| Quick facts | |
|---|---|
| Distance | 77km |
| Difficulty | Easy but very busy |
| Terrain | Flat |
| Blog | 11th Feb - Matt's bogus journey |
| Gallery | Mekong Delta |
The journey
Initially there's a bike lane along Trung Hung Dao then the route is fairly easy to follow past the bus station at Cholon. We took a couple of wrong turns but if you head south/south-west out of town you'll end up on QL1A. The built-up sprawl is continuous from HCMC and it's not obvious when you go through Binh Tan. The traffic and pollution is very bad, getting heavier from the edge of town. There are no signs on the junctions or crossroads or at villages until Ben Luc. There are lots of cafés and restaurants and com chay is much more widely available in the Mekong delta. We tried to take a side road at Tan An and but it soon turned into a gravel road and there were no signs so we headed back to QL1A. There was a moderate easterly tail-wind all day.There are alternative routes e.g. 50 via Go Cong, but that's a big detour. Either take the bus to My Tho from Cholon or get on route 1A, put your head down and get it over with as quick as possible!
There were several hotels in My Tho but it was busy because of the build up to Chinese New Year; a couple only had one room free. None of the hotels would accept our friend's photocopy of his passport instead of the original (it was at the Thai embassy waiting for a visa) because the police are very strict. There were flower and fruit markets along the waterfront for Chinese New Year.
The room
Cong Doan hotel10 Street 30/4
My Tho City
Tien Giang
Tel: (84-73) 870 875
Ð150,000 for triple with air-con, bathroom with hot water, river view, TV with movies.
Fairly smart and comfortable.