South East Asia 2010 – Page 2 – Not Your Average Engineer

December 23, 2010October 11, 2013

The Bus Ride to Ho Chi Minh City Took FOREVER

We headed out of Mui Ne on yet another sleeper bus bound for Ho Chi Minh City. What should have been a few hour ride turned into an all day ordeal.

All smiles now but as the day wore on…

The bus drove on a flat tire for a few hours before we stopped to get it repaired. We were driving at parade speed that entire way.

An odd place we stopped for a rest. No clue who the straw man was supposed to be.

A cobra in a bottle of alcohol. Poor thing.

Fixing the flat on the side of the road after hours of driving on it.

They literally were doing the job on the side of the road.

A guy with an air tool was employed to expedite the issue.

This was less than delicious for me but the others liked it.

Rolling into Ho Chi Minh City late at night.

December 23, 2010October 11, 2013

Motorbiking Around Mui Ne

Steph and I decided to rent a little motorbike and go zipping around Mui Ne the morning of our last day in town.

Motorbike is the preferred mode of transportation in Vietnam.

At the central market area.

Waiting for the stoplight.

There were a large number of locals enjoying a day out at a sand dune sledding hill.

Riding along the highway.

For a junky little motorbike, it did pretty well.

Steph graciously lent me her glasses so that I could keep my eyes open while we rode.

Interesting graves in the cemetery by the road.

It was pretty neat finding a Pacific Coast Highway sign in Vietnam. On the other side of the Pacific, my Honda Pacific Coast was waiting for me.

A bunch of little round boats being towed somewhere.

The only gauge that worked on the bike was the fuel gauge.

Crude heel-toe shifter. The bike had an automatic clutch. It was very odd to drive.

Drum brakes all around!

It came complete with a kick starter although the electric start worked, too.

Getting the bike filled up before we returned it.

December 22, 2010October 11, 2013

4WD Tour of Mui Ne

In Mui Ne we booked a 4×4 jeep tour of the area. The jeep is a Chinese or Korean knock-off of the old American Willys Jeep.

These are huge vats of fermenting fish sauce. It did not smell pleasant.

Heading upriver in a little sandy gorge. I chose to stay behind rather than wade through the water.

Steph tried to make friends with a cow. I don’t think the cow liked the hat very much.

Yang found a freshwater crab.

Yup, that’s a snake in the water.

We didn’t go ostrich riding but evidently you can.

The fishing port.

These round waterproof baskets serve as boats.

Adrienne, Nhung, and Steph got a ride on one of the boats.

There they go!

Next we drove out to the big sand dunes.

Heading into the dunes.

This interesting freshwater pond is in the middle of the dunes.

Yang figured out how to stand on lily pads.

Some kids gambling and smoking.

Our jeep waiting for us.

I found myself in my native environment.

We borrowed some pieces of linoleum to use as sand sleds.

Sunset over the dunes.

Nhung had a hard time sledding down the hill.

Adrienne heads down the dunes.

The whole gang in the sand. I am a giant.

Heading back to civilization at twilight through the sand dunes.

We found this sign on the back side of our door in the hotel. They had a strict No Prostitutes policy.