Day 6...............26/01/15
Happy Birthday Sebbie!
Australia Day in Nah Trang. Sorry I think I lost a day somewhere but we spent Australia day in Nah Trang.......after breakfast updated blog then went to the Aussie pub celebrating with a BBQ. Lots of young drunken Aussies so decided to hit the beach. Lots of Russians and some pretty funny sights but I'm not saying anything as I left all my cloths on and sat and watched the afternoon pass by!!! Pre-dinner cocktails (margaritas and mojitoes) at the sailing club then more charcoal grilled shellfish for tea!
Day 7................27/01/15
Happy Birthday LuLu
Said goodbye to Boothy (Monty's cousin) at Nah Trang and headed north along the coast to Quy Nhon. First 30 minutes bypassing the A1 was great but soon ended back on the A1 for the rest of the day! Bus drivers are crazy!! Trucks drive you mad.....I dont enjoy driving on the A1 but sometimes you cant avoid it! The rest of the day we "played chicken" with the trucks and buses finally arriving at Quy Nohn around 4pm. Found a nice hotel ate then hit the hay for an early morning start.
Day 8..............28/01/15
Decided to avoid the A1 so found some back roads to follow!! Yep you guessed it we had an eventful day exploring?? Around lunch time we decided to find a restaurant/cafe/street cart to eat. "Monty that place back there looks good, lots of locals all eating, drinking having fun"! We rode in and guested eating and they indicated yes, come in! Turns out it was someones home and they were celebrating the grandsons 3 year birthday!!! Several hours later all feed and now part of the family we headed for Quang Ngai. Monty was the highlight of the party and we have been invited back same time same place next year to celebrate! Priceless experience........as we didnt pay a cent and ate the most amazing home cooked food you could imagine!
Day 9..........29/01/15
Departed Quang Ngai early and headed north along the A1......have i stated how bad it is???? Saw at least 2 bad accidents before smoko stopping at Nam Phuoc for a "cafe sau da" - iced coffee...one of the best we've had!! After 2hrs on the A1 it was time to turn left and head for the Ho Chi Minh trial. Best thing we've ever done. Lunch with the locals; school kids loved the interaction and practice their English. It is really great to see the kids always give us a big wave and smile and firing water pistols at us! After a day winding around the Ho Chi Minh trail we arrived at P'Rao and found the guest house Nha Nghi a family run business that is very friendly and hospitable.
Tomorrow we head north along the HCM trail via Khe San (will be sing the song as we go) hopefully making Phong Nha national park?????
Thursday 29 January 2015
Monday 26 January 2015
What an amazing first five days on the road! Due to intermittent web and WiFi access, long days on the bike and all the day to day business of travelling in a foreign country I haven't been able to update the blog as regularly as I hoped but here goes with the run down of last five days, and some pictures and video if I can master the technical aspect I'm struggling with.
Day 1............20/01/15
Departed HCMC at 7am as planned and successfully negotiated the exit from District one via the tunnel to the ferry crossing on the edge of HCMC. Heading east to connect with highway 51 (or 17 depending on which map you use!!) to head south to the coastal holiday town of Vung Tau. I decided to avoid the traffic I would take a lesser used route that I had been told about and seemed fairly strait-forward on the map!! After 2 hours of exploring (?) rubber plantations, Nypia Palm forests used for manufacturing partition walls for local houses, petrol/chemical plants we arrived back at the ferry landing!!!!! Monty found it funny anyway and said we got to go where no aussie has been since the war if at all!!
Arriving at Vung Tau for lunch (bit later than planned) we dined on whole baby squid with the fat and roe left inside it was very nice. Highly recommend leaving the inn eds next time cooking baby squid. At first I thought it was some sort of stuffing! From Vung Tau headed to La Gi where we were thinking of staying until we were told of a better spot known as the Golden Caost "just up the road"! Hind sight is a wonderful thing but after 13 hours (travelling 319 ks!) on the road our first day we finally negotiated rooms for the night at the newly established resort location of Van Ka. Paid too much but at that time we were too tired to argue!
Day 2...........21/01/15
From Van Ka we headed north along the coast to Phan Thiet and onto the popular tourist area of Mui Ne for lunch at the market. From Mui Ne we continued north along the coast on a newly developing dirt road to Phan Ri Cua. This area is showing signs of quiet local villages giving way to rapid tourist development and establishment of a major shipping port. Most maps do not even show this road but is on google maps as a goat track. It was a good ride but loose sand, road works and pot holes made the riding tricky but we managed to keep the bikes upright. From Phan Ri Cua we hit the A1 highway for the first time. As the name suggests this is the number high in Vietnam linking HCMC with Hanoi and is best avoided as much as possible, and now we know why. Rule #1 when on roads in Vietnam the person in front has right of way regardless what they are doing; stopped in the middle of the road to use the phone, heading against the flow of traffic the wrong way, cutting across the traffic etc. The second rule is size matters!! The A1 has everything from huge trucks carting rocks, buses going flat out, right down to pushbikes, pedestrians and cattle. Trucks and buses being the largest can overtake each other at anytime and it is your responsibility to get out of the way. Its OK as they let you know by flashing headlights and honking horns; the large the vehicle the louder the horn!
Finally after another long day of 9 hours on the road for 200ks we made it to Phan Rang - Thap Cham. After a good feed of seafood which is selected live from tanks and cooked in front of you we hit the bed for a well earned good nights sleep.
Day 3........22/01/15
From Phan Rang - Thap Cham we headed inland up the mountains to Da Lat. The ride up the mountains was a continual uphill twisting, winding ride and fortunately there was not a lot of traffic so was very enjoyable and the 109ks only took us about 2.5 hours. Da Lat is a very beautiful city centered around a lake and scenic gardens. It has a strong french influence is said to be the honeymoon capital of Vietnam. It is also a highly productive horticultural area producing all sorts of fruit, vegetables, coffee, tea and flowers. It also has a replica of the the Eiffel Tower and to complete the French connection has vineyards ans wineries!!! To date this has been the highlight for me....surprise surprise. The wines are not the best I have tasted but do hold up well and a less than $4 a bottle great value! Next door to our rooms was a charcoal grill shell fish eatery very popular with local Vietnamese and very few westerners so was great value. The black lipped oysters were nearly as big as the ones we would get at Black Point and also showed signs of coming from mangrove roots...my favorite! Many different types of pippies, cockles, snails and crabs so we decided we needed a day of R&M the following day so booked in for 2 night!
Day 4.......23/01/15
Repairs and Maintenance (R&M) day! Repairs and maintenance to bike, body and mind! After the traditional Pho Bo (beef soup) and Cafe Sua Da (iced coffee) for breakfast we headed to the bike repair shop for some minor repairs and the for a massage on the weary and aching bodies. After an hour and $10 we were feeling pretty good! Next wash some cloths as the supply of clean underwear was almost exhausted! A walk around the markets and some sight seeing and back to the charcoal grill for more shell fish for Tea!
Day 5......24/01/15
Usual breakfast then head back done the mountains heading for Nha Trang. This was a great ride winding down the mountain with minimal traffic and the bikes handled well. Lots of stops along the way to take it all in including meeting a local couple who had just got married and were having their wedding photos taken. The local store had bottles of wine including bubbles so we bought them a bottle to celebrate their special day which they were really appreciative to accept the gift after they insisted we get a photo taken with them. Stopping off to watch locals training their rooster for fighting (boxing chickens) among some of the highlights. Arriving Nha Trang early afternoon to the rush of a large tourist beach city full of tourists, many from Russia. Vietnam has become the holiday destination of choice for Russians with main direct flight from all over Russia to many Vietnam cities. Booked in for 2 night before continuing north along the coast, planning to head back up the mountains at Hoi An.
Day 6.........
Day 1............20/01/15
Departed HCMC at 7am as planned and successfully negotiated the exit from District one via the tunnel to the ferry crossing on the edge of HCMC. Heading east to connect with highway 51 (or 17 depending on which map you use!!) to head south to the coastal holiday town of Vung Tau. I decided to avoid the traffic I would take a lesser used route that I had been told about and seemed fairly strait-forward on the map!! After 2 hours of exploring (?) rubber plantations, Nypia Palm forests used for manufacturing partition walls for local houses, petrol/chemical plants we arrived back at the ferry landing!!!!! Monty found it funny anyway and said we got to go where no aussie has been since the war if at all!!
Arriving at Vung Tau for lunch (bit later than planned) we dined on whole baby squid with the fat and roe left inside it was very nice. Highly recommend leaving the inn eds next time cooking baby squid. At first I thought it was some sort of stuffing! From Vung Tau headed to La Gi where we were thinking of staying until we were told of a better spot known as the Golden Caost "just up the road"! Hind sight is a wonderful thing but after 13 hours (travelling 319 ks!) on the road our first day we finally negotiated rooms for the night at the newly established resort location of Van Ka. Paid too much but at that time we were too tired to argue!
Day 2...........21/01/15
From Van Ka we headed north along the coast to Phan Thiet and onto the popular tourist area of Mui Ne for lunch at the market. From Mui Ne we continued north along the coast on a newly developing dirt road to Phan Ri Cua. This area is showing signs of quiet local villages giving way to rapid tourist development and establishment of a major shipping port. Most maps do not even show this road but is on google maps as a goat track. It was a good ride but loose sand, road works and pot holes made the riding tricky but we managed to keep the bikes upright. From Phan Ri Cua we hit the A1 highway for the first time. As the name suggests this is the number high in Vietnam linking HCMC with Hanoi and is best avoided as much as possible, and now we know why. Rule #1 when on roads in Vietnam the person in front has right of way regardless what they are doing; stopped in the middle of the road to use the phone, heading against the flow of traffic the wrong way, cutting across the traffic etc. The second rule is size matters!! The A1 has everything from huge trucks carting rocks, buses going flat out, right down to pushbikes, pedestrians and cattle. Trucks and buses being the largest can overtake each other at anytime and it is your responsibility to get out of the way. Its OK as they let you know by flashing headlights and honking horns; the large the vehicle the louder the horn!
Finally after another long day of 9 hours on the road for 200ks we made it to Phan Rang - Thap Cham. After a good feed of seafood which is selected live from tanks and cooked in front of you we hit the bed for a well earned good nights sleep.
Day 3........22/01/15
From Phan Rang - Thap Cham we headed inland up the mountains to Da Lat. The ride up the mountains was a continual uphill twisting, winding ride and fortunately there was not a lot of traffic so was very enjoyable and the 109ks only took us about 2.5 hours. Da Lat is a very beautiful city centered around a lake and scenic gardens. It has a strong french influence is said to be the honeymoon capital of Vietnam. It is also a highly productive horticultural area producing all sorts of fruit, vegetables, coffee, tea and flowers. It also has a replica of the the Eiffel Tower and to complete the French connection has vineyards ans wineries!!! To date this has been the highlight for me....surprise surprise. The wines are not the best I have tasted but do hold up well and a less than $4 a bottle great value! Next door to our rooms was a charcoal grill shell fish eatery very popular with local Vietnamese and very few westerners so was great value. The black lipped oysters were nearly as big as the ones we would get at Black Point and also showed signs of coming from mangrove roots...my favorite! Many different types of pippies, cockles, snails and crabs so we decided we needed a day of R&M the following day so booked in for 2 night!
Day 4.......23/01/15
Repairs and Maintenance (R&M) day! Repairs and maintenance to bike, body and mind! After the traditional Pho Bo (beef soup) and Cafe Sua Da (iced coffee) for breakfast we headed to the bike repair shop for some minor repairs and the for a massage on the weary and aching bodies. After an hour and $10 we were feeling pretty good! Next wash some cloths as the supply of clean underwear was almost exhausted! A walk around the markets and some sight seeing and back to the charcoal grill for more shell fish for Tea!
Day 5......24/01/15
Usual breakfast then head back done the mountains heading for Nha Trang. This was a great ride winding down the mountain with minimal traffic and the bikes handled well. Lots of stops along the way to take it all in including meeting a local couple who had just got married and were having their wedding photos taken. The local store had bottles of wine including bubbles so we bought them a bottle to celebrate their special day which they were really appreciative to accept the gift after they insisted we get a photo taken with them. Stopping off to watch locals training their rooster for fighting (boxing chickens) among some of the highlights. Arriving Nha Trang early afternoon to the rush of a large tourist beach city full of tourists, many from Russia. Vietnam has become the holiday destination of choice for Russians with main direct flight from all over Russia to many Vietnam cities. Booked in for 2 night before continuing north along the coast, planning to head back up the mountains at Hoi An.
Day 6.........
Tuesday 20 January 2015
Finally we have everything done and dusted and hit the road tomorrow morning early to miss the traffic. Heading south from HCMC to Vung Tau for lunch then head east along the coast past Binh Chau hot springs past La Gi and to the lighthouse Hai Dang Ke Ga. From here the coast line heads north to what is known as the Golden Coast and finding a room for the night 15ks south of Phan Thiet. That's the plan but I'm beginning to realise nothing in Vietnam is certain. Go with the flow and see what the day brings! Hopefully we may have some Go Pro footage for you to see if I can workout the technical side of it using Monty's tablet.
Cheers Rick, goodnight!
Cheers Rick, goodnight!
Monday 19 January 2015
Saturday 17 January 2015
Well I know I told you all (that's american for yous, ewes or U's; it could also be correct English grammar but I wouldn't know) that I would update my blog regularly BUT I have had a very big 3 days!
This is a brief summary with no photos or video....but I have taken a lot I will post soon........as soon as I work out the technical details..editing etc!!!! If there are spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or completely incomprehensible..........local saying....."Bad Luck. If you are the first customer for the day you will have good luck"!!
Where will I start?
This is a brief summary with no photos or video....but I have taken a lot I will post soon........as soon as I work out the technical details..editing etc!!!! If there are spelling mistakes, grammatical errors or completely incomprehensible..........local saying....."Bad Luck. If you are the first customer for the day you will have good luck"!!
Where will I start?
- big day on Tuesday to go from Darwin 6am flight to Singapore for 5hr stop over arriving HCMC airport, negotiating taxis to ensure I found the legitimate ones, finding the right room at hotel, squid and 2 beers for tea and asleep in no time.
- early morning buffet breakfast (included in room price) Phu Bo, omelet, dragon fruit, pine apple and little sugar bananas...........yum!
- negotiate an hourly rate with the rickshaw (that's what Recce will call his son.....after me??) driver out front of hotel room to take me to all motor bike shops in the area. I highly recommend this if you plan to ride a motor bike in HCMC as rickshaw drivers are low down in the traffic food chain but highly skilled. Best 2 hours of training I could of had....he was very good but didn't really understand what I was after or if he did know where to find it.
- lunch and a haircut and beard trim.....mmmm..."hairdresser busy but have foot massage while you wait........need dead skin removed from feet...mum-ma is best.....she single you know......love kangaroo......hairdresser ready.......shave...you need facial......now you look lovely have massage........misunderstanding about agreed price...." I'm sure you all (ewes) can fill in the gaps!
- have tea and a drink tomorrow is another day!
- Breakfast....same same....google bike shops and walk......and walk........and walk....talk?...Does anyone have a Suzuki GN?
- Lunch.....market place local food stall...chicken curry...yummy
- head to where arranged meeting point for Monty as a familiarization......motorbike for sale!!! That's it! I'm going to buy it! Meet owner and his mate...expats...I knew this is what was meant to happen! Thanx Terrence and John. Few beers lets have tea and go home.
- Breakfast...same same....no standard room available...need to find new room. Green-suites hotel where bike is has room......clean tidy...very friendly..no problemo.
- check out check in...lunch.....Din Ky Restaurant .....live fish...crabs....clams.....prawns...and more.....in tanks at market rate...yes please
- sort out paper work....transfer ownership etc...go for a walk to the park....see water rats...birds...get boots polished...mended....renegotiate the agreed price....the was some confusion......apparently?
- pork and prawn spring rolls and Phad Thai for tea..home to bed
- beef noddle soup (Phu Bo) and ice coffee (cafe sau da) from local corner cafe breakfast....surprise surprise......take ownership of bike!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
- rest of the day riding around HCMC......get lost....I mean.....take the long way for the experience..........learn the chaotic system that starts to make sense!!!!
Monday 12 January 2015
Introducing Monty
Monty wants to say G'Day to all that havent met him before. He has cracked the sads because he doesnt leave until sunday so he has his sad face on!!
Bags Packed
Well the bags are packed ready to leave on the 6am flight tomorrow. Monty said "I thought you were going to travel light"! Well this is as light as I can make it carrying only the essentials!
Thanx to Matt Digby have got all the bike gear I need to carry all the gear. Spend 5 hours at Singapore airport before flying to Ho Chi Minh so may pickup a little more "essential" gear duty free! Arrive HCMC around 5pm and head to District 1 and start the search for motor bikes on Wednesday.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)