Some parts of the ride were challenging
Monday: I started Monday with my usual Banh Mi – crusty roll with egg – in a small street food stall where I got chatting with Vietnamese family who spoke English…and who paid for my breakfast! It’s lovely when hospitality like that is extended to us travellers 😊
The ride was only short today on account of starting late due to a work related commitment but….it was an incredible day of cycling. After having noodles and omelette I hit the road – it was stinking hot 🥵 and the first 8k was straight uphill! But as I crested the climb, I was again greeted with another great vista….this time the mountains gave way to the sea. As I turned west towards Vung Tau the wind was on my back and the scenery just got better and better. The road hugged the coastline, which invariably meant some great descents but some stinkingly hard climbs, but with the ocean to my left and the wind on my back, I didn’t care. The road surface was so smooth and options for eating plentiful. I passed through some touristy towns with a growing number of international travellers on motorbikes, and countless groups of tourists using a popular option of a Jeep hire. I arrived at my evening stop very tired but utterly content, which was capped off by a sunset on the beach not 100 metres from the homestay I rested in for the night. One of those days when riding your bike is pure delight!
Tuesday: I had hoped today would be a repeat of yesterday, but I was disappointed. Whilst the route followed the coast for most of the 100k, it was drab and deserted, and kind of unsettling to see how Covid has wrought havoc to otherwise bustling resorts (one can assume they were pre Covid). I went through whole resort ‘villages’ which were bereft of any signs of life. Kilometre after kilometre the same story was retold, with half finished buildings and resorts, offering up a feeling of an unending ghost town. Maps.com also messed up again, this time sending me off down a road for a few kilometres to a bridge I needed to use to get across the river, only to find the bridge ….no longer in use 🤣…so back I went! It added another 10k in total to my tiring day but …you just gotta get on the pedals and ride!
And whilst it was incredibly hot today, so not a pleasant day for riding ….and you won’t hear me say this too often…I loved the cool sea breeze headwind, as it kept things reasonable, unless I was crawling up one of the countless short but nasty climbs when I was going so slow there was no wind!!
I met a couple of fellow long distance cyclists with fully loaded bikes – he was from the UK and she from the Netherlands (and thus declared she hated hills….I had to break some bad news to her!). They are doing south east Asia for a few months, then he was off to a supported bike ride across Norway….from one extreme to another! I’ve met surprisingly few long distance riders this trip but when I do it’s a real treat to hear about their journey, and swap war stories!
After the thriving resort towns of yesterday, to see the harsh reality today was shocking.
My final full day of cycling in Asia was a 70k coastal ride which pretty much replicated Tuesdays ride – in short, boring! Until I got to Vung Tau when the traffic suddenly erupted in to utter chaos. On far too many occasions I had too close a call for comfort…..to recall but one….a fully loaded moped on which the driver (assuming there was one) could not see behind him to check before launching in to the road….just launched in to the road completely unannounced. If I had been a car or bus he would have been crushed. That’s the idiocy of the driving here. Brain dead driving! With relief I got to the hotel after finishing my ride on the promenade….a beach full of tourists enjoying the evening sun. I met up with Tim, a guy I’d met three weeks ago at the cabins by the National Park….we shared a drink and chatted about our respective journeys.
Fast and Furious…
On Thursday I got on the Vung Tau to Saigon city centre ferry – a two hour fast ferry boat trip, infinitely less stressful than trying to cycle in to Saigon ….memories of Bangkok….! It was an amazing experience- it was a small ferry and trying to get Bob on to the ferry as it bobbed (excuse the pun) and bounced around on an equally unstable gangway was hilarious! Having cleared the harbour of Vung Tau the ferry powered its way up the estuary to the city centre, with the river traffic incrementally increasing in line with the emerging high rise and water rubbish….it stank! The ferry drops you right in the centre of Saigon….what a sight to see. Just as anticipated, the traffic was off the charts! But surprisingly it was actually perfectly ok to cycle in …..I have learnt to simply push through and ignore everyone else because….you snooze, you lose. I got to the hotel unscathed 😊. In the evening I met a small group of cyclists who took me go a rooftop bar to see a wonderful sight of Saigon at night.
On my final day in South Asia I got to the airport with plenty of time…,as it turned out I could have stayed in the city for a few hours more as my flight was delayed! Vietnam…..the gift that just keeps on giving!!
I arrived in Sydney 4 hours late but incredibly….so did Bob! Dave, my pal from school days, picked me up and drove me to his family home in the Northern Beaches.
I’ll stay with Dave a few days then I’ll hit the road to Adelaide via Melbourne. Some more testing days ahead but looking forward to it very much.
The sea comes in to view 😊
Incredible fishing village with thousands of small round boats. So picturesque.
Just outside my bedroom door. I’m at the back of the hotel but mopeds can drive right through the building!
Resort after resort is deserted.
On the ferry to Saigon
Saigon
Saigon at night
Night flight to Sydney….the end of my South Asia trip.
So back in Australia Tony! I’m wondering how that feels.
It’s New Year’s Eve today, just want to wish you a happy new year with lots of hope and best wishes for the new year ahead.