Vietnam | New Bohemians

Remembering Shangri-la

December 24th, 2009

Bob and Claire Rogers’ video wrap-up of their adventurous tandem bicycle journey from Tibet to Thailand via Laos, Vietnam and Cambodia. Rescued from freezing by Tibetans, taken in by a village when they were lost in the Lao jungle.

Thailand: No Baht, and Asia Roads

December 19th, 2009

This tour bus/truck accident had to be fatal. The truck was destroyed, and from the looks of this bus, the driver and tour leader were killed, and no doubt some passengers.

In SE Asia they mark the pavement with white paint, showing the outlines of where the victims, and their vehicles came to rest. The first few of these fairly fresh markings were a bit shocking, but we became accustomed to them. The bent bicycle, with a person lying motionless in a rice paddy of Yunnan Provence, China, was more personal.

The majority of the accidents were motorbikes, with bicycles coming in a close second. In most of SE Asia, motorbikes outnumber autos and trucks 50 to 1, but bicycles are just on the bottom of the food chain.

The Mekong: Life Along a Slow River

December 6th, 2009

The Mighty Mekong braids its way across Cambodia and Vietnam and supports a huge population. Bob and Claire Rogers put their tandem bicycle on a slow boat for a good look at river life from water level, and then a 108k ride the next day beside or near the river in Cambodia.

Slow Boat to Cambodia

December 5th, 2009

Slow Boat to Cambodia:
After taking the wrong ferry to the border, we finally found our way to a the most laid back border crossing yet. However after we started riding to the Cambodian border station, we discovered the nice small paved road turned to a dirt path, and would be like that for up to 40K, and we didn’t have much water.

After another easy time with our visas into Cambodia, we discovered a small wood boat at the dock and found we could take it four hours to a town with accommodation for $10: both of us, Zippy and Lucky; such a deal.