Very average nights sleep last night in a small hard bed, tossing and turning. So I woke physically fatigued and also tired.
Breakfast was another omelette and bread but a nice coffee in the hotel 8th floor coffee bar.
We started the day riding up to the relic US military base which was one of the main bases in the war for the Americans to close off the Ho Chi Minh trail, supplies between north and south Vietnam, and fight the war. They had to evacuate and retreat in 1968, and now there is a small museum and a few tanks, planes and trenches left as a reminder. Much of what was originally left had been pilfered by the locals and sold.
We spent an hour walking around there before starting our ride for the day.
It was hot. Garmin tells me max 37’C, and I felt it. The route was lovely, along the river on wonderfully winding roads that would have been a delight had it been 10’C cooler but I struggled for the first half of the day until we found some shade and a slight breeze, oddly up the hill at 85k. I wrote this note on my phone at lunchtime....it was a low point of the trip, for sure...
Once the hill was done, it was 25k gradual decline to our homestay accommodation for the night.
A delightful home in lush gardens and prefab glamming units containing a bed and aircon. Shared showers initially put me off but they turned out to be very tastefully done within the gardens so it all feels very ‘eco’ - not sure it’s the right word, but hey it’ll do.
We sat within the gardens for dinner and beer, finally everyone relaxing a little with just one day to go. Dinner was good - more rice, chicken, fish, spring rolls and fruit, but better quality and tasting than some of the meals we have had.
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