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