Bus Ride Of True Love From Ha Tien to Chau Doc, Vietnam
January 21, 2008
This snapshot was taken by me during the bus ride from Ha Tien to Chau Doc of the lovely lady who was sitting next to me for a few bus stops (about 15 minutes).
Her gaze of uncontrollable love and the admiring twinkle in her eyes as she looks at me are priceless.
Hey, last time I checked breaking hearts is not a crime even in Vietnam.
(I did check for exposed boogers later and fortunately I was in the clear.)
After reading my previous post from Chau Doc it may be surprising that I am returning but it was a good decision for a simple reason and the bus trip was fun on many levels.
After some research I decided not to cross over to Southern Cambodia from Ha Tien but to take a more exciting fast boat trip on the Mekong River from Chau Doc to Phnom Penh.
The bus ride already started with a rarity by having an English speaking travel partner on board in the person of a Swedish backpacker.
I am trying to stay away from other tourists on this trip to make the experience as authentic as possible also not having to listen to ignorant, intolerant selfishness from other westerners (more of this happened during my boat trip to Phnom Penh).
The Swedish guy was a penny pincher you know the type, the one who will argue (bargain) 25 cents off of the price of a bottled water with someone who is miles below the poverty level.
Yes, saving money every second will lengthen the trip but at what cost?
Not my type of vacation!
Even funnier was that we could not even talk about sports. He was a huge soccer fan (watching bunch of sweaty guys running up and down – not like there is anything wrong with that). It was to his true disinterest when I mentioned the Australian Open going on at the time (bunch of blond athletic Russian girls running up and down).
Also worth noting that at a road side rest stop I received probably my most serious marriage offer in Vietnam (yes, there have been others) accompanied by a phone number.
All this happened under 5 minutes; I guess this is what they call animal attraction haha.
As soon as I got back on the minibus and the ticket lady saw the note I just received she grabbed it from me and added the name, address and phone number of her younger sister for my consideration (what a great trip).
Otherwise I spent most of the time of the 3 hour ride taking photos through the window.
I did come out of my shell one more time with my backpacker travel mate wanting to share the experience of how incredible it is that traveling by bus we see miles of houses on stilts, rice fields, people working, kids playing and observing rural life in general.
He looked me like I was insane. It was very funny.
Ah, my comment got deleted somehow…daaaang…anyway, I will try again:
This is my favourite blog post until now!
:D:D:D
The pic is really nice, the lady’s eyes and the colors of her clothes really make it a fine photo!
I cannot believe these women actually TELL you they want to marry you! How do you react??
I would never be able to just tell someone who I donno and meet on a bus to marry me LOL:)
I bet this does wonders for your ego:D
Btw, I am getting a bit jealous (hahaaa,just kidding).
Don’t tell me you hate soccer (Silence, I kill you!!!)…and I bet you don’t care about the sport itself, just watch tennis bcs of the women as every man does…pffff…Did I tell you I play tennis by the way?:D:D:D
another day in the life of ferenc e…..vietnam’s most eligible bachelor.
good stories…keep em coming yo.
Thanks for this. I am only planning to tour around Vietnam, I am here for work. They are offering you to marry them because some of them think you could somehow save them from poverty. Have you noticed the usual couple in Vietnam? I am not generalizing or something, this is happening in any third-world country and I am not also discounting the fact that they must be in love as well.. but how can fall in love in a few minutes? =) of course, your looks was also considered=) Thanks again! Keep on sharing!