On our 7th night in Saigon we had news that the correct handlebars had arrived at the shop, so Fred and I donned our fluorescent tops and headlights, and braved rush hour traffic to get across to Saigon Cycles. Upon arriving, there were problems with the gears, but our trusty mechanic, who had ridden in from his village on his day off to help us, got us sorted and on our way.
We were well and truly sick of waiting, so decided to ride across Saigon in the dark. We would leave early the following morning (thanks Judy and William Grieve for the headlights!)
Leaving Saigon seemed easy enough, until we got to the expressway which denied access to scooters and bicycles. There were only two bridges across the river, with the other being a 15km detour to the main highway. With Sean bed-ridden for much of our time in Saigon, it was Freddie's turn to feel the Vietnam cramps, with him deteriorating rapidly as the day wore on. The next morning we had Mui Ne in our crosshairs, but after a sloppy egg on rice, the cramps got me as well. With just over 100kms prescribed for the day it didn't seem too far, but a stabbing pain in my lower back coupled with cramps and a slight headache slowed progress significantly. At lunch I was in a rut, with a very similar looking meal to what we'd had at breakfast. I could only stomach plain rice and the back pain urged me to lie down. Never has a dusty concrete pavement felt so comfortable. I managed to have a 15 minute power nap which made such a difference for my back, and by the time the rain had stopped my cramps had subsided somewhat. The afternoon ride into Mui Ne was a lot easier as a result, and we were very pleased to find out we'd been upgraded to the Mui Ne Hills Bliss Hotel as opposed to the Budget Backpackers. Our room was enormous!
Deteriorating rapidly at our first drinks stop
By the time lunch came around it was time for a sleep. The rain had set in too, so a wee siesta on the pavement was timely
Sleeping beauty
Mui Ne really turned it on for us, but we weren't in a fit state to enjoy it properly. Our day off was spent mostly in our room or at the hotel pool, with the toilet never too far. By the end of the day, we came to a consensus to have another night in Mui Ne, and the following day was far more enjoyable, managing to get to the beach and have a swim.
The weather did not disappoint in Mui Ne
What awaited us beyond Mui Ne really excited me. Having visited Vietnam in November 2016 with my girlfriend, Sophie, coming back here in a way felt very much like coming home (as ridiculous as that sounds). For so long on this trip, Vietnam was very much a psychological milestone for me... a familiar place, with familiar food and culture. Similarly it would mark the eastern corner of South East Asia. We'd taken quite the detour to get to Vietnam, but this trip wasn't about just creating the perfect line from East to West to say we cycled across the world. It's about seeing and experiencing places that you really want to see, and although I'd been here before, I certainly had some unfinished business to take care of. I'd only scratched the surface of this amazing country, and now it was time to see it properly... as you do when you spend every hour of travel on a bike as opposed to an overnight sleeper bus.
We hadn't had any hill climbing of any significance since crossing the Thai spine, and that was nothing to write home about. On our trip so far, we have noticed that there is a direct correlation between steeper roads and beautiful scenery, and our theory was again validated as we headed inland. While my stomach cramped and twisted, I burped, gagged and farted as much as possible (sorry for the detail) to try to release gas or anything that was disrupting my digestion process. In Mui Ne I'd had the opposite problem (sorry for the detail).
Heading inland towards the central highlands
The gradients were pretty manageable to begin with
Regardless of my condition, we launched ourselves at the hill, which progressively steepened. Still being at a low altitude, the temperatures were high, and for the first time on the trip, we took our helmets off to help cool us down while riding. We realised our water supplies were rapidly diminishing. Despite now wearing gloves, my sweat still seeped into my handlebar tape. We conserved water as much as we could. The road was a stark contrast to what we'd ridden on to get through South Vietnam, and at last we were in the whops. No stores, no traffic, no nothing. When we hit the top of the first category 1 hill climb of the day, a small shop appeared, and we were greeted by very aggressive dogs, who settled when they realised we meant no harm. Our lovely host spoke no English, and good ol' Google Translate pulled through to order us three bowls of noodles and three cokes.
Our lovely host, and her son
The message had got out that three large Western males in fluorescent tops and lycra shorts had rocked up at this lady's restaurant, and before long there was a bit of a committee looking over the bikes and adding us on Facebook. Some weird things were said, most of it not making any sense (sometimes Google can give some pretty interesting translations), but we got the gist. We had to depart our new friends, as we had plenty more riding to do, with our bottles refilled with local water and Revive electrolyte drinks.
I don't speak Vietnamese, but we managed to understand what each other were saying. Technology these days
The lads were particularly excited to meet us...
... the dog not so excited
The rain set in, and lightening came close once again, but our trusty Macpac jackets kept us as dry and warm as possible. The temperature had dropped significantly since the start of the first climb. The rest of the ride was gloomy and cold, with pine trees not being uncommon. It didn't look or feel like any part of Vietnam I'd ever seen. I loved it! The clock was ticking however, and light was fading. We had aimed for Di Linh for the night, but saw a homestay just 5km short of it, amidst rice paddies, so we called it a day, and dried off. I must say, after four months of dry heat and very little rain, it was so nice to get into our warm clothes and have a cozy night under the blankets!
Our Macpac sponsorship really coming in handy. Perfect, lightweight, high-visibility jackets. We'd be wearing these a lot in the highlands
Up in the clouds. It was very easy to forget we were riding in Vietnam, with the drastic change in climate and scenery happening in the space of a day
What we woke up to was amazing. A waterfall just on the edge of the property, and the weather had cleared. We eased our way into Di Linh for breakfast, where streams of church goers went about their post-Sunday-service activities on the streets. The riding was amazing, as we swooped through the valleys towards Da Lat. Just 9km to go and the rain set in once again, keeping us cool as we made the ascent towards the township. There wasn't much of a shoulder to play with, and tourist buses were very happy to give us very little space, so we had to hold our line and stay alert. We checked into our hotel, and wiped the bikes down before grabbing some food. Somehow we were keeping pace with Curt as he made his way up-country, so we caught up for a beer before calling it a night.
The carnage in the hotel room. The flat-screen TV is a particularly good washing line. Hot showers in Da Lat were a treat
The next day we hired scooters and went for a blat down the road we would take the following day to see a waterfall and a few other sight-seeing activities. We were again met with a severe dosage of rain as we made our way back towards the town, riding through deep potholes and streams that dominated the road. The rain was something we were just going to have to get used to, as that was the highlands way. I'd far rather be riding these beautiful roads with the imminent prospect of rain, than be riding north along AH1 (main highway) up the coast. We'd made a good decision to ride the Ho Chi Minh Trail, and the road to Hoi An would again confirm this for us.
That's a rather large tummy button you've got there mate
Slightly faster mode of transport. We got pretty cold riding them in the rain. At least on the bikes you get the blood pumping
