We had no idea what to expect. After a frenetic hunt for motorcycles across the bustling streets of Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh, our group found ourselves enthroned upon four ancient Minks.
We had no idea what to expect. After a frenetic hunt for motorcycles across the bustling streets of Vietnam’s largest city, Ho Chi Minh, our group found ourselves enthroned upon four ancient Minks.
The bikes’ engines growled indignantly when we started them and the exhaust pipe appeared to be attached precariously by duct tape. But our thoughts were occupied by images of Steve McQueen gallivanting across the German countryside on his 1961 Triumph TR6 in the film The Great Escape. Soon that would be us.
Our destination was the Mekong Delta. The fertile grassland sprawls South-West of Ho Chi Minh, flayed by rivers surging to the East Vietnamese coast. Traversing these rivers could only be achieved on the creaking timbers of local ferries.
Fortunately the locals are proficient on the water, their lifestyles being adapted to the point where goods are traded on floating markets. Canal intersections, such as Cai Rang, are a bobbing mass of colour as farmers perch on their boats, hawking fresh vegetables, coconuts, and the morning’s catch of fish.
Frequent pit stops enabled us to become acquainted with the region’s vibrant cuisine. The staple dish is Pho, a flavorsome beef noodle soup that arrives served in a bubbling broth accompanied by dashes and sprinkles of chili, mint and lime.
Catfish, a Mekong seafood specialty, is served in a rustic clay pot, braised and bathed in a tasty caramelised sauce featuring garlic and green peppers.
Inland, roads wind lazily through the dense paddy fields and the presence of local villagers is betrayed by their straw conical hats bobbing rhythmically from amidst the reeds.
Our bikes relished being unshackled from the clutches of the heaving city streets and the gently undulating landscape provided the perfect backdrop as we raced between the Delta’s historic towns.
Home to 140 Khmer temples, Tra Vinh was the aesthetic highlight. Its temples rose majestically from the grasslands, casting the surrounding landscape in dark and looming splendor.
Motorcycles had allowed us to stage our own Great Escape from the path well-trodden, the simple splendour of rural Vietnam had captivated us.
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