Tuesday 17 February 2015
G'Day to all bloggees from blogger Rick!
This is a very brief update while I have a rare chance to have reasonable internet access and a few hours to spare! I've decided I'll complete this blog in full (with lots of photos and video) when back in Australia after the trip! A warning this update will most probably contain spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and half truths and for this I offer no apologies!
Sorry about the blog not being updated for......????? ages....but after leaving the northern central Vietnam area of Phog Nha we soon realised the pre-planned easy 300ks a day travelling and the rest of the day sight seeing was not going to be possible as it was taking all day to travel at most 200 we decided if we were to travel from southern Vietnam to the northern Chinese boarder then into Northern Laos then south to Cambodia and around Cambodia as originally planned the journey would have to become a road trip!! (sorry for such a long sentence but I have to get as much down as quick as possible to update this blog)
We travel all day along the lesser traveled routes to avoid the tourist traps and see the real country and meet local people. After a very long day, cold and wet we reached the the northern viet boarder town of Sa Pa (popular tourist destination to visit hill tribes) in the dark and decided it was time to spend a day warming up washing clothes and resting bums! After 2 nights (the first time we spent 2 nights in the same town since leaving HCMC) we headed east to the Laos Border town of Dien Bien Phu hoping to cross into Laos the next day. Due to a complication with bike rego we were told we could cross boarder but bikes could not!!! Bugger! Five days latter travelling the mountains along the Viet/Laos boarder and several attempts crossing legally (may have been possible to cross without visas stamps etc but we aren't that stupid!!) we finally made it into Laos! At least a week behind schedule and 100s of ks south of where we hoped to be we continued south in remote mountainous tracks and villages for another week arriving here Lak Sao (a central/eastern Laos/Viet hussling bussling boarder crossing towm) last night. We intend on heading to the Mekong river town of Thakhek today and getting ourselves and our bikes on a boat and spending a few days motoring down the river (giving our bikes and bums a rest) to the city of Pakxe. From Pakxe head east into the mountains then to the Laos/Cambodian boarder area know as the 4000 islands on the Mekong River!
After out "hiccup" at crossing the Viet/Laos boarder we are a tad unsure of how successful us and our bikes will fair but on this road trip we treat every day as a new adventure and have adopted the phrase "ce la vie" to begin each day!
Bye for now and hope your day is as interesting or boring as you make it.......like ours!
Cheerio from Rick and Monty!
PS If you havent already add Andrew McQueen as a friend on facebook and follow his trip photos and comment!!
This is a very brief update while I have a rare chance to have reasonable internet access and a few hours to spare! I've decided I'll complete this blog in full (with lots of photos and video) when back in Australia after the trip! A warning this update will most probably contain spelling mistakes, grammatical errors and half truths and for this I offer no apologies!
Sorry about the blog not being updated for......????? ages....but after leaving the northern central Vietnam area of Phog Nha we soon realised the pre-planned easy 300ks a day travelling and the rest of the day sight seeing was not going to be possible as it was taking all day to travel at most 200 we decided if we were to travel from southern Vietnam to the northern Chinese boarder then into Northern Laos then south to Cambodia and around Cambodia as originally planned the journey would have to become a road trip!! (sorry for such a long sentence but I have to get as much down as quick as possible to update this blog)
We travel all day along the lesser traveled routes to avoid the tourist traps and see the real country and meet local people. After a very long day, cold and wet we reached the the northern viet boarder town of Sa Pa (popular tourist destination to visit hill tribes) in the dark and decided it was time to spend a day warming up washing clothes and resting bums! After 2 nights (the first time we spent 2 nights in the same town since leaving HCMC) we headed east to the Laos Border town of Dien Bien Phu hoping to cross into Laos the next day. Due to a complication with bike rego we were told we could cross boarder but bikes could not!!! Bugger! Five days latter travelling the mountains along the Viet/Laos boarder and several attempts crossing legally (may have been possible to cross without visas stamps etc but we aren't that stupid!!) we finally made it into Laos! At least a week behind schedule and 100s of ks south of where we hoped to be we continued south in remote mountainous tracks and villages for another week arriving here Lak Sao (a central/eastern Laos/Viet hussling bussling boarder crossing towm) last night. We intend on heading to the Mekong river town of Thakhek today and getting ourselves and our bikes on a boat and spending a few days motoring down the river (giving our bikes and bums a rest) to the city of Pakxe. From Pakxe head east into the mountains then to the Laos/Cambodian boarder area know as the 4000 islands on the Mekong River!
After out "hiccup" at crossing the Viet/Laos boarder we are a tad unsure of how successful us and our bikes will fair but on this road trip we treat every day as a new adventure and have adopted the phrase "ce la vie" to begin each day!
Bye for now and hope your day is as interesting or boring as you make it.......like ours!
Cheerio from Rick and Monty!
PS If you havent already add Andrew McQueen as a friend on facebook and follow his trip photos and comment!!
Monday 2 February 2015
well what an eventful few days we just had!!!! Haven't had reliable web access until tonight so will try and fill you in on recent events!
Day 10..................30/01/15
After an early morning rise and breakfast with our newly adopted family we head for the local fuel stop. Nothing flash just a 60lt drum that pumps into a 5lt measure. I took 8 lts so the lady had to pump up another 5 lts from the 60 lt drum. The lady then began to fill Monty's tank as the son ask for 170,000 vnD. How much??? How much a litre? 20,000! But that's only 160,000? OK! Monty pipes up but we have only been paying 15,000 a litre! A short haggle and the lady accidentally (?) overfills Monty's tank and as he is sitting on his bike the fuel runs down to his groin area, soaks into his pants! OOHHLAALAA!! I knew where Monty was coming from as a teenager many years ago
i did something similar!! We rode out of P'rao on a mission to reach Phong Nha in a day, Monty a little red faced and red..........!! After 100k we reached A Luoi had a coffee and headed for Khe Sanh. I still hear the song haunting me as I add to this blog and I was never a big Chisel fan but maybe many years of Jim Smiths phone ringing has a permanent scar on my brain? Lunch in Khe Sanh market bought great entertainment to the locals as I dont think too many "round eyes" = westerners frequent the markets tucked down a back lane way. Next milestone from Khe Sanh is Tang Ky - about 95 ks! We were making good time as the was not a lot of traffic but we soon decided that Phong Nha was a little too far so we'll stop the night in Tang Ky. 15ks from Tang Ky Monty pulls up an says he has no gears!!?? Soon we were surrounded by villages of all ages offering advice, having a laugh and generally being entertained! After much discussion, excitement and frustration we decide to use Monty's pack straps as a tow rope and I tow him to Tang Ky. 15ks of up and down mountains, wiknding around blind corners at about 10-15 km/hr we arrive at a cluster of village houses, shacks, huts, dwellings....but no sign of a motorbike repair shop or hotel!! After visiting numerous shacks, broken english ans Vietnamese and charades we finally found somewhere to sleep and someone that would look at the bike! I dont have the time or the right words to explain that evening but it is one niether of us will forget!!!
Day 11............31/01/15
We woke early to the sound of roosters crowing, dogs barking and music that played all night! We met a Vietnamese scientist studying rare and endangered animals in the jungle hills surrounding Tang Ky especially using many of the 14 minority hill tribe people as reference points (ethno-zoology is the term scientist use to describe this type of research). The forest surrounding Tang Ky holds many endemic species some of which have not been recorded for 40 years plus and are possibly extinct!
I thoroughly enjoyed the hour I spent talking to...cant remember his name but I left my business card with him in-case he needs an assistant in the future! After a home cooked breakfast negations had been reached and the bike needs to go to nearest big city Dong Hoi. Bike is loaded into a van and Monty will accompany the drive and I will follow on my bike! Word had soon got around the village and we had 2 passengers taking the opportunity for a free ride to the city. Next comes some goods and chattels to be delivered along the way and also a lot of other wheeling and dealing that was far too complicated for us to understand. Again there isn't enough time or words to describe the events of the next few hours but we eventually ended up in a small town south of Dong Hoi called My Duc where a mechanic agreed to have the bike fixed by tomorrow morning. Found a hotel.......another long story....funny how things get misinterpreted and it costs you twice the agreed rate...add it to the cost of the experience! Bikes good to go and we're on the road once again. Short trip up to Phong Nha and found hotel, booked in.. scenery is amazing!
To be continued................!!
Day 10..................30/01/15
After an early morning rise and breakfast with our newly adopted family we head for the local fuel stop. Nothing flash just a 60lt drum that pumps into a 5lt measure. I took 8 lts so the lady had to pump up another 5 lts from the 60 lt drum. The lady then began to fill Monty's tank as the son ask for 170,000 vnD. How much??? How much a litre? 20,000! But that's only 160,000? OK! Monty pipes up but we have only been paying 15,000 a litre! A short haggle and the lady accidentally (?) overfills Monty's tank and as he is sitting on his bike the fuel runs down to his groin area, soaks into his pants! OOHHLAALAA!! I knew where Monty was coming from as a teenager many years ago
i did something similar!! We rode out of P'rao on a mission to reach Phong Nha in a day, Monty a little red faced and red..........!! After 100k we reached A Luoi had a coffee and headed for Khe Sanh. I still hear the song haunting me as I add to this blog and I was never a big Chisel fan but maybe many years of Jim Smiths phone ringing has a permanent scar on my brain? Lunch in Khe Sanh market bought great entertainment to the locals as I dont think too many "round eyes" = westerners frequent the markets tucked down a back lane way. Next milestone from Khe Sanh is Tang Ky - about 95 ks! We were making good time as the was not a lot of traffic but we soon decided that Phong Nha was a little too far so we'll stop the night in Tang Ky. 15ks from Tang Ky Monty pulls up an says he has no gears!!?? Soon we were surrounded by villages of all ages offering advice, having a laugh and generally being entertained! After much discussion, excitement and frustration we decide to use Monty's pack straps as a tow rope and I tow him to Tang Ky. 15ks of up and down mountains, wiknding around blind corners at about 10-15 km/hr we arrive at a cluster of village houses, shacks, huts, dwellings....but no sign of a motorbike repair shop or hotel!! After visiting numerous shacks, broken english ans Vietnamese and charades we finally found somewhere to sleep and someone that would look at the bike! I dont have the time or the right words to explain that evening but it is one niether of us will forget!!!
Day 11............31/01/15
We woke early to the sound of roosters crowing, dogs barking and music that played all night! We met a Vietnamese scientist studying rare and endangered animals in the jungle hills surrounding Tang Ky especially using many of the 14 minority hill tribe people as reference points (ethno-zoology is the term scientist use to describe this type of research). The forest surrounding Tang Ky holds many endemic species some of which have not been recorded for 40 years plus and are possibly extinct!
I thoroughly enjoyed the hour I spent talking to...cant remember his name but I left my business card with him in-case he needs an assistant in the future! After a home cooked breakfast negations had been reached and the bike needs to go to nearest big city Dong Hoi. Bike is loaded into a van and Monty will accompany the drive and I will follow on my bike! Word had soon got around the village and we had 2 passengers taking the opportunity for a free ride to the city. Next comes some goods and chattels to be delivered along the way and also a lot of other wheeling and dealing that was far too complicated for us to understand. Again there isn't enough time or words to describe the events of the next few hours but we eventually ended up in a small town south of Dong Hoi called My Duc where a mechanic agreed to have the bike fixed by tomorrow morning. Found a hotel.......another long story....funny how things get misinterpreted and it costs you twice the agreed rate...add it to the cost of the experience! Bikes good to go and we're on the road once again. Short trip up to Phong Nha and found hotel, booked in.. scenery is amazing!
To be continued................!!
Thursday 29 January 2015
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?????
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?????
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!
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