We were well rested by the time it came to tackle the Hai Van Pass. Other tourists had talked it up as if it would be one of our hardest climbs yet, but it turned out to be a lot easier than expected. It was a hill climb that most cyclists would love: a 10km climb at 5%, with no severe gradient changes or undulations on the way up. As a result of the route's popularity, countless tourists whizzed passed on scooters and motorbikes, many of them stopping and cheering us on. It felt like we were in the Tour de France at times, except we were going a lot slower. Being right on the coast, the views were amazing, but as we approached the top, the cloud came to spoil the party. We didn't bother eating at the top, as we figured the prices would be inflated, so we bombed down the other side into the headwind. Riding the last 70km to Hue with this headwind was harder than the pass itself. Give me a hill climb any day over a headwind on the flat.
View from the Hai Van Pass, looking back towards Hoi An and Danang
View from the Hai Van Pass, looking toward Hue
Military armaments at the top
The weather turned on us a wee bit
In Hue we hired scooters, and whizzed around town, checking out the Citadel, a few tombs, pagodas and military bunkers that were surrounded by landmine craters. Having been to Hue last year, I wasn't all too keen to spend a whole lot of money seeing things I'd already seen, so we did it as cheaply as possible. The city was alive at night, with the backpacker area becoming pedestrianised, and hoards of locals flooding the area, seeing as it was a Saturday night.
Inside the Citadel
The Citadel, within the Citadel
Tourism can be so exhausting
10,000 VND banh mi
Are they good at squatting because the chairs are so small, or are the chairs so small, because they're good at squatting?
Banh mi is life
We spent half the next day on Highway A1, before turning inland back towards the Ho Chi Minh Highway. The change was immediate, as traffic dissipated, horn use decreased immensely, smiles returned to the people's faces and 'hello's resumed. We arrived in Phong Nha two days later, knocking off the 150th day of the trip, and the 7,000th kilometre. As we rode into town, we were greeted by two travellers, Jimm and Isabel, with Jimm saying "I follow you guys on Instagram". This took us by surprise, so we got chatting away. Turns out they're cycle tourers as well, making their way down south toward Phnom Penh (Jimm's riding back to Singapore). We shared a few beers and talked about our respective journeys. It was strange to actually have likeminded travellers who could properly relate to all of our stories.
Phong Nha National Park was stunning
A day off to explore the caves
The ride out was spectacular. A few hills and a bit of rain never hurt nobody
The ride out of Phong Nha was beautiful. The karst limestone cliffs made for great scenery, but again the rain would impair visibility. Our spirits were buoyed by the news that Jacinda Ardern would be our next PM, making the afternoon ride into Huong Khe that little bit better. We inquired about accomodation in a small mining settlement, and were told "200,000 VND for the night", which quickly became 300,000 VND. We weren't having a bar of it, so re-saddled. I think the lady tried to call us back, but to be fair, the place was a bit of a dump anyway. We're still yet to camp properly on this trip. I guess starting in Southeast Asia hasn't exactly made it that easy, but the prices of guesthouses when split by three is pretty damn cheap. Would be nice to get the tents out when we find the right spot, but it has been so wet in the evenings, and every squared cm of land here is productive.
Not a bad view of the sunset from our guesthouse in Tan Ky
The essentials - camera, lens cleaner (looking pretty dirty there Sean), sunblock, sunnies, wallet, passport and wallet
Enjoyed (almost) every minute of riding the Ho Chi Minh Highway. Was sad to leave it
The end of the HCM Highway for us as we turned off towards Hanoi
A typhoon had hit the northern regions of Vietnam while we were in Hoi An, and severe flooding had killed over 50 people. Fortunately for us, the floods had dissipated, though the fields remained scarred, and some rivers flowed over the road at times. Riding into Hanoi, our only real problem was the driving. Having been in Vietnam for over a month, we were well and truly ready for some shockers, but Hanoi delivered some standouts, with Fred being knocked off just as we arrived near the Old Quarter. He was able to land on his feet, but the bike hit the ground, and he was met with some unnecessary tooting from behind (as you often do in these parts). As our patience grew thin, we rocked up to our hotel, and were relieved to be able house the bikes in the room. The receptionist had suggested we leave them on the street with the scooters - a prospect no cycle tourer should ever want to entertain in central Hanoi. Sure the frames might be alright, but I wouldn't count on the wheels, or any other detachable item being there when it came time to leave.
There's not all that much walking space on the footpath in Hanoi
The red bridge on Hoan Kiem Lake, Hanoi
High density living
We shared many stories with Richard, and gained some insightful suggestions for the rest of the trip over 5,000 VND beers
The Vietnam War historian in his element. A shot down B-52 in Central Hanoi
Strong sense of nationalism in Vietnam
Somebody's got a nice house
The entrance to Ho Chi Minh's Mausoleum. Sadly his body was in Russia being treated. Two visits to Hanoi in the space of a year, and I still haven't seen the thing I wanted to see most
We booked an overnight cruise in Ha Long Bay, where we enjoyed some piece and quiet, kayaking around the karst limestone cliffs
To our delight, the cruise offered a free keg of beer. Sadly it only lasted a few rounds, and bottled beers were severely inflated compared to what we're used to
Having time out of the city was great for our mental health. There's only so much horn-use one can handle in a month... India will be a whole different kettle of fish
We took the time to enjoy Ha Long Bay and Hanoi's cheap food and beer, while we waited for our passports to be released from the Myanmar embassy. Upon arriving at the embassy on our first day in Hanoi, we were thrilled to see the sign "Land Route Not Permissible". We can't be certain whether we'll be granted entry in late November, as the current refugee crisis and ethnic cleansing makes for a very volatile border security system. We'll just have to wait, and hope we get the all clear, so we can make our flight to India from Mandalay come mid-December.
Egg coffee at Cafe Giang. We went four times in the space of three days. Fred may have got sick on the last one, but it may have been the banh mi
Space is not a familiar sight in the Old Quarter
We chased this lady down the street after trying one of her crispy fried custard bread buns. She was stoked when we ordered six more
They can be pretty classy, the Vietnamese
Uncle Ho
Hanoi marks the eastern corner of the trip. Now it's time to set our sights towards Laos, with every kilometre west, getting us that little bit closer to the final goal.
