I think when I get to Bangkok in a week I will get the major sensitive parts of the bike disassembled. Why? I notice a sound I didn't before but only when coasting (not when pedalling). Maybe it was there before and I never noticed. I also see new paint chipping, rusty parts I never noticed before and even the removable aluminim pedals (they fix in against steel) have a rusty colour in this closed-in area where they snap in. They were never easy to get on and of, one a struggle. Now, both were a struggle. Why didn't the mechanic remove, clean and dry?

I'm disappointed in Anton's staff. I explained I had been at the seaside and I wanted my bike cleaned. I suppose there is cleaned and CLEANED! I meant to eliminate/reduce any possible damage from sea air, sea water and sea sand from four days. At the shop at pick up I took the seat post out, ran my finger inside and found crud. So I sent it back for a cloth to be pulled from top to bottom. I heard a lot of air hose for fifteen minutes. Doing this plus multiple other adjustments was only VND200,000 (USD10) but I don't want cheap, I want good. Maybe to get good workmanship you need to tip in Vietnam. The assistant manager told me that everybody's bike in Vietnam rusts (implication: 'Get used to it'). He also insinuated that I was being ridiculous expecting the bike to be wiped dry, as in five minutes it would dry in the semi- tropical heat of May anyway.

I had the same disappointment at a Hanoi denstist, where a teeth cleaning is $10. I told them explicitly and written in Vietnamese: 'Twenty minutes is not enough time to do a thorough job. Please take whatever time is necessary and charge me accordingly' . Even then the dentist did a rush job. Likewise with the 'cleaning' I didn't quite get an artisinal job with a toothbrush (which is what I would use doing it myself). Even after complaining I see various parts w/ very fine white powder - clearly salt.

This whole experience strikes me as very weird though. When I was a kid in Vancouver we took our bikes to the beach. I don't remember a problem.