January 26, 2026
Ca Mau to Rach Gia
127 km / 419 m
The place I stayed last night was interesting. I mean it was a 2 star hotel so what could I expect I guess. The location was terrible. Right on a 4 lane stroad with no sidewalks. I asked and the staff said I could walk for food. I beat my way down the street and googled and did what I could and ended up eating right beside the noisy road sitting in a kid’s patio chair; this seems to be common for whatever reason, very small chairs. Oh well, the food was fine. I picked up a bar of soap because none was supplied.
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I decided to crash at 8 pm in the event I woke up again at 4 AM. I’ll just try and get my sleep regardless. I was up at 4:45 and out by 6 am riding on the busy road all lights flashing. I can’t say my experience in Ca Mau was a positive one. It was busy, dirty and I didn’t feel any good vibes. I settled on a place for coffee which was good and then went to another pharmacy to ask about wound care. I left with another lotion. I then headed to a roadside place for food. The lady motioned to me and I sort of moved my hand and suddenly I had a bowl in front of me. I just ate what they served which was noodles with some mystery meat and vegetables. My vegan/vegetarian streak is well over now but I need to eat and I’ll take what I can get.
I was happy to be out of that city. And once outside things improved significantly. Today was very interesting as I was again mostly riding through farmland on narrow concrete roads occasionally passed by scooters or small mini trucks. I had many positive interactions with people.
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16 hours ago
7 hours ago
At about 11:30 I was thinking about lunch but I wasn’t near any substantial development. I rode past one place regrettably and continued thinking there would be another place soon. I got to another place and leaned my bike up and grabbed my things. There were two ladies at the door and they started to giggle. I soon realized this was not a restaurant so we exchanged some broken messages through the translator and I smiled and continued onward. I ended up finding a small place to eat roadside.
I continued on to my destination of Rach Gia. My butt is sore. It’s generally fine once I’m riding but with every stop and restart it takes a while to adjust back to the seat. I’ve been trying to figure out what to do. I know my wound will take a while to heal. I looked at my route and may cut out 200 km and head back to Ho Chi Minh City more directly and then take a couple rest days. I’ll sleep on that decision.
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When I arrived in Rach Gia I pulled out my tablet (yes I’m carrying one since I have very little weight) and found a nicer apartment to stay in. It was another challenging experience. I arrive at the place and there are 3 security guards out front. We talk about my reservation but they have no idea about anything as it’s a private owner’s place.
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Finally a lady shows up with a scooter helmet on and she’s supposed to help me to the room. Then we go to the parade and another security guard and 20 minutes and multiple phone calls with the actual owner. Finally I get in the room and it’s nice thankfully. I guess I’ll eventually learn from all these experiences; normal travel challenges in a very different country from Canada.
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Highlights:
-fried surprise fruit pastry thing that was delicious!
-the farmland riding was interesting and different again from other days
Today's ride: 127 km (79 miles)
Total: 530 km (329 miles)
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| Comment on this entry | Comment | 2 |
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