Day 8…110k in 35’C

 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.

last day 70k to Hue

 Our 'glamping' accommodation was fine, except for the fact that they kept the outside lights on all night and I kept waking up thinking it was morning.. And because it was a communal toilet, that wasn't very close by, we both decided to have au naturel toilet visits in the middle of the night outside the door!

With kit mostly dry (they had a rare washing machine), and breakfast of peanut butter, banana and baguette, plus some delicous mango and pawpaw, and local donuts, we started off on the last ride of the trip.

It started with a long straight, then a windy and long downhill, before climbing rudely again at an incline definately more than 10% (all the signs  say 10%!). It was sunny hot and humid again and I really felt it on the steeep climbs where we got no wind to chill us at all. We also had very little shade. So it was a tough morning. We had a couple of water & food breaks before finishing the day in Hue, Vietnam’s Imperial City, a UNESCO World Heritage Site. 

After checking in, lunch of more noodle soup, and a short rest (we had to book our next nights hotel), we headed at 3pm into the Imperial City, which served as Vietnam's capital from 1802 to 1945 under the Nguyen Dynasty. The citadel is protected by fortified ramparts and ringed by a moat. During the Vietnam War, the Imperial City was heavily damaged, but it is slowly being restored to its former glory.

It would have been very easy to spend 3-4 hours there, but in the heat of the afternoon, and we were all really fatigued, we managed 1.5 hours, before heading to the best meal of the trip and some much deserved beers.

In fact we were all done by 730pm, well fed on spring rolls, crab soup, chicken & lemongrass, mango salad and  mango iceream.

Take away tips for future trips

1. Never underestimate the power of hand washing your kit in the shower and resusing the next day. I took 6 x pairs of cycle tops and shorts. I probably only needed 3. Take travel wash.

2. Don't take good cycling kit - it gets trashed, particularly in the rain.

3. Take more ibuprofen

4. Take protein powder or bars. The food was not high in protein generally

5. Take less casual clothes - 3 different sets of evening clothing is plenty.

6. Always take shamois cream

7. Take your own bike but check the road surfaces and terrain before travel. 

8. Take local cash

9. Take earplugs and possibly eyemask. Asian cities are noisy!

Day 7 ...135k to Khe Sanh

 Karaoke again until 2am....grrrrr....feeling tired this morning.

But we woke to sunshine, looking at the sea, it was was still a pretty good start to the day.And we had cereal and milk for breakfast for a nice change from eggs and bread!

Packing off, we headed out at 8am, for a long day ahead. We passed through the demilitarized zone from the American war also known as the 17th Parallel) to Cam Lo, The DMZ was the dividing border between North and South Vietnam, and troops of both governments were barred from 5 km on either side of the border.

 

This is a picture of Vietnamese coffee: thick filter-drip coffee onto condensed milk. I think you then mix the two together and sometimes out ice in it. I tried it in Hanoi and decided it wasn't really for me - too rich, sweet, small! But Toby and some of the others persevered...

We passed the old bridge on the original Ho Chi Minh trail and the cemetery of the 20000 young North Vietnamese soldiers who died in the war.  Truong Son Cemetery, Very sobering and an unexpected site of order, peace, colour, cleanliness and structure.

Otherwise the scenery today was not as spectacular as previous days but the road was flat and fast, if not a little busy with big big trucks passing close in either direction - its a single lane carriageway. We are near to the Laos border so goods are transported frequently, but the trucks show little respect for cyclists on the road, particularly when they are overtaking in the opposite direction. Hair-raising at the best of times.

Rest breaks involve gorgeous mango and pinteapple together with sweet biscuit snacks  and the delicious homemade lemonade. Lunch was in a local cafe - rice, soup, beef, fish....the usual!

We then transfer to Khe Sanh, the site of a former US marine base and the in-famous 1968 battle of Khe Sanh (the longest battle of the war), 

Tonights hotel is super average: basic room, hard bed, noisy road, duck tape between the floor and the wall.......?

Our room is also situated next to the communal kitchen and shower so we could smell other peoples currys and hear their WC flush all the time!

But dinner was interesting in a nice way: we were given a chicken that had been packed inside rice which was then fried, to form a crispy coating, The whole thing tasted of chicken stock and was delicious. The chicken itself was average - they are free range here and generally very scrawny with very little meat. It doesn't bother the locals - they eat it all anyway - feet, head, cartilage the lot!

Day 6 to Dong Hoi .....just 50K

 Last night we were woken at midnight by some really really bad karaoke - even through my earplugs.

Apparently karaoke is very common in Vietnam but there is clean and dirty karaoke. The latter is basically a cover for heroin and prostitution and is also quite common. I think last nights was the former!

The day started with more rain but the morning was spent  NOT on the bike but on a boat trip into the Phong Nha cave. We took a 30 min boat trip- part powered and part paddles (not by us!) and then a short walk through the cave and a boat trip back.

 

As we motored up the river, we passed fishermen and women on paddle boats manually dredging up weeds from the riverbed into their boats, for fish-food, and many other tourist boats waiting to be commisioned for a trip to the cave.

But Wow!

What an impressive sight the cave was.

Phong Nha Cave is a cave in Phong Nha-Kẻ Bàng National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site in Quảng Bình Province, Vietnam. It is 7,729 metres long and contains 14 grottoes, as well as a 13,969 metre underground river. We ventured in approx 800m today, and the pictures & video don't do it justice. Incredibly peaceful, prehistoric and stunning.

 

We were paddled gently deep into the cave, which was well lit (except for when there was a power cut and it was totally pitch dark!)  

 

Phong Nha has been voted as one of the most wonderful caves in the world for a number of reasons: for its longest underground river, for its most beautiful underground lake. for its highest and widest entrance, for its most beautiful and widest dry cave, for its most beautiful sandbank and reef, as well as for its most spectacular stalactites, stalagmites and longest water grottos. It was breathtaking.

The whole trip took just a couple of hours and we got out of the boat to walk amongst the stalactites and -mites in a labyrinth of boardwalks and steps, and to get a closer look.

 

A really worthwhile trip to explore something new and whilst we were on the boat I reflected on how lucky we are to be able to experience these things, that many people would not be able to.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Back on land it was time for a coffee before a delicious noodle lunch in a local cafe, boasting the best spit roast pork and noodles in the world.

Then it was on the bikes for a short 50k ride to the coast. Nice and easy although my old lady joints were starting to feel the cumulative effects of 6 days of cycling, and was glad to stop at the next hotel.

We arrived by 3pm , and plenty of time to find a massage and a beer. The latter much better than the former......Imagine a massage where you are generally kneaded, rubbed, slapped and thumped, whilst the therapists phone was constantly vibrating with messages and calls!!!

Nothing more to say, except that my tight neck and shoulders were still tight afterwards, but luckily it cost about a fiver so all things considered, it was just a mild 60 minute irritant!!

In desperate need for beer we headed out with some of the other chaps to a beach front cafe, which looked like we might have been gatecrashing a family Vietnamese dinner, it was so informal and simple. However they sold beer and had free tables, and we sat next to a group of Vietnamese who took a liking to us and practiced their English with joy and abandon.

 

They helped us buy some spring rolls, shared their oysters and prevented us from being ripped off by the local man selling snacks. With much enthusiasm one of them (very drunk) told us all about the local seafood, the Full Moon festival, the beer, his time in Germany and Norway and the fact that he hadn't spoken English for 4 years.

 

The Full Moon Festival in Vietnam dates back as far as 15-20,000 years ago in Southeast Asia, and is traditionally held on the 15th day of the 8th Lunar Month. Looking at the moon on this day, you will see that its orbit is at the lowest angle to the horizon, making the moon appear brighter and larger than at any other time of the year. 

 

Thus, accordingly, there came a festival with a series of entertainment activities in honor of the beautiful full moon.

 

The festival involves the customs of moon contemplating, procession of star & moon shaped lanterns, lion dance, as well as holding parties with moon cakes and fruits. We unfortunately did not see any of this as we all disappeared off to bed (knackered), but apparently was taking place all weekend.

 

So, new friends made, and several beers later we headed back to the hotel for an arranged (and lacklustre) dinner. Probably the worst we have had tbh so much so, that one of our group went off in search of pizza!!

Day 5. 150k to Phong Nha, 1106m ascent

Soggy soggy bottom!

Today we woke up to rain. Overnight rain and morning rain. Also a power cut. Which happened throughout the night several times, twice setting off the doorbell to the room. Most inconvenient, and not condusive to a solid nights sleep.Still, I got about 8 hours in total, on a more comfortable bed than previous nights.

Accommodation on the whole is pretty basic, with electric cables taped together or just hanging out of holes in the wall, fridges dirty, fixtures and fittings mildly falling apart and bathrooms in need of a good bleach! Luckily we aren't spending much time in them, so as long as we sleep, its all fine!

It seems that many of the places we are visiting haven't seen foreign tourists for over two years, understandably, so we are definately an attraction, and hopefully the start of a gradual return to tourism for some of these places. However like many places, local, i.e. Vietnamese tourists have flourished.

Anyway, breakfast was in a dark room (still no power) with no-one else there, and the staff somehow made us a couple of fried eggs each and a bread roll, (apparently called a banh mi) and quite delicous coffee made by our guide, with milk that wasn't condensed milk.

We also realised we left our Twinings Everyday tea at yesterdays hotel. The tea saga clearly had a long-lasting impact, and will have a detrimental effect on the rest of the trip! Utter distaster 😊

We left the hotel at 10am, in drizzle. Cycled the entire day on the Ho Chi Minh highway, stopping every 33k or so for food & drink. It rained. And it rained. And then it rained a bit heavier, and a bit lighter, and a bit heavier. It stopped for perhaps 20% of the day. We were totally and utterly soaked right through. We were also covered in sand and dirt. My poor bike .........😢

The scenery was stunning jungle and villages.

After the first pretty flat 2.5 hours the road started to climb into the mountains and into the cloudes for the remaining 3.5 hours..Undulating hills at first then a steady upwards incline for about 40k, before a final 10k push to the top. IN fact that last 10k was 6K gentle incline then 4k of very very steep incline, which after 146K was an effort!

It was mostly my back that was killing me after such a long time on the bike. Except, don't get me started on the nappy rash!! I can't remember the last time I rode for 6 hours and I was grateful for the breaks every 30k to stretch out and ease it off.

The scenery was breathtaking - basically hills, jungle, vast lush greenery. We passed lots of cows in and around the road, chickens, dogs (who were incredibly quiet and non-barking) grapefruit and tea plantations, and more random drivers. 

There is clearly a system to the roads here, which is like nothing in the Western world, but is completely chaotic. It mostly involves honking your horn to let others know of your presence. So scooters coming from a side road don't bother waiting, they just go ahead and wait to be honked at. And every single driver passing us honked at us to let us know they were coming. This gave some comfort to know they were there - they passed very quickly and close, but the thing with the scooters and joining a lane increased our biking stress levels no end. Luckily the roads in the last 2 days have been pretty quiet, with small amounts of traffic.

We got back to the hotel for 630pm, to check in, get a laundry wash sent to the hotel and have a shower before dinner.

It's the longest shower I have ever had. I just couldnt get the dirt and grime off my legs!

Day 4..130km to Hai Thuong but rain made it just 93k, 597m ascent

 After nearly 9 hours of sleep - that massage must've helped, we woke to pouring rain. Apparently it had rained all night long. We met as usual for 7am breakfast at the hotel, which was inedible for my tastes and retired to the coffee bar by the riverside, to make a plan for the day. The rain was set to stay all day long, and it wasn't light drizzle.

Toby, determined to get a cup of tea with milk took our English Breakfast tea to the bar and using Google Translate, asked for 'hot water and milk'.

Out came some condensed milk

He tried again, pointing to the kettle and a mug.

Out came some UHT milk ready to be heated up.

Another attempt at google translate and pointing desperately at the hot water from the coffee machine, 2 steaming mugs of hot water and a jug of cold milk was produced. In went our tea bags and it really did taste delicious! Can't take an Englishman away from his morning cuppa😅

That escapade resulted in more selfies taken with the staff as there were now 5 white people drinking at the cafe, a sight to be seen, apparently. We also earnt a cup of their speciality salted coffee - basically coffee, condensed milk, salt and thick cream on the top - a bit like warm icecream. Interesting choice of morning drink.

A plan was made to stay at the hotel until 10am, get in the van, drive towards the next hotel (150k away), get out and ride if the weather improves, and if not, go out for a ride when we get there. We were pretty much all agreed that we'd like to do something today, and if its just a couple of soggy hours, we can put up with that! 

After an hours drive, we got out and took our chances. We were lucky. The rain stopped and although we'd missed the first 35k or so, we managed a speedy 93k at an average of 28kph. Fast, quiet roads, flattish with a tailwind virtually the whole way - just a dream.

No Vietnamese lunch today as the weather was so uncertain we didn't want to stop whilst it was dry, for it to then start pouring down when we started again. So it was rolls, egg, tomatoes, peanut butter, banana and snacks at a local coffee shop with hammocks. Good enough.

We passed through tea plantations, eucalyptus, tapoica, banana and more rice fields. The countryside was very rural  in this section; green and hilly, with tea being planted into terraces in the farmlands. Very lush and green, but no time for photos.

But time for a little 1k swim in the hotel pool. We stayed in an 'Eco Hotel' whatever that means in Vietnam. Its quiet, in the countryside and basic. The latter like many of them - seemlingly relics from the communist era.

Day 3 ....106k to Thai Hoa, 697m ascent

 

So with a stiff neck and a tight back we had a breakfast cooked by the tour guide in the hotel this morning: White bread rolls, omelette, tomatoes, peanut butter,  bananas and Happy Cow cheese! You just have to learn to eat what you have infront of you, and the peanut butter with banana roll worked a treat.

Todays riding was much faster - mostly flat on smooth roads, all of which were the Ho Chi Minh Highway - the main road leading to Ho Chi Minh City. The first part was through a busy busy road, which was pretty hair-raising - big lorries and trucks on single carriageway roads, and us..

The truck and buses pass from infront and behind by honking their horn very loudly and multiple times. They also overtake into you on the oncoming highway without giving and consideration to cyclists coming the other direction....that freaked us out a few times. Add in scooter drivers going in all directions, concentration levels were high.

Again we cycled through rice fields, industrious shop owners, people chopping wood, moving vegetables on scooters, having coffee, resting on hammocks. Bascially going about their day. It was  cooler today, a little overcast, rather than yesterdays blue sky and blazing heat. 

 

Two water stops involved hammocks and nice roadside local bars, which we relaxed in until ready to start again, generally waiting for English Peter to catch up, recover and eat/drink whatever he needed. Snacks have been anything from pineapple, bananas, homemade lemonade, crackers, sweet biscuits/cakes. Occasionally exceptional fizzy drinks have been bought and tried. Mostly the tea, coffee and soft drinks are so full of added sugar they are undrinkable (to me, anyway). It seems to be the way of modern society in these Asian countries - basicially 30 years behind the UK in terms of sugar consumption.

However, at 82k the heavens opened, lightening and thunder right in front of us caused a few of us to take shelter. Rivers running down the street, and torrential rain for 20 minutes meant we took cover in a local persons front yard which was covered and he offered us tea and his chairs to rest on...thankfully it passed, the roads dried quickly (you could see steam coming off them very soon after the rain stopped), and we continued to a sweet cafe for lunch.

 

Lunch and dinner seems to be a variation on a theme: rice, fish, pork, soup/broth, vegetables. Lots of garlic and herbs but none of it exceptionally tasty. The meat is mostly poor quality so you never eat much of it. The vegetables are local, so I couldnt say what they were. There is definately spinach in there, occasionally pumpkin, and some other green leafy stuff. Its not very spicy so far, apparently that comes further south.

 

Back to the next hotel by 3pm so after cleaning the bikes and checking in, we went out for a massage - my neck and back were killing me after that dodgy bed last night. 3 of us found somewhere in the local town and we must have provided entertainment for the entire month. First there was giggling, then we had to speak with the boss on the phone in English and finally we got in for a massage. Three of us in the same room getting pretty much the same treatment, to the second! Continued giggling throughout the massage - I suspect these young girls hadn't seen white hairy men before. I was right - we had to pose for a photo afterwards and probably the talk of the town for the entire evening!

THe heavens opened again this evening, just as we got back to the hotel after our massage. Thankfully transport to dinner was in the van. Here is a picture of dinner. The brown things are like fried sweet potato, except a local tube, we also had banana leaf salad, beef and garlic, plus more rice, fishand some fried tofu, which was actually very nice.

My tummy is growing.