Having managed to get some Dong, I have been traveling north west to south east in southern Vietnam. It’s been incredibly hot and humid and has been a struggle to be honest each of the last three days of cycling. Day one proper took me in to rural Vietnam which I quite enjoyed – dusty, bumpy and chaotic, but all manageable. I went to the local ‘mountain’ which is a bit like Uluṟu in that it seems to have plonked itself amidst the flatlands of rural Vietnam. You can’t cycle up it as there’s no road but there is a track that takes you about a 1/5th of way up -around 200metres. I gave it a go! At times it pitched up over 20% but the whole thing is about 800 meters so the pain wasn’t too long! At the top was this most incredible oasis of calm with streams and forestry – just delightful. There was a plaque to cyclists there which I think related to what must have been a time trial event up that stinker of a climb!
I stayed in a ‘homestay’ farm – took me ages to find it such was it’s elusive positioning off the beaten track. The accommodation comprised of a mossie netted mattress in a shed, with an adjacent drop toilet and cold shower….and no aircon of course! But I really enjoyed the experience of seeing rural Vietnam up close and personal with the host family – sitting watching the World Cup with the owners outside amidst chickens, dogs and cattle was wonderful!
On Tuesday I headed for Vinh An, around 100k east. I hadn’t booked accommodation, chancing my arm in the hope of finding somewhere. A pretty tedious day of riding on main roads mainly bar some usual Maps screw ups! When I got to Vihn….no accommodation could be found. I rocked up to one final guest house but he was closed and the old units he used to rent out were derelict. But he took pity on me as I was shattered and told me I could stay in one of the disused ‘sheds’ for free. So…I pitched my tent inside the room…and stayed there! I didn’t sleep – it was disgustingly humid and hot, and at 2:30 the rooster started up its ‘morning’ chorus!!! But it was an experience for sure!
F$&k Maps
I may have mentioned it once or thrice but Maps as an App is shite! The ‘bike’ function has taken me down dead ends, in to car parks and peoples homes, but often it’s a matter of seeing where that stupid detour comes out, and just stay on the perfectly good road you were already on. Today, Maps truly screwed me over. To get from X to Y it took me through a gorgeous undulating forest road to a small town, then signalled to turn right, which I did. Soon the road became a track, then a quagmire. It literally was impassable. After 30 minutes of wrestling and walking my bike through streams, trenches and track, I made the decision to turn back -it was dangerous, hot and a little scary. I returned to the small town to regroup (and fix Bob!). It turns out that is the ONLY ‘road’ to where I was going. My only option was to cycle all the way back to where I started the day and take a completely different route tomorrow. I tried putting in the ‘car’ option in to Maps, and absurdly, it took the car down the same track!! I don’t mind the odd few hundred metres of deviation here and there to accommodate Maps.me idiosyncrasies, but to take a cyclist (or a driver) to a dead end after 40ks is monumentally bad!
So, having liaised with wonderful Lu, had a feed and water, and Bob mended, I retraced my ride back to Vinh An, where Lu had found me a motel which had – a bed, a toilet, aircon, wifi….
Today was an exercise in problem solving ‘in the moment’ and taking time to just stop, breath and be sensible! Whilst I did 80k and went no where, it was a good lesson in just being patient and being willing to adapt to what’s happening…I’m pretty proud of myself for handling it without a panicking -mind you, I think I would have panicked a lot more had I not had Lu to do much of the problem solving with me! Let’s try that again tomorrow….but on a different road!
Bob took an absolute battering in the mud, streams and rocky trails today.
You have got to be kidding me! I tried for a few kilometres in a vain hope things would get better – they didn’t!
Heading out towards the forests in southern vietnam
Inside the disused rental for Tuesday night.
Plenty of tracks on Tuesday -it looks so much like Australia outback!
The Saigon River.
Fitting that a very live frog should perch on this photo frame in the ‘shed’!
The ‘homestay’ on Monday night.
Some lovely back roads.
Lunch break at a small cafe
The ‘mountain’ with cable cars.
At the top of the track climb -just so peaceful and teeming with wildlife.
Breakfast has become bread, bananas and yoghurt!
Toilet hadn’t been used in quite a while so a new tenant had moved in!!
Loving all the photos and the linked article on ‘Planning a long bike Trip? .
Ha. For the reflective questions I can honestly answer yes. I love long distance walking. Even slower. Similar joys over a couple of weeks.
But on a bike? Fit enough to ride up mountains? Ability to stand a sore bum for months? Keeping the bike alive when it falls apart in the middle of the Gobi desert?
NO. Definitely No.
I think you and your fellow long distance (really long distance) cyclists are a breed of your own.
I’ll stick to my feet on the ground, or these days -take a train.
AND I’ll keep enjoying tagging along on your wonderful journey Tony via your blog. Its great. Thank you.