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Published: January 5th 2013
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Examining my map I knew that there were potentially two possibilities of places I could venture on this day either Ba Ria (60km) or all the way to Vung Tau (88km). I chose these destinations as my plan of action was to get down to the coast and follow it to the north, as the centre of Vietnam is referred to as the Central Highlands, which to me suggests hills!
After a very successful couch surfing trip I hoped to try and do the same, but unfortunately I couldn’t find a host at either place. In fact Ba Ria didn’t advertise any sort of hotel to stay at, so when I set off my options to stay in Ba Ria depended upon my trusty hammock.
To get to Ba Ria, I had to cycle along the QL 51, it is a road south that breaks off from the dreaded QL 1, and it is ok. After about 10km of cycling the traffic gradually disappeared, well not entirely but it dramatically decreased. The QL 51 had the perks of a main road, massive hard shoulders and lots of coffee shops lining the way. Although the further
it went from Bien Hoa the less main it became, luckily it kept its width but the shops became fewer. A type of shop that did remain consistently popular along this road were ones that sold oversized statues, mainly Jesus, Mary, Buddha and Giraffes.
Whilst the shops broke away the views improved, vast green fields soon lay either side of the track, with mountinous views in the background. This is why I am cycling, the sun shining and beautiful views, I enjoyed this for a good couple of hours until I got to about 15km from Ba Ria. Not that I stopped enjoying it at this stage but I suddenly met something that was going to become a long term nemesis . . . the wind!!!!! Who knew there was wind, in the space of 1km to the next this wind appeared from nowhere. I don’t honestly feel like I have experienced any wind (I am aware how that sounds) on my whole Asia trip before but it was here now and making up for any previous lack of presence.I suddenly felt that I cycling about 3 times harder and still not moving.
Now
this may be obvious, but the faster you go the more wind resistance you face, so I decided that the only way I was going to get through this was to go slow and utalise my lower gears. This strategy worked in the sense that it stops you getting completely worn out, however you do have to accept the fact that you are traveling painstakingly slow. That was fine with me, I would rather be comfortable and take longer than get annoyed by something I cannot change.
By noon I had reached Ba Ria. After a quick scout out to see a distinct lack of hotels I quickly spied a coffee shop with plenty of hammocks in where I could rest until the sun cooled again at 3pm.
The workers of the coffee shop were pleased to see me, they found my bike amusing and were intrigued by what I am doing. In between various naps we communicated using the phrasebook in the back of my Lonely Planet guide, when that proves insufficient we turn to google translate. There was a real nice feel to the place, and at that moment I really did
not want to get back on my bike.
I had cycled 60km and knew that unless I could find somewhere to stay in Ba Ria I would soon have to cycle another 28km to Vung Tau. I watched the hours go by on my watch, knowing that crunch time for departure was coming as I did not want to arrive in the dark. Then it hit me, maybe they will let me put up my night hammock here and I can stay the night? So I began a game of cherades, however quickly gave up and used google. The staff I had been talking to liked my idea, they ask someone else who says yes, it looked good until some woman comes over (probably the owner) and they say the idea to her. They take about 30 seconds explaining to her in Vietnamese about who I am and what I would like to do, and within half a second of them finishing me she turns around and crushed my dreams with a firm and solid “NO”. I try saying “Lam On” (please) but it is no good, damn it!
So I begin to brace
myself, my legs and my bum for the extra stretch of the journey. I am smiling and saying good bye and thank you for the drinks and food they provided me with, but inside I am cursing this women! Thinking to myself where do these type of people come from? There is always one person who feels they have to act in a certain way, one person that feels that something would be irresponsible or is against a certain policy, they get in the way of all the fun! Well in this case they got in the way of me being lazy, but it’s a similar principal, all the others staff were happy for me to stay.
So by 4pm I am back on the road again, I have 28km to go and a knowledge that it gets dark at 6pm. Luckily the wind seems to have died down which is a nice treat. As I get closer to the coast the scenery just gets better and better, the views of the hills become closer, the road gets smaller and by 6pm I am in Vung Tau.
I chose to stay in Back Beach
as that is were the locals stay, and also means I am being cultural, oh yeah!! Also it should mean that the prices are generally lower. Arriving on Back Beach you first have to go past a series of fancy resorts, now I was just desperate to find somewhere to stay, so I consistently approach every resort I cycle past. Many of them have security outside who usher me away as I don’t look fancy enough for them (which is odd as the usual assumption is that as I am white I should be rich). In all honesty though these people were saving their time and mine, Resorts in Vietnamare not so cheap, you are looking at $50 for the cheapest room. Eventually after being turned away by multiple resorts, and leaving multiple resorts because of the price a local guy on a motor bike tells me to follow him for a hotel that costs only 200dong. This was my most expensive place of stay up until this point, however it was getting dark and I was getting desperate, and 200dong is still only 6pounds!
To me, at that exact moment in time, settling into my own
room, with air conditioning, a hot shower, comfy bed and cable TV, this was the best 6 pounds I had ever spent! As this was only my second day of cycling, I had cycled more than I had hoped to and I was shattered, I washed, got changed into clean clothes, had a nap and then went out for some food. On my way out I informed the hotel man I would stay for 2 nights, in my view I had earned a day off!
On my day off from cycling I explored the experiences available in Vung Tau, which included beautiful sea views, a giant statue of Jesus (claimed to be the highest Jesus statue in the world) and of course plenty of food! To the Vietnamese the great things to sea in Vung Tau must have also included western travelers, as I got stopped approximately 7 times by people wanting to take their photo with me, I didn’t mind, especially as one lad bought me an ice cream to say thanks!
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missvietnam1985
missvietnam1985
A great trip.
I don't know how long did you drive from Bien Hoa to Vung Tau. But i'm so admire you about your trip.