Vietnam Unicycle Tour (Uninam) – Hue to Lang Co – Day 2
Day 2 is where the riding really starts. Today we did 80k worth of riding. I did some video at the start, and then switched to the DLSR after the battery ran out. We are riding 36″ diameter wheels, commonly called Coker’s due to the fact that the first company that produced them was the Coker Cycle company. Ironically, the only Coker part on my unicycle is now the tube. Everything else has been replaced, literally one piece at a time.
A gaggle of “Cokers”. Don’s Herbie is on top. (the love buni).
The riding is amazing! The flat ground isn’t all that fun, as it makes your crotch hurt when you sit all your weight in a rather uncomfortable seat for hours on end. But, we went through some very interesting villages and saw a lot of what third world life is like. It is interesting to see some of the shops they have. I went past a huge marble factory where there were intricately carving things into the stone. Another place was a mini sawmill, with a chainsaw being the primary rough cutting tool (and that is tough!).
Louise relaxing at lunch
Some of the many rice fields
Irrigation is interesting. The rice fields need a supply of water to grow the rice in, and I was wondering how they got the water from one location to another. Eventually we saw two ways of doing it. One way basically was manual bucketing, while the other way is a mechanical pump from lower water to higher water.
Water buffalos are also everywhere. The serve as field plows, if the farmer can’t afford a machine.
If they can afford a machine, it is generally a general purpose rota-tiller, which can be converted into a mini-truck to transport the goods (and family) around.
One other interesting thing that we saw a lot of was intricate graves:
Now, an even more interesting thing were round mounds of dirt that appeared around the graves and in front of people’s yards. Our tour guide, Jason, from Grasshopper Adventures, told us that the Vietnamese bury their dead in dirt for three years. Then then dig them up and place the bones in real graves. Quite interesting!
Day 2 ended at a beautiful beach resort. Nathan, Louise, Rob, Andy and Irene ran for the ocean and hopped in. I don’t like cold water, so I didn’t bother.
Nathan almost in the water:
Irene spanking Andy (mid spank):
Till tomorrow.
