Monday, March 25, 2013

Cycling Vietnam in Hochiminh trails highway

Bicycle tours and biking vietnam as Cycling in Hochiminh trails  It Means Peace
The bicycle, a Vietnamese war veteran explains to the American cyclists pedaling the Ho Chi Minh Trail, “was our secret weapon,” thanks to its simplicity, durability, and versatility—qualities that just might bring the cyclists some measure of harmony. 

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Ho Chi Minh Trail
It Means Peace
The bicycle, a Vietnamese war veteran explains to the American cyclists pedaling the Ho Chi Minh Trail, “was our secret weapon,” thanks to its simplicity, durability, and versatility—qualities that just might bring the cyclists some measure of harmony.

ByMark Jenkins
HIS EMPTY SLEEVE is folded on his lap. He slips his right hand inside the military suit jacket that is far too large for his shrunken frame and removes his latest poem. Then with his thin fingers he pours shots of rice wine and grins. His teeth are rotten and stained black from chewing betel nuts. It is 10 a.m. in Huong Khe, a remote village in northern Vietnam. He begins reading, in a croaky and halting voice, a poem that elegiacally describes his invincible spirit during the American war, the poverty of his family, his hope for the future when the war would finally be won. Ong Phung Minh was 17 in 1957, when he was sent out with the first secret reconnaissance team to find a way for the North Vietnamese to transport troops, arms, communications, and supplies far away from the coast, which was patrolled by the American Navy.

He nods at our Vietnam bicycle leaning in his doorway. “The route had to be passable for bicycles,” Ong says. “Bicycles were our secret weapon.”

The Vietnam bicycle path he spent four years surveying, mapping, and building would become known as the Ho Chi Minh Trail, the primary supply line for Communist forces. Built at the beginning of the Vietnam War, from 1959 to 1961, then continually expanded during the ’60s, the Ho Chi Minh Trail was never a single thoroughfare but, rather, a vast, intricate web of interconnecting porter tracks, paths, streambeds, jeep roads, and tank and truck roads that ran down the spine of the Annamite Mountains (called the Truong Son by the Vietnamese), through the panhandle of Laos, eastern Cambodia, and western Vietnam—and which, it turned out, was best navigated by the versatile bicycle. One bike reportedly carried a record 924 pounds along the 1,000-mile length of the Trail.

Ong Phung Minh, 73, was one of the first scouts on the Ho Chi Minh Trail in 1957. “Everyone suffered,” he says when asked about his missing arm. (Mark Jenkins)
Part of Ong’s job was to reroute the Ho Chi Minh Trail whenever it was damaged by B-52 bombings. When American warplanes would discover and destroy one section, the Trail was simply redirected through the dense, almost impenetrable foliage, the jungle canopy concealing it from the planes. When a portion navigated by truck (the most obvious from the air) was damaged, supplies were reloaded onto bicycles that weaved invisibly through jungle. At times during the war, it was possible to pedal the length of the Ho Chi Minh Trail, from Hanoi to Saigon, and never once cross into sunshine.

Ong was one of six brothers, all of whom were soldiers in the North Vietnamese Army. Three died during the war, two in battle, one from a bomb dropped on his home. “For years and years, there was bombing every day,” says Ong, through our interpreter, Vu Chung. “I would say that about half of my friends died in the bombings.” When his left arm was blown off by American artillery, there were no nearby doctors in the jungle, so he bandaged it himself. He explains this not heroically, but as a matter of fact. “Everyone suffered,” he says.

After the war, he was given a house, a pension, and three military suits that have lasted him two generations. He slowly gets up from the table and shows us his faded military certificates on the wall, black-and-white photos of his dead brothers tucked into the glass frame. When I ask Ong whether all the sacrifice was worth it, his thin face tries to conceal a look of bewildered disdain. It will take weeks more of travel before I realize that my question is offensive. To the Vietnamese, the American War was the supreme struggle for independence. It required decades of death to beat the French colonists and the American imperialists. It is as if I had asked an American whether the Revolutionary War was worth it. Rather than giving me a lesson in history, Ong replies politely: “I have devoted my life to serving my people. And as for the U.S., our countries are friends now, as we could have been from the beginning. I want only peace.”

Tuesday, March 19, 2013

Mountain bike holiday

Vietnam Cycling Tours - The Best Cycling Tour Collection in Vietnam

It is great to know that Vietnam is one of the beautiful countries situated in the Indochina Peninsula in the Southeast Asia. Also, the country is bordered by china in the north, Cambodia to the South, Laos in the North West and so on. Vietnam is the 13th populated country in the world and the population is more than 85.5 millions.
Wide Range of Vietnam Tour Packages
Vietnam Tour Packages are much popular among the people and you can select any package suiting to your requirement. Some of the famous tour packages include Tour from Ho Chin Minh city to Hanoi, Central Vietnam, Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City and much more. Subsequently, people can visit the different parts of Vietnam by selecting any mode of transport such as Air, Road, Rail or Water.
Select the Right Mode of Transport
Further, the developed country operates 17 major civil airports including 3 international airports. By 2015, this country is planning to construct 10 more international airports at their side. Most of the people prefer Road transport to travel to Vietnam as they can watch the eye catching natural scenery, beaches, rivers all through the road. There are number of travel agencies ready to offer different travel packages to the people and the price varies according to the package selected.
If you are bored with traditional tour programs, then Vietnam bike tours offers great cycling tours for the people interested to explore great fun. The cycling tours would be really fun with unique itineraries and some of the popular cycling trips include Ba Khan Rustic-Mai Chau Valley, Thanh Chuong Palace and much more. Now let us have a quick look at some of the best cycling tour collections in Vietnam in which you can experience an unforgettable cycling trip...

Saturday, March 02, 2013


Nài bu nó, đào nở hoa rồi đấy
 Rửa lồn đi, làm 1 nháy nào
Đón năm mới mà tiền đéo có
Nấp kín trong nhà, chỉ có địt mừng xuân

 Nài bu nó, chứng tụt thêm 1 đáy
 Tiền bay đi, chỉ còn mớ giấy lồn
 Thân hóng hớt bầy đàn mua cổ phiếu
Ta là ai, mà dám chọi với tay-to

Này bu nó, nhà đất lao dốc quá
 Bọn ngân hàng thúc nợ từng ngày
Lếu nó đến, bu mài ra bẩu nó
Còn thịt người, tanh lắm, có lấy không?

Này bu nó, sao cái đéo gì cũng đắt
 Nào thịt rau gạo mắm chè đường
Cầm mớ bạc, mua veo phát hết
 Mà đường về tay nải gió đu đưa? 

Nào bu nó, tết năm nay như cặc
 Rửa máy chưa, ta đóng nhát nào
Thời kinh tế như tầu đứt cáp
Còn cái lồn nhà, đá tạm, đón xuân sang!!!