Vietnam :: Hanoi to Saigon :: 2011 : Part 4
Day 13 - Kon Tum to Buon Ma Thuot - Burn my throat
On my lonesome again I forced myself back into early starts. After an hour, just south of Pleiko, I stopped for another coffee good enough to warrant the destruction of multiple planets in celebration of its wonder, and a pack of biscuits. Witness its awesomeness-
Today, perhaps because of the heat and dust, I became obsessed with these strange abused tractor husks, there were so many in different colours, shapes, sizes, modulations of over eager extension, distortions of intended practical improvement, that I began to take way too many photos of what is, essentially, fairly boring junk.
The drivers of these junktors are even more careless and nihilistic than your average Vietnamese road user, swinging huge loads into the road without a glance either way, driving at a snails pace dead centre of the road and generally being dangerous dicks. When I spotted a scene where one had t-boned a scooter, leaving a crying man sprawled in the dirt clutching a rather broken looking lower appendage, I rode over for a photo of the offending junktor, but the policeman saw me and shouted 'No photo!'
Things were getting dry and increasingly dusty.
After many dusty towns, I stopped in a forest for a break under a low tarpaulin, where I had some surprisingly tasty boiled corn. From another tent across the road ran a very kind lady to give me a free slice of fresh melon and stare at me. Lovely.
Three hours later, sweaty as an impassioned badger and covered in dirt, I crawled into a hotel in Buon Ma Thuot, where a stunning receptionist expressed her amazement at my voyage and amusement at my bedraggled form.
Day 14 - Buon Ma Thuot to Dalat - Run to the hills
Another early start, this time for Dalat, had the stunning receptionist from yesterday express how happy she was to meet me and how sad she was I was leaving, if only I could break hearts so easily in Shanghai...
I rode through rolling hills, wild west-alike towns and isolated rice fields, stopping for a cool drink with a very accommodating family around noon. Two ladies and one teenage boy were chopping wood whilst the young kids stared at me.
On an awful potholed, steep, rocky, unforgivingly bumpy road just south of Krong No I saw a thick dark snake cross in front of me, nearly spanning the width of the road. Things were starting to get very hot and with the roads being ridiculously hard work I was getting rather warm and dehydrated.
My next drink stop in a wooden shack high on a hillside saw me make more new friends, young farmers with some intriguing tattoos. I barely had time to cool off before we were playing pool, downing rice wine and scoffing spicy lemon chicken together.
I had to escape further wine and gambling on games of pool before I was too wasted to ride. Even more dehydrated and half cut I coasted down the mountain to a town apparently fashioned entirely from awkward low walls and sheets of junky scrap metal. I popped into a shop to grab some water, on leaving the shop I saw 8 small faces staring at me over a wall behind which was my bike. I let a few of them have a sit on the bike and try on my helmet, and they kept asking me to go get them cigarettes.
The traffic up to Dalat was frustratingly dangerous, mainly thanks to the genocidal drivers of tour vans and enormous coaches. I stopped in the centre of town and took in the sights of tourists somehow more sun burned than me, ambling around overcrowded streets. I ate a western style beef burger then grabbed a room at the fairly priced Long Vuong hotel. That evening I went to a massage parlor, where I also got to float about in a Jacuzzi and enjoy a Steam Room, a highly recommended way to end a days riding in Vietnam.
Day 15 - Dalat to Phan Thiet - King of the Mountain
I had a late start after chatting to a lovely bloke called Simon from England over breakfast. After getting thoroughly drenched in a torrential downpour leaving Dalat I found a fantastic route to Phan Thiet. Miles and miles of quiet, winding, narrow roads of fair quality through dense jungle and isolated settlements.
The weather was great, with a cool breeze and no rain. Not even the heat and traffic of the coastal area I had to get through in the late afternoon could ruin it. Challenging but rewarding, this was to be my favorite riding of the entire adventure.
I found an isolated village at the top of the highest peak and had a Coke. Shy locals peered from their work binding stick bundles to see the alien and his craft.
The road twisted down for a long time before suddenly I burst out of the jungle into fantastically smooth corners on wide roads in golden forests. Soon I was on flat plains and rice fields, the spread out towns adding to the sense of space I felt after the claustrophobic jungle.
As with all cities in Vietnam, Phan Thiet was rough to ride through. I ended up going too far, all the way to the harbor. A Policeman eagerly helped get me on the road to Mui Ne. I rode into town in darkness, but soon found the recommendable Dragonfly guesthouse.
Cream-crackered, I went next door for a grand seafood BBQ. A live acoustic band played whatever that genre is that gets played for tourists worldwide. After just two beers I was ready for bed.
Day 16 - Some sights around Mui Ne
The next day I did very little, just walked on the gorgeous beach and checked the bike over. It seemed that most tourists there were Russian or perhaps Eastern European.
Most of the tourist sites around Mui Ne are not worth the time and effort. But I found a few memorable places. The real Mui Ne is a fishing village North of the tourist spots.
