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For details of the places I visited in Vietnam along the Ho Chi Minh Trail, with GPS Coordinates, see my book Vietnam Caves.

For details on motorbiking in Vietnam and Cambodia, from buying and selling a motorbike, to border crossing, see my book Motorbiking Cambodia & Vietnam.

 

Last night it rained a lot, and I was hoping that I would get no rain today. The skies were good when I got up, so I head down for breakfast. Mmm, off cause they serve no breakfast there. I think it is lucky that my patience was improved by teaching diving.

Last night I tried to use the internet, and discovered that the internet in the lobby is private, and that floor one to three had their own router, but my floor (4) had no router. So I had to sit on the stairs between floor 3 and 4 to do some work and Skype.

So I decide to check out. Here we have a problem. As when I booked online, it said they accept master card and visa, and it asked how it am paying, where I selected by card. When I checked into the hotel last night I showed my card and asked if I can pay with it and the lady assured me it is okay. This morning they are refusing to accept anything but cash. However, that is only the start of it, for now we argue over how much I owe. I show them my email booking confirmation stating the price as $14.50. Eventually they accept, but now we argue over the conversion rate as they want to charge me more than even the banks charge or the going rate on the street. To top it off, the two girls behind the reception themselves cannot even agree on the conversion rate.

I pay the one with the lower amount, which is close to what I figured, and also because she has my passport. She is happy, and gives my passport to me, but the other one still wants more money, but hey, I got my passport. So she gives in as the first girls says good good.

So with that I grab my bags and leave, just wanting to get out of the town and on the open road. When I get outside, someone moved my bike. Why they just cannot leave it where it was, I do not know, as it is in a row of other bikes. There is a black mark on the ground as they dragged the bike with the back wheel locked up from the chain I put around it. Just to put the bike two steps closer to the door. Now I really just want to get out of town.

My bike was where the red one is that is facing the camera, now it is two bikes up, next to the door.

Drag marks as they dragged the bike, saw only later the fairing is scratched and cracked as they struggled to move the bike.

However, I am hungry and look around for the familiar mobile food stands with the bread rolls. I spot one, but she has no eggs. A few minutes later, I spot one with eggs. So I stop and indicate two eggs, on a roll. Then wave my hands over all the other strange stuff going no no no, shaking my head. The lady pulls out a clean pan, and starts cooking my eggs, then points to me to take a seat at a table. Just as I sit down, she starts to throw all kinds of shit in that I have no idea what it is. I jump up to stop her, and run into the low roof of her mobile stand, almost knocking myself out. What a great start to the day.

Lady cooking my food. almost knocked my lights out against her roof.

I go no no no and wave my hands over the stuff she puts in, shaking my head. The lady looks very disappointed, but removes most off the stuff. As I go sit down, she brings the two eggs, with still some strange stuff in the pan with it. The yokes glare at me, all runny, some of the white next to it is not even cooked. I indicate I want it turned over, and she thinks I want it scrambled, which is okay as long as it is cooked. Her child brings me a cup of hot tea and puts it on my table. I take a sip, then go stand behind the lady without her knowing. She mumbles something, then throws all the stuff she just took out back in, and scramble it all up.

I just gave up there, thinking okay I will take it to go and either donate it, or throw it away. The lady puts all the crap in a roll, then demand I go sit down and eat it. I indicate I want it to go, but she refuses and indicates I must sit down. Now I have managed to gather about 20 onlookers. For those that do not know, when a tourist comes into some of the far out of places, locals will just come and sit next to you, watching you eat, write emails or what ever. It is like a tv show for them. So I go sit down, take a sip of my hot tea, and take a bite of the roll. It tastes like crap. The lady sees the half full glass of tea, and takes it away. I think, okay, she is filling it up. Well kinda, as she brings me tea with ice cubes in, ice tea. Huh, hello, never mind.

My hot tea replaced with ice tea.
My stomach already not in a good mood, complains about the roll, but I close my eyes and just go for it, having no idea what I am eating. I eat as quickly as I can, then pay her and get out of town. Half an hour later, I want to throw up, but I keep going. 10 min later, and my stomach is turning and about boiling, but I hold out, hoping it would get better. Luckily it did.

The road for the first 100 km is mostly road works, with gravel or dirt roads, and the sections that is tarred is not so good. But still better than yesterday with some okay sections.

I run around 60 to 80 km/h when out of towns, and experiment on an idea I have, proofing it right 3 times when cops just ignore me in a town. They have radar guns to check your speed, and are perfectly hidden away, however I know now to look for the trucks. Each time I hold the bike at 45km/h, and they do not even bother with me. Cool, that is the perfect town speed.

On my way I come across this pagoda, and had to go in and have a look. They have some cool scrolls, that I think depicts stories, check it out.

If anyone know what these say, please let me know.

Right, back on the road. But not long after i spot a large statue on a hill and had to go look.

Later i find a guy that put the pot totally mis.

I come across a small open museum.

Now and again, it starts to rain, so I keep my rain suit on. I fill up at 110km, then open it up from there. Now I am hitting good roads, and also some mountain passes. I am having loads of fun. I record a video, check it out here. I record while riding with one hand, ha ha ha, going through a turn at 50 or 60km/h on a scooter is not like a 1000cc race bike. I come across a local minibuses. However, they annoy me as they go to slow for me, so I pass them with one hand driving, filming them. You should have seen their faces ha ha ha. Lead, follow, or get out of the way mate.

Then, i come across a bridge, over the river, a real river. I had to challenge myself to cross. Not for being a dare devil, but i do not like heights. Okay, I used to be very afraid of it, but now i am better. by pushing myself to face my fears, I managed to go many places I have only dreamed of going. The bridge swayed a lot, so i did not film when i was in the middle, as most of the planks were loose, and I was afraid of slipping through, or miss stepping, or worse, dropping my iPhone. Check out the video here.

Half way across, following a little girl.

Looking back once i crossed over, now i got to do it again.
Right, I wait until my pants stop shaking, get on the bike, and move on. Then come across a burned out bus, and locals washing a truck in the middle of the road, on a turn.

I snap some pictures as i go along, and move my small backpack to the front for the rain.

Later I come across a fellow backpacker standing along the road in the rain.

I stop and ask if I can help. The guy says he is okay, but he is soaking wet and cold. He had his wheel fixed the night before, and the mechanic must have set the chain to loose, as it keeps falling off. I actually had the same problem on one of my bikes, and it is a pain. I ask him if he needs tools, seeing a local busy with the back wheel. The backpackers says he has no tools, but that the locals busy farming came to help him. No tools, not wise on long bike trips mate.

Then ask him where he is going. He says Hoi An. I am like, bro, we are 30km from the town I am going to, Hoi An is another like 130 or so after that. That is 4 hours hard drive (mountain passes), and in this weather probably more like 5 or so, it is already after 2pm, you not going to make it safely. Those Honda win bikes have crap lights, a candle blown out puts out more light than those bikes’s lights. I offer to wait until the bike is repaired, then drive with him to the next town at least. He declines, saying that his buddy is somewhere up ahead. I am like, your buddy just left you, Jup.

So I shake my head and move on.

These run ups are for trucks to use if their brakes fail. Hope the truck stops before it goes over the edge. The run up normally have loose gravel that the truck bogs down in. Stops you going over the edge, but it a pain to get the truck out again.

About 5 km later I do however see his buddy frantically racing back, looking for his mate. Relieved, I have some fun with the road. Soon I come to my next point, and see a guest house just out of town. Very nice view of the mountain, but they want 200k (US$10) for a night without wifi, and there is nothing near them. So I move on, then find a guest house with a room and wifi for 150k. Warm water, and clean, so cool.

I put my stuff down, and go look for a place to eat. Find one, and they have no menu. The lady only knows cow, so I go with it. I get beef soup with a lot of onions and so on it. Very nice. Then I head back to the hotel, and find two other backpackers have checked in. They just came from Hoi Ann. They bought the bikes there, and are driving down to Saigon. We chat and I give them advice on the road and where to stay, including details of the people I know in Saigon to help them sell their bikes.

Been a few hours now, so I take a shower and head out to find dinner. Pass the place I ate at, and find another nice place down the road. The lady does not speak English, but I have an app with a few word on. You click on the word in english, and the program pronounces the word in Vietnamese, and shows the Vietnamese spelling for it. I press beef and rice, and she shakes her head yes. This is easy ordering, however I have no idea what I am going to get. The food is actually very nice. She only however have either beer, coca cola, or salty lemon drink. Interesting drink, and not to bad.

Right, off to bed.