The Road Trip A little-visited Mekong Delta province of millennium-old Khmer Pagodas, paddy fields and seafood farms, Tra Vinh is just four hours from the chaos of Saigon. Donning his best leathers and thickest sunblock, Mads Monsen heads south
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hen I think of travel, and travel by motorbike, two words fill me with anticipation: “road” and “trip”. By themselves they are regular and mundane. As mundane, for as example, as a short trip to a supermarket or a trip up the road to get some milk. But create a journey with distance, exploration and purpose, and the context changes beyond recognition. For our road trip to Tra Vinh we tried to prepare — we stocked up with sunblock, face masks, energy bars and bottled water. After being exposed to the sun over a threeday ride, a previous excursion had left me sunburned and with swollen lips. It was the first time I had ever had swollen lips. While I enjoy road trips, such after experiences are not enjoyable. Nor are sore buttocks, but that is the price you pay. Getting on the road is easy. Staying on the road is the challenge. The road itself does you no harm, unless you count the endless potholes. It is unpredictable behaviour that can catch you out, as it did to the brazen boy speeding past without a helmet. Five minutes later I found him laying motionless, 30 metres from his bike. An early start is safer. At 5am I pick up
Rush Hour 54 | Word May 2013
my friend and we are off. We’re in between harvests so there aren’t so many green paddy fields at this time of year. So we explore the numerous pagodas on the way. Pagodas have their seasons, too, when they undergo renovation. On a previous trip to Tra Vinh we entered what was more of a construction site than a pagoda. This time we got there in time to photograph it in all its renovated glory. Pagodas in Tra Vinh were mostly built by the Khmer. Over 140 of them are scattered through the province. The pagodas are colourful sights and a joy to photograph when the light is right. Morning and afternoon light is better. The weather only allowed us the mornings. Taking photos is not the whole experience, the journey is. So are the random bits of kindness encountered along the way. We had many. One man waved at us by the road, inviting us in to have a coconut drink, refusing payment before offering to slaughter a chicken for lunch. Some call it providence. Some just call it the spirit of friendship. Take all the precautions and do a road trip. Experience the randomness of Vietnam’s roads. It’s a memory worth capturing. And not just on camera.
It’s five in the afternoon and the streets are packed with vehicles — heading here, there and everywhere. Ed Weinberg stops at a gas station for a fill-up, and to find out exactly where everyone is going. Francis Xavier photos and translation