Hue to Hanoi

Cycling, crazy drivers, beef noodle soup and more cycling dominated this section of my trip where the road was mainly flat but the riding was hard due to the hot humid weather which drained my energy and ensured my water intake was immense. Food consumption seemed to be at an all time high as well where on more than one occasion two to three meals in one sitting wasn't uncommon to the much amusement of the locals at the restaurants! The main highway lived up to it's reputation as not the best place for cycling but some of the small towns and the scenery were worth the effort. With not much to do except to ride I was looking forward to getting to Hanoi and seeing what the city and surrounds had to offer so I was riding hard to hit my destination. Coming into Hanoi, I wasn't disappointed as it was chaotic but manageable and I found my hostel easily where it was a good change to be around backpackers and to swap travel stories over a few beers and to relax. I knew I was in the right place when I was greeted by the friendly staff in their 'don't take life so seriously.......it's not permanent' t-shirts and an invitation to the free keg on offer! A couple of days here before I head out to Halong Bay on a boat then back on the bike heading once again into the mountains and hopefully some quieter roads.

Riding Stats
> 15th Sept - 70km
> 16th Sept - 92km
> 17th Sept - 147km
> 18th Sept - 151km
> 19th Sept - 104km
> 20th Sept - 92km
Total - 2835km

Kon Tum to Hue

It took me another three days of hard riding to get out of the central highlands where I popped out on the central coast of Vietnam at the old port trading town of Hoi An. It is a great little city and I used my time there to soak up the colonial charm and eat my way through a number of fantastic meals. I also had to get my bike fixed as all of the back gears weren't working unless I changed them manually by pulling the gear wire but this didn't always work. This wasn't the best situation to be in as some of the hills were fairly steep and on one such hill I couldn't get the gears to change so I spent the next hour and a half pushing my bike straight up in 35 degree heat. You could say I wasn't happy as I'd already biked for over an hour and hadn't had anything to eat!! Although Hoi An was a great place I wasn't meeting any other travellers and after spending the last 11 days in the highlands where my conversations consisted of hello's and good-byes only, I really wanted to talk!! So I heard about this great little travellers hang out 20km out of town called Hoa's Place. Hoa has been labelled the coolest guy in Vietnam and I was about to find out why. He runs a group of guest houses on a deserted part of China Beach and learnt all of his English from the American GI's during the war. He is hilarious as all of his sentences contain the buzz words of 60's & 70's America. 'That's so rock and roll dude' and 'take it easy bro' are just a couple of my favourites which seemed to be said in every other sentence. Plus there was a good bunch of other travellers just hanging out and enjoying the beach, free flowing beer and local rice wine on a nightly basis so I was struggling to leave the place as each day I was a little more hung-over. I finally made the big decision and got up early one morning and cycled out after having spent some great times with a good bunch of people. I cycled to my next destination of Hue but got caught out in some heavy rains just south of town. After relaxing in a cafe for about half an hour it was back on the bike to finish off the final kms and find a hostel for a couple of nights.The plan from here is to get up to Hanoi in the next few days and get my visa extended before heading out to Halong Bay where I plan to do a couple of days cruising on one of the traditional Vietnamese Junk sailing ships.

Riding Stats
> 5th Sept - 117km
> 6th Sept - 116km
> 7th Sept - 82km
> 9th Sept - 23km
> 13th Sept - 108km
Total - 2179km

Saigon to Kon Tum

Leaving Saigon and the crazy scooter madness behind was a lot easier than I anticipated and it felt good to be riding in Vietnam. I followed the main highway for awhile before deciding to take a left and head into the central highlands for some quieter riding and better scenery. The plan was to cycle a couple of days until I hit the old Ho Chi Minh trail used by the north Vietnamese as a supply route in the American War (it’s not called the Vietnam War in Vietnam!), then follow it back to the coast half way up the country. The riding immediately got tougher as the landscape changed to rolling hills with some bigger peaks thrown in for good measure. It was fantastic riding though, through sleepy little villages and crazy but laidback locals which were incredibly friendly. It was like they had never seen a foreigner and as I passed through the small villages heaps of people would yell the only English word they knew, hello, good bye or if they were really fluent then ‘what is your name’! Then I would stop for something to eat or drink and within a minute I would be surrounded by the locals just staring at me and smiling. This has been pretty good but I’m starting to feel like a bit of a freak as all the pointing, yelling and laughing is a lot of fun but I’m just starting to wonder what is so funny! Anyways, the riding has been tough and some of the distances long especially considering the terrain but also rewarding and I’m really starting to get back into it. After the last 6 days riding and one day spent sick off the bike I haven’t met one other foreigner nor spoken more than a couple of words of English which has been great but surprising as I understood this to be a popular travel destination. This section has been made even more incredible by the complete remoteness of the place and its apparent isolation from the outside world which has allowed me to experience the Vietnam of old. Well, I’m currently in a small city called Kon Tum taking a rest day before I continue through the highlands, skirting the border will Laos then hopefully popping out on the coast at Hoi An in a few days time. Should be a change of scene, from mountains to beaches and hopefully a good place to chill out in for a couple of days R & R as this is the sight of the famous China Beach!

Riding Stats
> 28th Aug - 114km
> 29th Aug - 110km
> 30th Aug - 96km
> 1st Sept - 128km
> 2nd Sept - 148km
> 3rd Sept - 88km
Total - 1733km