony so we  can watch the crazy moto-bike drivers ride in the streets of Saigon.

Today, we were one of those crazy drivers…Hunny and I rented a moto-bike.  It’s definitely one of those things to experience once in your life.  We would go back and drive in Saigon any day.  It was the most fun experience ever!  Driving the moto-bike is like racing a criterium.  We weaved in and out of dense traffic, avoided people, squeezed through tight spaces etc etc.  Hunny was driving and he was stoked.  I was at the back seat navigating through the streets making sure we don’t get lost.  But it’s really hard to get lost in Vietnam.  We drove for hours then as we headed to pagoda temple, a huge dark cloud came in.  It stormed on us.  We were soaking wet driving the streets to get back to the hotel.  Dang! That was awesome!

You gotta be brave to drive a moto-bike around Saigon…for sure have some criterium experience.  Holding the line is important and committing to move is critical.

One of our stops that was cool was BIn Thay market.  It is a big big market with no hagglers at all.  It’s farther our from the center of Saigon but it’s better than the first market.  They even had a “chay” vendor so we had our mid day snack there. The food was fantastic and as usual the service was friendly.  I loved it.  It’s just one of those little vendors with small chairs nothing special but it’s fabulous. 

There are so many poor people in Saigon and they make a living by selling all sorts of stuff.  There are vendors every where we go.  Vendors stake their area anywhere.  Beggars come and ask for food and money.  It’s never ending vendors… 

The weather’s been kind because of the rain although it is humid.  It’s been about high 80’s and nice after the rain stops.  We actually took the moto-bike out again after the rain stopped to go where ever we please around Ho Chi Minh (Saigon). 

Tonight we meet with Mr. Phat our guide.  There will be a briefing at the hotel for tomorrows schedule and then we go to dinner.  There are only six people in this tour including us. 

Time to get back to the hotel to get some massage before dinner.

I felt like I forgot something…oh the bikes.  We’ve had to pack our bikes in almost all of our trips in the past except New Zealand.  In this trip, no bikes to pack.  It feels kinda weird.  I am a light traveler, meaning I pack light all the time and I don’t have any problems.  Today was a take it easy day.  I felt lazy and really did not feel like doing anything except sleep.  I think vacation is starting to set in.

We’ll be heading to the airport pretty soon.  I am not sure if I am packing any snack on the plane.  It’s really hard to eat in the airplane - as least for me.  Hunny was able to request for “Oriental Vegan” meals on board so that was kinda cool.  Airplane meals are kinda a hit and miss, most of the time it is a miss.  The vegetables are soggy.  The bread is hard.  On the other hand, I usually like their fruit bowls. 

I am excited but tired.  Tired from all the work I had to do this week.  I did feel an overwhelming relief on this first day of vacation…

The weather’s been perfect this week in California.  I am sure going to miss it.  The weather in Saigon will be hot and humid.  Huge difference.  On the other hand, I am eager to experience a different culture and different people.  A little different perspective.  It will definitely a life changing experience.

Beautiful Spaniard

I know…I am going to miss a bit of the tour.  I am just hoping really hard that there will be some kind of coverage in the countries we will be visiting.  We might get Eurosports possibly.  Most likely, hunny and I will be hanging out in internet cafes when we get a chance.  So, wish me luck!

I finally got everything done (at least for the most part) at work.  Documentations, some  knowledge tranfer and meetings before I leave for vacation.  I am happy about the incredible amount of work I put into the project so I will definitely enjoy my going away.  Yay!

Hunny and I did some research on vegan or “vegan” friendly restaurants in Ho Chi Minh (Saigon).  We have a map of the city and marked the places we thought would be worth checking.  It sounds like quite a different world in Vietnam, Cambodia and Thailand.  Vietnam and Cambodia will be interesting.  I’ve watched so many youtube videos, read blogs and seen all sorts of pictures of their lifestyles.  I can’t wait to experience how they live over there.  Even though we will be part of a bike tour, I am hoping to learn more about the culture, people, food and life.  I can’t wait.

Our flight leaves early morning, really early.  I dread any flight that takes more than five hours.  It’s about the same amount of time going to Europe.  We stop in Hong Kong for two to three hours then fly into Ho Chi Minh.  I will try to update posts on our adventurous trip on my blog as long as I have access to the internet.  We arrive in Ho Chi Minh mid morning just in time for lunch by the time we get out of the airport.  Since we are staying a day ahead of the tour schedule, we plan to explore as much as we can in one day before we get on the bike.  We plan to rent a moto to get around town so that should be fun.

Right now, we are chilin’ - work is draining this week.  We haven’t packed at all but we shopped for what we need in our trip.  Just like Europe, bike trips require detergents so we can wash our shorts and jersey every night to rotate.  I am not into wearing unwashed shorts, that’s really eeky!  Not sure how laundry will be over there but I heard that it’s cheap in some hotels but most of the time we will be in rural areas without the necessities. 

We are not bringing our bikes in this trip.  The tour provides rental mountain bikes.  The roads can be rough and it can rain frequently.  I am bringing my bike seat and egg beater pedals. 

*****

You can see my picks published on Team San Jose website on July 5th.

The tour is open this year for anyone to win.  The favorite seems to be Cadel Evans.  He does have a good team and can time trial.  So can Menchov.  But, I believe in Valverde and his team.  His previous race performance indicates that he is ready for the tour.  Pereiro or Valverde, I would choose Valverde any day.  Cunego seems to be making some news but I don’t see his team able to pull it off.  I hesitate to mention Sastre but if he improves on his time trial, he can win. 

Sprinters will be awesome to watch this year.  It never fails to entertain me.  I voted for McEwen to win the green jersey.  Yeah, Cavendish and Ciolek can win sprint stages guaranteed but will they complete the tour - possibly.  In any case, High Road is on fire this year!  They arre both young and inexperienced - that in itself can be a disadvantage but definitely growth for them.  Since Petacchi and Boonen won’t be around, Zabel may well win a stage or two.  I’d like to see him win.  Thor is another good bet.  Cancellara may not be a pure sprinter but I can see him doing his thing, ride away and win a stage.  He seems to have gotten that down right perfect.  Don’t forget Ballan, an opportunist to win. 

Slipstream Chipotle… What can I say?  I love their team promoting clean racing.  I like their spirit and marketing talent.  They’v been invited and they have strong riders.  I would say, they are sort of under dogs in a way.  I want to see them excel and fight hard.  Realistically, it will be very hard but who knows right?  Anything can happen in the tour.

There is no doubt that team CSC will be all around team, at least that is my bet.  They are just as strong and cohesive team.

Astana is totally missing out…bummer! (sarcastic grin)

So now, I am tired and sleepy.  Time to get some sleep and enjoy my time off.