TRAVELMAN in VIETNAM: A bike ride, a butterfly, and I try goat meat in Trang An

After the trip through the caves, I joined Gob and Neriah for a 12 km bike ride into Tam Coc. The sky was a clear blue and the sun was a bastard, doing its thing, making things hot. In spite of the heat, I was thankful for the beautiful day. It was the single sunny day I’ve had in my three weeks in Vietnam.

Neriah kept a brisk pace on her single gear bicycle. I wanted to have a more casual ride that included photo/rest stops. I thought about suggesting maybe slowing it down a bit, but Travelman doesn’t like being mistaken for a sissy, especially when he’s riding a better bike, so I wiped the sweat from my eyes and kept on.

As we neared the town, the sun continued to treat us like cupcakes in an easy-bake oven. Neriah slowed and fell behind us. She explained that she was feeling a bit sick. She was weak, nauseated, and tired. Yep, exactly why this sissy thought it best to slow it down. The heat was getting to her. We had about three more kilometers to go. ...

We slowed the pace as we rode into town. Neriah had to get some electrolytes and rest in her before anything else. As we approached the road to their hostel, they invited me back to see it in case I wanted to move there the following night (they’d talked it up on the boat.)

I passed on joining them because I needed some food and water. We agreed that we might meet at the bird sanctuary later in the day.

I ended up not going to the sanctuary, so that was the last I saw of them.

I found a place to eat after giving the town a once over. I had a banana smoothie and some lunch at a restaurant near the town center. Flies harassed me my entire meal, they were abundant in the Ninh Binh area. Luckily, my empty banana smoothie glass kept them occupied.

After lunch, and a lot of mineral water, I rode back to my hostel in Trang An.

I stopped along the way to take the photos you see in this post. I stopped at a spot where I saw some goats grazing near some water and two small cemeteries. I wanted to snap some photos.

————-Cemetery next to goats ——————

I got off my bike and walked closer to the goats. A loud billy goat let me know he was in the area and I kept my distance from him. The owner of the goats had been lounging on the side of the road next to his motorbike. He approached me and tried to communicate. He smiled and indicated that I could get closer and take pictures. I did my best to converse with him. I learned that he raised the goats for food. I introduced myself by pointing at myself then shaking his hand. He introduced himself as Thoc. I asked to get a picture with him. I wished him well and went on my way.

—— Me and Thoc ———————

After a good long shower, which included some shower laundry as well, I met two ladies from Holland in the dorm. They had both recently finished the undergrad part of their schooling to become doctors.

I found a good place down the road to have a drink and watch the sunset so I invited them to join me. They enthusiastically agreed. I remember the blonde’s name was Iris, and I’ve unfortunately forgotten the brunette’s name, I’ll refer to her as Betty. Iris’s uncle had died the previous day back home in Holland. She was on the phone for awhile with her family as Betty and I watched the sunset and talked.

I’ve never been known as a master in the tradition of oral storytelling and this became apparent early on in my conversation with Betty and Iris. I told them about a particular day on my trip, the whole point of the story was that it was a hot day. Unfortunately, I set it up as though there was a payoff at the end of the story. Instead, it ended with me saying, “-and it was really hot.”

They stared at me waiting for more, so I clarified. “That’s it. It was hot, that’s all.” I gave them a big grin.

I made them laugh by saying, “That’s one of my better stories, I’ve sold the movie rights. Leo DiCaprio is set to star. ...He’s gonna play the guy that was hot.”

After our drink we looked for food. The restaurants in the area were overpriced. We went to the three that we could find and finally settled on eating at the overpriced restaurant at our hostel.

Goat was on a lot of menus in this town. I’d come across goat meat stands on my ride earlier that day. It was on this menu and it was surprisingly expensive compared to beef, pork, and chicken. I figured this may be my only chance to try goat meat so I decided to splurge on the 165000 Dong, fried goat. It was the cheapest of the goat meals.

Our meals arrived. My goat came in small, bite-size chunks. It was, ahhh... not good. Each chunk had a thick cartilage/fat on one side, making each bite 60% chewy, nearly inedible cartilage/facia. It was impossible to separate the small amount of meat. I gave it the old college try by forcing down four morsels but could take no more. The ladies offered me some of their food. I declined and walked downstairs to order the cheapest thing on the menu, fried rice, so that I’d have some kind of nutrition.

I explained to the woman that I didn’t like the goat and I needed to order something else. In the Customer is always right US of A they would have apologized and taken it off the bill. in Vietnam, I got a guilt trip.

“You did not like the meal I prepared for you.” She responded, looking like she’d dishonored her family.

At this point I realized that she made it herself. She was the wife of the owner (so, I suppose she was also the owner.) they had just opened their extremely lovely hostel/bungalow hotel this month and were doing their damnedest to make it work. I felt terrible.

“Uh, it just wasn’t what I thought it would be. I need different food. Can I get the fried rice, please?” What a weird way to say I want something else- I need different food.

My fried rice arrived, the ladies politely waited for me to eat, we paid, and went in search of ice cream. At the hostel’s prices, I ended up paying for the equivalent of six meals that evening- for fried rice, a can of beer, and a plate of uneaten goat cartilage. It had to be bad goat. I don’t know how anyone could incorporate eating goat cartilage into their culture when there’s so much goat meat available. So, I say, “No, nice lady hostel owner. I do not like the meal of goat cartilage/facia/fat you prepared for me. I hope I do not dishonor you with my truth.”

But hey, I got to try goat! All part of the cost of being open to adventure, I suppose.

————- I could’ve bought my own goat at one of these stands and cooked it up right!

We walked to nearby restaurants and home stays in search of some form of ice cream. No one had any for sale. The ladies got on their rented motorbike, I got on my rented mountain bike, the ladies rode their motorbike slowly, I rode my mountain bike quickly, it balanced out, and we went up to the main road in search of ice cream.

No ice cream on the main road. We gave up, turned around, and had a drink at the empty roof top bar. It was a party of three. The hostel will be great when it gains popularity, but on this night it was desolate, and less than great. We went to bed early.

The next morning, I woke up with a cold. I think it was from taking that bike ride on little sleep then dehydrating myself under the Ninh Binh sun.

I hung out at the hostel all day because it was raining cats and dogs, I was sick, and I had a long overnight bus ride to Hoi An ahead of me that evening.

In the afternoon I discovered a great restaurant about 200 meters up the road. It was the Trang An Farm Eco Homestay. They had free brewed coffee, internet, a puppy, and three little kids running around.

The little girl in the three came up to me and stared at my computer. I brought the Gargage Band app up and showed her how to explore it. She tired of it so I brought up the camera app. We took silly pictures. Then we went to YouTube and she chose some cartoons I brought up by searching Vietnam kids cartoons. I let her watch as I drank my coffee. I went back later for dinner and she and the puppy visited me again. She watched more cartoons as I ate.

I’m not sure if she could talk. She didn’t say anything, and when we were playing with Garage Band I went to the voice record part, recorded my voice, played it, then had her make noises. She made the facial motion of making sound but nothing came out. She was a sweet and curious little girl.

Here’s some pics of my hostel...

And a butterfly I chased around to get a decent pic...

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