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Published: March 6th 2008
boats
somewhere between LongHai and Ho CocTo bike- that is bicycle, not motorbike, around Vietnam is to be a part of Vietnam, not just to see it.
Mission: Buy bikes, helmets, locks, and a map in Ho Chi Minh.
One would expect to be able to find such a map that had details required such as distance and road names. It is not that I couldn't find one, it is that they simply do not exist! Our calculations we needed to make for our bike rides became a guessing game. Locals didn't even know the exact distances between towns. All they could say was how long it took on a bus (followed by a non-hesitant statement on a ticket price). Not knowing the road or traffic conditions, a time frame from a bus ride didn't mean a lot...
However we were determined to crack this one on the head so we made sure to create as much time as possible to get as far as we could in one day...
Day 1; (7th Feb) Ho Chi Minh to Ba Ria
Woke up at the break of the day with great anticipation to hit the road. Anna and I packed our bags, strapped them on our
my bike
bigger than appears bike saddles, clipped our blue Vietnamese style helmets on and away we rode. A wobbly start through HoChiMinh on the main motorway North/East out of town. It took some time getting used to balancing the weight of my bike, as well as biking on the right hand side of the road, and the constant noise of horns in my ear and smog up my nose. 20kms onwards it starts to thin out, I can see blue sky. Another 30kms onwards we stop for lunch in a roadside 'cafe' that consisted of a tin roof and poles with hammocks strapped around them with coffe tables in between each.
We rode 120kms total by the time we dismounted our bikes. Our destination was LongHai beach, and we were so close. Only 10kms north, Ba Ria is where the large red sun fell rapidly over the rice paddy field. Finding a bed for the night was made easy in this non-english speaking tourist-free town of 40,000 thanks to a lady who led us through the streets on her motorbike to a guest house. Seemed like Anna and I were the talk of the town that night. All the locals wanted to hang out
with us. We went to a pub for dinner and drinks were shouted to us. Had to pike by 9.30pm. Extreme tiredness clouded over us. Sticking my earplugs in my canals was the last thing I remember that evening, dawn felt only seconds later.
Day 2; Ba Ria to Ho Coc
Another 60kms was clocked today. Quite the cruizy day in comparison to the previous.We detoured away from the highway and took the coastal road. We wound around rocky outcrops of rounded sculpture-like boulders, good enough to climb, and the golden white sands were just beautiful. Today we biked through a paradise that felt like we were the founders.
Small towns waves us hello the whole way through. Kids held their hands out wanting a clap, old ladies bared their naked gums as they smile with their crinkled eyes, and motor bikers would ride next to me for a natter on the run. We are constantly shouted drinks, but we must plod on.
Ho Coc was our pit stop, again in the late evening. We found a cute seaside bungalow raised on stilts. Old and rustic, full of holes, full of character, also full of mosquitoes and rats. So
i made sure i kept a sense of humour!
I woke at 6am with a rat next to my head eating the spilt cookie crumbs; the most effective alarm clock I've ever had...
Day 3; Ho Coc to Phan Thiet
Our mood is happy and energetic. The weather is a mild 25 degrees with some lingering clouds and a light ocean breeze. The scenery; exquisit. The twinkling waters are lined by golden white sand dunes lacing the roads side. There is next to no traffic, with the exception of the odd motorcyclist sputtering past from out of no where (and into no where). THIS is the type of bike ride I had in mind and I am so stoked it has become a reality. Anna and I whiz around the gentle swaying bituman, singing and nattering (as girls do), just high on life!
The day goes on quickly and we make good progress. As the sun nears the center, my skin feels the pinch. I stop to smother yet another layer of sunscreen over the bared flesh. Rubbing sunscreen onto my salty wet body was like trying to paint a water coloured picture on waxed paper. Anna and I
Mui Ne
In the harbour are staring to resemble beet-roots. Especially in the cheeks, nose and thighs.
We pedal on through the heat of the day. My water bottle has now only 1/4 left and we still have approximately 15 kms to go. That is not so much considering I perspire it out as fast as it travels down my Esophagus. I make sure to ration it so that I stay hydrated enough to keep going, but dont need to pee. To pee means to waste water, it also means a waste of time. After our mission from Ho-Chi-Minh to Bah-Ria we realise how precious every minute of the day is to make sure we reach a safe destination by sun down.
We have finally made it to a town where we can catch a bus. What we thought would be a 6km stroll (what we were told from our guest house manager) turned into a 60km "stroll". I don't think I could have "strolled" on any further if we didnt stop for some lunch.
Ham Tram was the name of the town, and Kim was the name of the family Anna stopped and asked directions from. Next minute we have been invited into
their home to enjoy their happy new year lunch with all 10 of them. Sticky rice rolls, coconut marinade hard-boiled eggs, and pork, accompanied with sparkling red grape juice. Conversation was some-what limited but it is amazing just how far body language got us. I am so happy we got to have that experience with some nice Vietnamese locals. I would not replace this experience for anything else. If it was not for our bike trip I don't know if we could have experienced such a thing, I am so glad.. The Uncle offered us a ride to a short cut to Phan-Thiet. He loads our bikes in his van, gives us a 1.5 litre bottle of water each, some fruit and a small envelope of lucky money (Vietnamese new year tradition), dropped us off and wave us goodbye as we bike off.
"What a lucky day we are having", I say to Anna as we turned into the long short-cut road, passing a sign stating 50kms to destination. Suddenly a strong gust of wind engulfed us. I literally had to yell these words to Anna before she heard it, "I think I just jinxed our luck". She agreed...
It
5.30am day 1
back pack on bike rack took us over an hour to gain 10kms through the continuous head on wind. It was a straight road. Not a perfect tar sear; a few pot holes here and there to dodge, but nothing to complain about. The howling wind was so strong it was like pushing a level 13 on a gyms bike machine, and only going fast enough to keep the bike on balance!
25 kms later and a lots changed. No more wind as the hills are protecting us, we are on a steady incline now. We didn't realise our last 15kms for the evening was going to be the most challenging yet. Half an hour left of sunlight and a steep mountain to conquer. Too steep for our banana barred bikes to handle. Off our bums and on our feet, im pushing about 40kilos of weight and my knees are not cooperating (Probably because of being in a bent postion on my bike for hours on end).
6pm we are at the top. It is pitch black now. All except for the string of city lights we see in the distance awaiting below. We take a few victorious photos and then enjoy the descent. A
THAT way!
20 down, Only 100kms to go local man at the base of the mountain kindly offered to guide us through the city to the bus stop. Then waiting at a bus stop, and hoping for a bus, three young men help to flag one down. The bus driver laughed at our request to fit our bikes plus us on the already packed bus. I dont blame him, I was laughing too. We would have struggled to find a place to stand on that bus. Same went for the next one, and the next, and the next...
Plan B- find a cheap guest house for the night. One of the three Phan-Thietans assisted us with that. We waited outside while he enquired within, bargaining the best local price for us two non-locals. We got it for about half of what a tourist normally pays. And so we went out for some ice cream with him. Anna and I were both absolutely knackered and ready to catch some zeees, but it was an offer I could not refuse after his kind help. Being Vietnamese new year and all too- it was a happy ending.
Day 4; Phan Thiet to Moi Ne beach
We slept in! had some
Long Hai
First view of beach from Ho-Chi-Minh kai (food) and a iced MILO! YEAh we found milo in a takeaway chain restraunt yeeha! Got some Va Ep (air) in our tyres at the cost of 3000 dong, just in time to push our way outa town at the hottest time of the day. It was an easy 25kilometer ride to the beach. The first 15 kilometers had a few hills to get over. I made the mistake to trust a local offering his arm to hang on to for the ride up a hill. Then he demanded $10 off me. I got a bit angry at that. I gave him only $1 after a 10 minute discussion and politely told him to piss off. Lesson for the day; always ask how much before accepting any offer!
We stayed two nights in Moi Ne. Savouring the sunsets, the vast array of fishing boats that paint the bays ocean, biked through the narrow maze of streets and walked up the red sand dunes via the river.
You could enjoy a nice cup of coffee at the top of the waterfall whilst sitting at the chairs and tables that were ploked in the shallow water; great way to cool off.
evening at Ho Coc beach
Sunset made up for the rat-mares Day 5- Caught the bus to Nga Trang, paid double for our bikes to be thrown on too. Arrived 10 hours later at 8pm with no where to stay. It was the last day of new years and the entire towns accomodation was completely booked out. We begged to stay on the floor of a travel agencies office for the night. The man empathised and accepted us in. Good news was that we had free internet all night, the bad news was there were giant cockroaches and rats that shared the floor with us that night. So, I used the net for most of the night till I was so tired i fell to sleep with the lights on.
Day 6 and 7 was spent in the next town called Hoi An. Again on bikes, we found getting around town and finding ourselves accomodation was much easier than tuk tukking it. This town has the reputation for the best made custom suits in the whole of southeast Asia at the best price. Anna and I were incredibally excited at that idea and we fell into a suit shop. Lesson for the day, dont expect a custom made suit
Vietnamese happy new year
Invited for new years lunch by lovely helpful locals to turn out as you imagined, also never get a pair of jeans custom made. Both Anna and my clothes were a flop. I paid US$40 in total for my jacket and skirt. Hanoi Backpackers 'Free Basket' is where i left it, and no one was grabbing it in a hurry...
The weather was getting cold as we travelled from here to Hue and I had no warm clothes. By the time I found a warm jacket and pants I had already caught a head cold. The roads were now too mountainous for our two-geared bikes to cope with. With the approximated total of 450kilometers of biked road behind us, the journey came to an end in a sidestreet bike shop. We traded our helmets, bike locks and bikes in for only 25,000 dong each. Basically a steal for them, and a few sad goodbye tears from us.
As soon as we were on foot again, tuk tuk and motorbike taxi drivers mouthes harrassed us once again; something I hadn't missed and almost forgotten about since being on bike.
To end our last few days in Vietnam we motored on through to the Capital city on an overnight bus.
Hanoi was a pleasant suprise to me. This city is a beautifully maintained and well laid out city surrounding a lake. Hanoi backpackers I highly reccomend. Free breakfast consisted of bagels, home made jam, 2 minute noodles and coffee as well as free internet 24/7. I met some great people there. We connected through jamming sessions with the guitars lying around. Anna and I spoiled ourselves with a 2 day cruize on a luxury sleeping boat around Halong Bay. I partied it up a bit and by the time Anna and I were on the 27 hour bus ride to Vientienne, Laos, I had lost my voice completely.
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