"We will sample a slice of rural Vietnamese life as we take a lovely side road out of Quang Ngai. On the way we will pass through My Lai, where you will have the opportunity to visit the memorial site. We will also cycle through a fishing village and a lively local market. The day finishes on a delightful little road into thevery attractive and historic town of Hoi An (on the list of UNESCO World Heritage sites since 1999)."
VIETNAM IS DROWNING
As we left the Central Hotel in Quang Ngai it was raining heavily. The rain persisted throughout our visit to My Lai making a depressing site even more depressing. This is the site of an event in US history that FDR might have called "another day that will live in infamy".
The My Lai Massacre:
From the guest service directory of our hotel in Hoi An comes the following;-
"My Lai (or Son My) are various names of Tinh Khe, a village that lies along the seaside of Son Tinh district in Quang Gnai province and the villagers are hard-working, simple-minded peasants who love peace. Nevertheless, early in the morning of March 16th, 1968, a unit of the US Army suddenly entered into the village and (over the course of the next 4 hours) murdered 504 innocent civilians who were mostly women, children and babies. After that they destroyed the entire village and when that horrible morning was over My Lai (Son My) was engraved in human hearts as a very painful feeling that we will never forget!".
News of the massacre was slow to leak out to the rest of the world, but when it did it so negatively impacted world opinion that the event is considered to have begun the end of domestic support of the war in the US. Only Lieutenant William Calley was found guilty of infamous conduct - Those who ordered the massacre were never brought to justice!
INTRODUCTION
In the fall of 2009 the Cross Canada Cycle Touring Society (CCCTS) announced a planned tour of Vietnam for sixteen participants to take place in November 2010, conducted by Pedaltours of Auckland, NZ. The response was overwhelming in that 48 members signed up! Thus there will be three groups touring. This blog is a rendering of the experiences of the first group who will travel between November 1st and 21st, 2010.
Vietnam is a fabulous experience. We stay at mostly 3* and 4* hotels and beachfront resorts and cycle away from the highway.
Our tour starts in Ho Chi Minh city (formerly Saigon) leading on to the beach resort of Nha Trang, historic Hoi An, and the imperial city of Hue. Thereafter we fly north to Hanoi and spend the next ten days exploring the scenic far North, including Dien Bien Phu. The Northwest is "the roof" of Vietnam, where the Hoang Lien Mountains (Tonkinese Alps) soar to over 3,000 metres (9,900 feet) and some of Vietnam's most spectacular scenery is to be found. This is definitely "the road less travelled"! Much of the area is sparsely populated and the mountains are still home to many ethnic minorities; the Montagnard women still favour elaborate costumes of brightly coloured skirts, tops and hats - each ethnic group favouring its own colour variation and design.
Sapa is an atmospheric former hill station with magnificent views of rice terraces and mountains; the temperature can drop to zero in mid-winter (January, when group three will be travelling).
We will travel by train, boat and bike as we follow the rugged Northwest route right to the border with China at Lao Cai; on several days venturing away from the civilised tourist meccas, cycling through traditional villages and staying in small towns with modest lodgings (Oh, Oh!)
So come prepared for the unexpected, for breathtaking scenery and bring a sense of adventure (and toilet paper!)
Thanks to the folks at Pedaltours for the text above and at the start of each days posts - NB There is no knowing at the start just how often we can update this blog since we don't know the availability of Wi-Fi, but by pre-posting the days activities all you armchair travellers will at least have an idea of what we are hopefully up to. Cheers.
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