RAIN. We awaken to the sound of it again this am and decide that as Kate's knee is still hurting we'll stop another day. Kate, sleeping again till 1pm, is a happy bunny. We take a taxi to the Kiwi cafe again for brunch and hope the weather will brighten up this afternoon. In the end, it did a little so we take a walk back to the hotel whilst there is a little light left and settle down to watch the footie.
Kilometers: 0
Total Kilometers: 6203
Day 197: Qui Nhon to Tuy Hoa
07:30 hours and no rain! We have another sneaky hour in bed then head for breakfast at the Kiwi cafe before heading off to Tuy Hoa. The dark clouds in the distance threatened to rain on and off all day but none actually came our way so we managed a healthy 102 km following ascents and descents that were testing but not really a problem. The scenery today was awesome; we cycled down the coast road and had views of the bays with their white sandy beaches.
Kilometers: 103
Total Kilometers: 6306
Day 198: Tuy Hoa to Van Gia
Today our map tells of trouble ahead – another mountain range named the Dai Lanh pass. There's no indication of how long or high it is so we just go for it. Unfortunately as we cycle towards it, the wind picks up and after a couple of kilometers, it's turned to a horrible head wind and takes our speed down to 8km an hour. We battle on for about an hour, and with the pass still to come, I'm in a foul mood. We can barely make progress on a flat road with this wind against us and as the pass begins, it's the ascent from hell. I'm not a happy bunny and I again apologise unreservedly to Lee Lee for my shouting and bawling; he quite rightly refuses to speak to me until I've calmed down. Thankfully, the wind does die down about a kilometre into the pass and it couldn't come soon enough – the ascent is steep in places and as my bike is still unable to function in first gear, it's a bugger to get up. The road winds round and round and just as we think it's the end, we turn another corner to see another ascent.
We finally reach the top after half an hour of hard cycling and the views are incredible – the South China Sea in all it's glory; tiny islands in the distance, turquoise sea lapping against pure white shores. I want to jump in. The descent is not all downhill, quite a few small ascents before we're at the end and cycle into a little fishing village where we take a well earned rest. We decide to stop for the night at Van Gia instead of going for Ninh Hoa – we're pretty knackered, and find a bed for the night on the far outskirts of the town and a “com bin danh” (people's) meal for dinner – a low key affair comprising of a plate of rice with a selection of meats, eggs and vegetables for a bargain 15,000VND ($1) per plate.
Kilometers: 68
Total Kilometers: 6374
Day 199: Van Gia to Nha Trang
We are of the opinion that it's a leisurely 50 km to Nha Trang today, but it turns out to be a little longer than expected after a wrong turn (sorry Lee Lee). Today is extremely hot and we're hoping desperately that the sun will stick around in Nha Trang so we can have some well earned time on the beach. Digs found at The Backpacker's Hotel (highly recommended)– we were completely seduced by the $20 per night suite – bedroom, en suite bathroom, and living room with cable TV and wifi.
Absolute class, and a place where we will stay for the next seven nights to give our knees a rest, apply for our visa extension and do some tanning!
Kilometers: 71
Total Kilometers: 6445
Days 200 to 214: Nha Trang
Ooh, it's lovely here! The beach is fabulous and we rent sun-loungers for 50,000VND for the whole day. The surf is quite rough though and although I manage to brave it on the first couple of days, it turns out that I don't do a lot of swimming. Unfortunately, I forget to take my sunglasses off and I wind up with a tanned face with big panda white eyes and a great big X on my face. Oops!
Nha Trang is heavily touristy, with a wide choice of restaurants to eat at from Italian to the Full English Breakfast. On the second day, we find a Spanish place that offers an “all you can eat” BBQ – hahahaha – they didn't bank on cyclists coming through here and as you all know by now, we get ravenous on our rest days. The waitresses are astounded that we can eat so much and we return here for dinner every other night.
Kilometers: 0
Total Kilometers: 6445
Day 215: Nha Trang to Phan Rang
Having been in Nha Trang for 14 days with its fine beach, good food and a never ending supply of chocolate, we understandably have difficulties in making the decision to leave. This is compounded by the fact that for the last two days it has been raining heavily and there is a very strong wind which is proving persistent. Today is no exception, although I must concede that there are more breaks in the clouds today and at times, it looks like clearing up. We must leave today, there's no doubt about it, but the million dollar question remains – will it be by bike or by bus? We head off for breakfast and it starts to rain, and at this point the bus is looking like the most likely option. We check the prices; 180,000VND ($9) per person plus 80,000VND ($4) for each bicycle. It's incredibly annoying to learn that it would cost us all of sixteen quid to get to HCMC by air-con bus, whereas on the bikes it would take 6 days of hard cycling to get us there. And on contemplating this, the decision is finally made. We are cyclists. We will not be seduced by the filthy, polluting bus which, undoubtedly, we will later regret having taken. So we finally leave at 10am only to find 3km later, the road to Highway 1A cannot be accessed due flooding.
Is someone trying to tell us something? Did the bus company flood the road? Indignantly, Lee and I flounce off back the way we came and figure out another route. This road will take us along the coast which we really wanted to avoid due to the strong winds but in hindsight, it turns out to be the better option – the views are great, and apart from my two minute tantrum aimed at the rain and swirly wind, it was definitely the right choice. After 10km, the rain has stopped and the wind has morphed into a wicked tailwind. We find that we are cycling at speeds of up to 35km per hour on a flat road. Check out the fabulous double rainbow we clocked on the way:
We cycle 107km in 5 hours, find a hotel and restaurant and congratulate ourselves on resisting the evils of bus travel and not having taken the easy way out.
Kilometers: 107
Total Kilometers: 6552
Day 216: Phan Rang to Cho Lau
It's another blustery day and we look forward to a fast day's cycle ride. We're not disappointed. For the first 45km, the tailwind is as strong as yesterdays and we find that we're cycling about 30km before we need to stop for a break. However, as we start to leave the south central coast area, the clouds dissipate and the wind begins to change direction and for the last 20km or so, the wind simply cannot make up it's mind which way it wants to blow. Added to this, Lee Lee begins to suffer from heatstroke and although we tried to locate accommodation in Phan Ri, we eventually had to cycle another 10km to Cho Lau to bag a room. We had our first bone fida Vietnamese meal for dinner – Bo Luc Lac, beef sauteed with onions and tomatoes served with a french baguette.
Kilometers: 97
Total Kilometers:6649
Day 217: Cho Lau to Mui Ne
Only a relatively short distance today, we have decided to stop at Mui Ne instead of Phan Thiet as it will be our rest day and Mui Ne has a beach and plenty of accommodation. The other bonus of Mui Ne will be Western menus – and possibly a bag full of chocolate for Kate. After stopping for some brunch we come across a restaurant with a few Western cyclists hanging around, we stop for a chat and it turns out that they are part of a cycle tour (2 week holiday) traveling from Hanoi to Saigon via plane and bike.
The tour consists of around 10-15 people and they have a support crew, a tour guide and they have accommodation booked in advance (4 star hotels). This seems like a cool way to spend a two week holiday, something we might look into in the future – I dare say not good for budget travel though. Saying our goodbyes we are assured that we will be passed by them before we reach Mui Ne as they do not have the luggage to carry that we have, however it was only the last 5km that the majority of the group catch up to us and they then stop at their truck to wait for the others and go to the hotel. We carry on in the rain to try and find a guesthouse for two nights. Accommodation secured and western food found we retire to bed looking forward to a long sleep in tomorrow – and hopefully nice weather for the beach.
Kilometers: 67
Total Kilometers: 6716
Day 218: Mui Ne (rest day)
We wake to a glorious day – sun shining, all the puddles have either gone or are evaporating quickly and we take a walk down the street to find breakfast/lunch. We end up eating at the restaurant we had dinner at last night, but not before I have to return to the hotel to change my pants for shorts cos it's so hot here. We decide to head to the beach after brunch and it's a wonderful sight, fine white sand although the water's still a little murky. There are tens of “kitesurfers” here, all decked out with colourful kites which whip them across the water like skiers. Some of them are even doing 360 degree turns in the air when a good wind catches their kite. It looks wicked! Our lovely day however, turns to a miserable one when we return to the hotel to find that someone has ripped off the wire to the cycle computer that was on Lee Lee's bike. We find part of it on the front lawn of the hotel but the staff aren't helping. They argue that it was not on the bike to begin with, that we lost it ourselves and that we are liars. The son of the hotel owner is particularly vicious and starts swearing. I'm firmly of the opinion that when they moved the bikes in the morning they accidentally trapped one of the wires and pulled it off, panicked, and then tried to get rid of all of it, untwisting the wire from the brake cable, cutting the cable tie that held the monitor in place and disposing of it. I can't see anyone wanting to steal a wire. However, no-one is admitting to it and there's nothing we can do about it. We will have to get a replacement in Ho Chi Minh City.
Kilometers: 0
Total Kilometers: 6716
Day 219: Mui Ne to Gia Ray
Another blistering day as we ride out to Gia Ray. We find a “com binh dan” about 10km out of town and stock up on much needed carbs and water for the long ride ahead. The day is going pretty smoothly until two leery teenagers on a motorbike start messing around, speeding in front, cutting us up and forcing us onto the verge before slowing down and starting the whole thing over again. Lee and I decide to stop and wait for them to tire of bugging us out They eventually leave but they're quite persistent, returning every couple of kilometers. This goes on for about 20 mins until I lose my patience and start shouting at them to leave us alone. As they pull off, the pimply, pock-marked one on the back reaches out and grabs my breast. Gross. I'm well miffed off now, and Lee Lee is absolutely furious. It looks like these guys got this, as they rode off and didn't return. Quite a horrible experience really. It was obvious that they were bothering us but no-one came to our aid. For those budding cycle tourers out there, we would advise that in such a situation, you must stop until they leave, try your best to get a description and their license plate number, or a photo of them and report the incident to the police as soon as possible.
Kilometers: 102
Total Kilometers: 6818
Day 220: Gia Ray to Bien Hoa
After yesterday's horrible event, we're understandably not that friendly to male motor drivers today. The road is also getting very busy – we're under 100km away from Ho Chi Minh City now and the traffic is extremely heavy, the roads dusty and the noise is incessant. Nearing the end of the day we take a wrong turn and instead of heading into the city of Bien Hoa, we find ourselves on the road straight to HCMC. It's only after we cross a set of railway lines that Kate notices this and we decide to turn back and stick to our plan of staying in Bien Hoa tonight and cycling the remaining 30km into HCMC tomorrow. Digs found after a mammoth 1hr search for accommodation – there's not much up for grabs in this city and we end up at a Nha Nghi (guesthouse) on the far (west) side of town. It's a friendly little place run by a small family and they are very accommodating, pointing out where we can eat and other incidentals. We shower and head out for grub, just across the street, where we devour fried squid and beef with veg, accompanied by rice (what else?!). We retire to the room to watch a film but a power cut kicks in and we venture downstairs, basking in the light of a lantern with the family, getting hotter and hotter by the second. The power cut lasts two hours and it's a relief to have the air-con and fan back on.
Kilometers: 80
Total Kilometers: 6898
Day 221: Bien Hoa to Ho Chi Minh City
Early rain petered out and we head off in search of Saigon (HCMC) – armed with directions from Google maps we are confident of getting there in one piece. It was not long however that the roads and the directions fail to match up and we have to rely on Kate's directional expertise. When we get on to the trusty 1A highway heading into HCMC we stop for breakfast which hopefully will be the last rice we eat for a couple of days. Traffic into HCMC is not all that bad, cycling at mid day allows for quieter streets due to the Vietnamese habit of sleeping at this time. Reaching District 1 at around 1.30pm, we head to a hostel recommended to us in Nha Trang, however this hostel turns out to be expensive and we book into one opposite for $14 a night incl breakfast.
We have a full English brekkie for lunch at a local restaurant, horrified by the price of their beer which is three times more expensive then elsewhere. HCMC has a supermarket up the road so we can enjoy fruit and yoghurt again – we cannot find yoghurt anywhere when on the road.
Kilometers: 42
Total Kilometers: 6940
Day 222: HCMC (rest day)
Today is a mission to get our bikes fixed up for their final 1000km, allegedly there is a Giant bike shop in District 7 of HCMC. We borrow a map from the hostel and after breakfast set out to find it. Again, thanks to Kate's directional weirdness we get there very easily: it's only 6km away in a modern part of HCMC. To our delight the shop looks very well stocked and has all that we need – so we purchase oil, a puncture repair kit and a new bike computer to replace the damaged ('the incident') old one. Also, two tyres and new inner-tubes are fitted to the rear of our bikes all for a reasonable price for a big city. When we get back to the hostel area we decide to book a tour to see the Cu Chi tunnels on Friday the 13th....................................
On a more negative note Kate has started with a cold and is feeling rough.
Kilometers: 0
Total Kilometers: 6940
Day 223: HCMC
Kate took some sleeping tablets last night and her body refuses to wake up until 13:00 hrs today. She still feels rotten though and she drags herself out of the hostel and we head to the War Remnants Museum. The museum is very good value for money but has some horrific images and stories highlighting the brutality of war – seeing this museum and the one at My Son village helps us appreciate what the Vietnamese people have been through; they seem to a forgiving nation, embracing tourists in the way they do.
Feeling subdued after the museum we take a walk back to District 1 and head out for something to eat. On the way back to the hostel we stop at a bakery and purchase a gorgeous carrot cake and some yoghurt for later. Kate has an early night as we are up at 7am in the morning for our trip to the Cu Chi tunnels.
Kilometers: 0
Total Kilometers: 6940
Day 224: HCMC
Early breakfast this morning and away to the tour of the Cu Chi tunnels, leaving at 8am it takes us two hours by coach to get there. The tour costs $10 for us both and is well worth it, we get to go into the tunnels but even though have been enlarged to allow for western tourists they are still fairly small and we only go along 50 yards to get a feel for them.
On the tour there are booby traps and secret entrances that the Vietnamese used to fight the Americans – the booby traps look horrific.
Kilometers: 0
Total Kilometers: 6940
Day 225: HCMC
Kate's cold is back with a vengeance today so even though we make it down to breakfast, she swiftly makes back to bed for a couple of hours and we later decide stay in HCMC for one more night. Our visa runs until the 25th November so there is no rush really to get out of Vietnam. In the afternoon we head out to get some US dollars as we have heard there are no ATM's at the Bavet border crossing or in the smaller towns in Cambodia but that they accept dollars everywhere. Again we have an early night but after her mammoth sleep today, Kate only dozes and does not get to sleep until 1am, despite necking two sleeping tablets.
Kilometers: 0
Total Kilometers: 6940
Day 226: HCMC to Moc Bai
This morning we get the bikes packed up and away we go, heading out of HCMC on the smaller back roads instead of Highway 22 – we hope this will be quieter and easier. Some of the roads we encounter today are nothing more then dirt tracks and we thank our lucky stars it has not been raining as the roads would have been impassable. On the way we see a couple of arguments between the locals. One was over a traffic incident and the second was of unknown cause but this appeared to warrant one party slapping the other around the face with a flip flop – classic! We pass the 7000 km mark today at a town called Trang Bang, where we took the obligatory picture and proceeded to Go Dau as planned.
We failed to find any accommodation there and ended up heading to Moc Bai, on the way finding an Nha Nghia (guesthouse) to stay at which turned out to be a brothel of the highest order; condoms and mirrors all over the place! Food in this area was very hard to come by but we ended up having some sort of meat soup (we were told it was 'meat of pig') and lots of crisps, yoghurts and fruit from a local stores. Tomorrow we cross the border into Cambodia.
Kilometers: 77
Total Kilometers: 7017
