On the dusty and hot Hau Giang street in District 6, Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam , a foreign couple is riding on a strangely designed bike that can be found nowhere else in Vietnam.
They are Rita and Heiko Spanier, a German husband and wife biking to Vietnam all the way from Germany since July 27, 2006.
They have gone through ten countries on bicycles from Germany to Poland, Russia, Latvia, Lithuania, Mongolia, China, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
On their route, only in Russia did they catch a train because the weather was getting cold, and in Mongolia they hired a car to traverse the desert.
Married for more than thirty years, they could not forget a time in 1982, when they hopped on a bus to travel to the United States, Mexico and Alaska.
Now, in their fifties, Heiko is fifty seven and Rita is fifty six, they asked themselves why not do it again. Rita and Heiko are frequent travelers. Heiko said that they have worked for four years to save for money for one year of traveling.
However, this journey is not usual, and at first Rita thought of the idea as insane.
Rita and Heiko had to prepare carefully for the journey, finding an unusual kind of bicycle to satisfy their purpose. The bicycles used for the journey are designed to not cause pain in their arms, shoulders and backs after riding for a long time. They said that in their home town, there are just thirty two bicycles like this.
The bikes have drawn much attention from the locals of the countries in which they have traveled. Heiko remembers with amusement that whenever they stop to ask for directions, people do not answer but stare at their bicycles with amazement as children swarm around the bicycles.
Rita told a funny story about when they were in China. They stopped on a street in a village to ask for directions. On the opposite side of the street was a wedding, and after they had their questions answered, they turned back to see all the guests standing up and staring at them and their bicycles.
Having gone through cold weather in Russia, hot weather in the Gobi desert in Mongolia, spent days climbing steeps and mountains, and arriving hot and dry to Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam in March 22, 2007, they have reached the final destination.
Last Saturday, they packed their bicycles and flew to Australia to visit their friends and then will return to Germany on May 27, 2007. There are pictures of the countries Rita and Heiko have visited on their home page www.rita-heiko-bikeforschool.de.
Being asked why they chose to travel to many countries on bicycles, an adventurous journey that requires the stamina of athletes, the young-at-heart couple told the Daily that they wanted to see the world in a different view, not the view from the seat of a comfortable car.
They wanted to communicate with people and feel the real world with their five senses, and be part of it.
(Source: SGT)
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