Monday, September 10, 2018

My world walk blog - Vietnam 4 - No Mien-Ngan for Mangan!


My world walk blog - Vietnam 4 - No Mien-Ngan for Mangan!


No Mien-Ngan for Mangan!

I was really tired tonight and planned to give just a brief update of today and yesterdays walks and then do a full report tomorrow. In the end, I churned out this one. Sorry for any typos.

Monday after my two-day break I was feeling as lifeless as a mushy pea being picked up by a boxing glove.  I even walked into a herd of cows walking down the middle of the busy highway. It was almost as though the cows took a wrong turn in India.  
I ended up walking twenty-kilometres and stopped at a hotel just north of Quynh Thien. Thankfully it had a welcome chicken and chips stand outside. That was dinner sorted but unfortunately, it wasn't open for breakfast. 

Next morning, and an hour up the road I stopped for a sandwich and a few young lads came into the shop and wanted to chat via Google Translate. 

For those of you that don't know this is such a wonderful app. It does as it says. You just type in a message or question in your language and select the other person language and press the translate button and hey presto! It's not perfect but as you can see from the question that this non-English speaking lad pulled up. He typed in Vietnamese: "Do you know much about football." Please see photo. So, in theory, you could have a person from say Brazil sitting in a Mongolian yurt and having a decent conversation with a shepherd. Other Translate possibilities are speaking apps, that way you don't have to type. Each person just speaks in and the selected language translates the audio. I have had only limited success with this one. To my mind, this is something which still needs a bit of work. 

It was a hot mushy 33C day and I was having a tough time. Even with sunblock on and covered up well I had problems with sweat that tormented any cuts or scratches I had. Several times I had to stop to apply some wonderful Protex cooling powder and Vaseline. I walked through a couple of small towns and by this stage I was near the ocean where I hot brief respite with a cool crosswind. But it was short lived. I was hungry and all the cafes were closed. Then I saw a restaurant sign with a dish that sounds like Mangan, my name, called 'Mien-Ngan'

Unfortunately, this restaurant was another tease for the place was closed. Not sure what this man-eating dish tastes like, I must try and get some. 

 Indeed I was saved from starvation when I stumbled upon a bakery with hot fresh bread. So I took a break there and it was just as well I bought extra as there was nowhere else. So it was bread and water at the hotel I found that night. Seven Euro a night seems to be the cost of these half decent places.

 On the way, children and their parents continued to cheer and wave over to me. At one stage a group of about ten were cheering from across the road and I could even see them over the concrete lane separation bollards. Sometimes I think they know I'm on my way and watch out and wait for me. 

36-kilometres were walked that brutally hot day. I finished just west of Nam Cham. Surely it makes more sense to start early? I will see what I can do. I stopped for sugar cane juice and also at a grocery store for a soft drink. Towards the end of the day, I crossed over and walked on the opposite side. I walked the last hour in the coolness of the evening. That enabled me to pick up my pace. I'm enjoying this world walk so much. So much to look forward in the coming months. I'm just 425 kilometres from China and so much looking forward to it, feeling groovy. I walked in the hard-shoulder and towards the traffic. After such a brutally hot day a cool period like this is almost orgasmic.

Song for the day Paul Simon, 'Crazy Love'

A good song you may ask? As Paul would say.. "I have no opinion."

Hear for yourself by pressing this link


24,809 kilometres in 711 myworldwalk.com days. 

Walking around the world for cancer awareness. Early cancer screening saves lives.

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