Our journey cycling through Vietnam has been unforgettable. After 430 kilometres of cycling, we rewarded ourselves in Nha Trang (photos coming) with a communal mud bath, hot mineral springs, and combination of massages, pedicures and manicures. Oh, and cocktails :-) As we did, we celebrated the fact that together, the 13 of us (there were 13 cyclists who been fundraising and we were joined by Nicola from Save the Children, Katie from Inspired Adventures, and our local guide Loc) had raised 450,000,000 Vietnamese Dong for the work that Save the Children are doing in Vietnam. To give you some context a pair of jandals cost Rex 30,000 dong. So our money would buy 1,500 pairs of jandals - imagine how many school notebooks or pens, etc that could stretch to. I'm not suggesting that is how the money will be spent, but I hope that helps you realize how far it could go: a long way. So, our hearts go back to our wonderful supporters in NZ who helped us to raise all that money - every single contribution in money, moral support, or in kind was very appreciated. THANK YOU - YOU made great things happen.
The experience was interesting too, in trialling the Nokia Sportstracker technology, which has formed the basis of this blog and how the journey was tracked. I've already talked about the lack of data networks (a Blackberry or an i-phone is redundant in this country) which meant we relied on wireless internet access. It also made the GPS tracking slightly less accurate (not every km is captured) and it took a while to get the GPS locked in at the start of the journey each day. That said, it now shows the entire route down the country with the photos taken from the Nokia phone automatically registered geographically where they were taken. For a traveller, that is a magic way of easily sharing your journey as you simply upload at the end of the day. As cyclists, there was little time to do much else at the end of the day as our priorities were hot showers and food (oh, ok and a cold beer!).
The team at Inspired Adventures are to be celebrated too, for organising (and very well supporting) this adventure with a cause. While we have trained for many many months and spent much of our spare time fundraising it was so worth it to know we were making a difference. The huge added advantage was the chance to see the country (especially away from the cities) up close, and at the pace of a cyclist. While we missed the detail of some larger cities when we arrived late and left early, I really felt that we got to see the real Vietnam and it's beautiful people. The physical challenge meant that there was little time or inclination to think about what was happening back home (especially work!) so it also forced us to really switch off. Ok, the lack of telecommunications may have helped in that aspect, but we were suitably distracted so as to not care!
Previously we have travelled by the "take only photographs, leave only footprints" motto common to travellers in beautiful areas. This opportunity allows you to challenge yourself physically, and to leave a little more than your own footprints behind.
