Distance: 76km
Temperature (max): 32°C
View the stats on Strava (Tuy Hòa to Vẫn Giá)

Total distance to date: 1,395km

We got a late start this morning anticipating an easy ride —whooooahh, were we in for a surprise! You know those run-on sentences your teacher taught you to avoid? We had run-on mountain.  Up, up, round the bend, up some more, repeat. Weren’t quite expecting that—but hey, that’s how you see the good stuff. Dripping sweat? It’s a given.

It’s true. Vietnam has endless, unspoiled beaches and it’s easy to find one to call your own. They are literally untouched so it’s a BYOBC (Bring Your Own Beach Chair) situation. The further south we travel the bluer the water  and the whiter the sand. Riding through the mountain pass afforded us spectacular views of the ocean from above.

Food is also an adventure. Prior to the unexpected mountain pass we stopped roadside to get a bánh mì.  We merely pointed at bread, then eggs—she knew what to do! Blender?  We pointed again. Pinepple. Orange. Blender.  We also scored a freshly squeezed pineapple orange smoothie on ice. We are winning today! While eating, a local resident man came and sat about two ft away from Randy. He proceeded to scrutinize Randy’s every move—stared unapologetically, studying Randy’s face, mesmerized. Upon leaving we tipped the owner who then handed the tip money to Randy’s staring-man who subsequently took it and quietly walked away. We realized afterward that he was likely less-fortunate.

We stopped at the mountain top after endless climbing hoping to find cold water. The proprietor pointed to some coconuts. Not sure what she meant we just said “yes!” And waited to see—she pulled out a cleaver—chop chop chop—off came the tops, in went a straw and just like that we were sipping fresh coconut milk. In an unrelated observation, Coconut Lady also had “pet” monkeys—one in an impossibly small cage in a tree and the other secured by a short chain.  They were very cute, if not a little squawky, and we couldn’t help but fantasize about liberating them to the jungle right across the road….

Most coastal restaurants are of the seafood variety—we’re talkin fresh, caught-today squiggly squid, jellyfish, snails, crabs, & oysters. Thinking a little more exotic? How’bout yellowfin tuna eyeballs? We decided to give it a go (no, not the eyeballs). We have Google translate so requested “noodles with seafood”—then waited to see what materializes. Serving Girl was excited at the prospect of communicating with the foreigners, and out came her Google translate. “You want clams or snails?” (Clams, please)  “You want steamed or cooked?” (Ummm…cooked, please). Out came a big bowl of  hot broth loaded with clams, greens, & delightful little star shaped things that tasted citrusy. Pleased with the outcome, we dug in. Delish & yummy! Then came another plate full of noodles, bok choy, squid, shrimp & perhaps calamari (but who knows). We dined sitting at teeny tiny tables on miniature chairs big enough only for pre-schoolers. A young girl came by selling bags of waffle-type biscuits. Sure, we’re in. Then came some freshly cut pineapple. Again, in!

Our hotel room is in a fantastic new building in a little town, that didn’t appear on any hotel booking sites. Gleaming white floors, sparkly white walls and all the modern fixtures. We just took our chances and appeared unannounced. $21 for the night. Sometimes it pays to wing it.

Just a typical construction project that appears abandoned. They are everywhere—this is a small one.

Three Bánh Mì with eggs, cucumber & fresh herbs, and two fresh pineapple & orange juice on ice = approximately $4

Sand dunes—the ocean lays just beyond.

Sandy beaches spread endlessly

Dragonflies on the mountainside

The swastika (chu van in Vietnamese) is a good luck symbol from Hinduism and Buddhism

Distance: 125km
Temperature (max): Not sure! forgot to look
View the stats on Strava (Phường Phi to Tuy Hòa)

Total distance to date: 1,319km

The purgatory of persistent headwinds is over. We had breeze! Tailwind breeze! Due to availability of accommodations it would be either a short 45km day or a long 125km. We went long. Not long after we started our route took us over rather than around a mountain. Steep, and twisty turny—we had to push the bikes up. One of 5 climbs for the day. At the top of one particularly long climb a well situated cafe appeared and we needed water. Their menu listed “orange juice” so we waited in excited anticipation at a table in the shade overlooking a beautiful mountainside coastal village below. Orange Juice Girl dropped off two glasses of pale yellow somewhat-orangey liquid that was not orange juice. We rationalized—maybe it’s an orange herbal tea? It’s cold, so let’s just drink it and get out. Down the hatch! Minutes later she drops off two giant size glasses of freshly squeezed, luscious, divine orange juice on ice. That was the highlight of our day! We ordered up two more highlights, pleased & thrilled for the little liquidy treasures.

It’s a gamble when we book a hotel sight unseen but this one in Tuy Hòa delivered! With a big day of riding behind us we were starving. A ten minute walk took us to Pizza Bobs. Oh yeahhhh baby! Lay it on us! We have experienced a few Vietnamese interpretations of pizza so our expectations weren’t high. Coulda been the starvation, but that pizza rivalled anything at home and the garlic bread—a 14” pizza crust smeared with abundant fresh garlic and ooey gooey cheese. Pure heaven, eclipsing our earlier orange juice highlight.

While savouring our pizza across from the neighbourhood park we noticed people swinging, pushing, twisting & bobbing up and down on outdoor  exercise equipment, groups of youngsters playing ball games, others roaming on scooters, teens jamming some music, a few youngsters circling the park on fancy road bikes, girls mingling, giggling, and bopping to the beat. Young mothers & fathers were out with their babies socializing with each other. It’s just what parks were meant for—freestyle recreation. This is not an X-Box culture.

The area across from our hotel is still lit up in celebration of Chinese New Year, Year of the Dragon. It’s a linear walk through a magically lit wonderland. Larger than life beautifully ornate gold dragons sprawling, millions of flowers carpeting the area, lights glowing & sparkling. Families wandered up and down its length, basking in the wonder of it all, taking photos and just being happy. We tried to capture it with photos but there’s no lens wide enough.

Distance: 84km
Temperature (max): 35°C
View the stats on Strava (Tan Thành tổ Phường Phi)

Total distance to date: 1,194km

Another hot one! At one point we found ourselves in a particularly long stretch of road with no shade cover and we were desperate so we stopped side by side on the roadway in the tiny strip of shade that the electricity pole provided.

Some of the infrastructure here makes us wonder. More than once we have cycled for 20km+ on barren roadway, four lanes wide and nicely paved. Honestly we could have sat in the middle of the road and had lunch & not be disturbed, there were so few other road users.

Traffic Police stand at the side of roads, blowing whistles & flagging down random vehicles. Today their target was a car right in front of us. In the skirmish of activity we thought perhaps they wanted us to stop too, so we did  Big smiles, and high fives—they were just curious about where we were from. Curiosity isn’t exclusive to children.

Traveling down the entire coastline of a country we are fortunate enough to see the varied climate. In the north it was rice planting season—in the south here it’s harvest time. Rice paddies are now tinted gold and we can see the rice pods bending over. There’s rice drying on tarps, in peoples front yards, on roadways and other public spaces—wherever they can spread it out enough to dry in the sun. The remaining rice stalks are piled up alongside the road or made into gigantic piles similar to haybales. We must also be in peanut country because those too are drying on tarps on the road.

We bought green oranges the other day. They’ve been floating around in our bags just waiting for the right time to try them. Today we learned—green oranges are way better than orange oranges! Juicy, sweet, big—so far, our favourite discovery here in ’Nam

We splurged on a nice hotel for the night. $37 places us in a gorgeous, luxury hotel located on a mountain side, close to a monastery and the tallest sitting  Buddha in the world (so we hear…). Our room is a new, one-bedroom king sized suite with a kitchen table, kitchenette, and large balcony  But the best part is the view! Absolutely stunning, from our 6th floor room, peering out massive panoramic windows that go floor to ceiling. Down below we see a beautiful white sandy beach and rolly polly waves. They provide a tram to deliver us up the intensely steep climb to our hotel room, part way up the mountain. We struck gold in this hotel! Tomorrow—we swim! (cuz yeah, it’s got a gigantic pool too!)

Our hotel, part way up the mountain.

View of the big white Buddha up in the mountain (from our hotel room!)

Daytime view from our balcony.

Distance (yesterday): 108km
Temperature (max): 33°C
View the stats on Strava (Hỏi An to Quang Ngai)

Distance (today): 78km
Temperature (max): 35°C
View the stats on Strava (Quang Ngai to Tan Than)

Total distance to date: 1,110km

It would be nice if we could say that every day had stunning scenery and glorious riding—but we can’t. For two days now we battled headwinds that slow us down to a painful crawl, requiring stops every 5k just to relieve our aching everything. Those overcast days with pleasant temperatures? Gone. Nada. History.  We are into the hot weather now! A thermometer is installed on the bike so we can confirm what our dripping selves already know—it’s stinkin’ hot out there and we are melting. 35°C today. Not a cloud in sight. It’s too hot to even take pictures. Instead we just file the sights into our personal memory banks. As we reach breaking points we start scanning for ice cream opportunities which don’t present nearly as often as desired or needed. Today while hovering on the brink I saw it. “STOP!!! ICE CREAM!!”—we both screeched to a halt, did a U-turn on the highway (anything goes here) and positioned our hot sweaty selves in the teeny tiny chairs of the roadside ice cream vendor and we slurped—Coffee-flavoured ice cream. Then, orange creamsicle. Then, watermelon flavoured popsicle thing. We were not leaving that spot in the shade until our mental & physical states improved. We noticed a local girl slide on up on her motorbike looking cool as a cucumber—in her heavy sherpa-fleece jacket & pants, with her hood up. We couldn’t help but notice how many locals are out and about with puffy jackets.  Hoodies.  Ski-type coats. Its 35° folks—really?? 

We are in Central Vietnam now where the climate has changed from temperate in the north, to tropical. The scenery is also changing a little. We are seeing more coconuts. And house geckos. And the sounds at night are more tropical sounding. New, unidentifiable squeaks, chirps, & warbles. And there was a gigantic black june-bug type beetle flying around our room last night.

Yesterday’s ride took us along very long, straight, barely used palm-lined roads. For as far as the eye can see there were cemeteries. Burial sites scattered literally for miles & miles. There was plenty of time to ponder—Why so many? Why so spaced apart? Were some of  these veterans from the Vietnam War (American War as it’s referenced here)?

There a lot of time to ponder things while riding a bike for  upwards of eight hours a day. Like, What’s all that grain doing on the side of the road? Why are all the chairs in restaurants kindergarten-sized? What’s in all those square-shaped lakes we see? Why are there random goats at the side of the road in the middle of nowhere? What are those round puffy things that look like meringues that vendors are selling? Why is our hotel only $8 a night? We have questions for which we don’t have answers yet. But we still have time—800km more to reach Saigon.

Our $8 a night hotel.

Distance today: 3km
Total distance to date: 924km

Hội An, a UNESCO world heritage site, is a city of about 150,000 and known for its well-preserved Ancient Town. Its historic district is a well-preserved example of a Southeast Asian trading port dating from the 15th-19th century. So of course we have to stick around for a few days. Tourists have discovered this town and at night its standing room only along the canal, but it still retains its authentic culture and we could go for a little “touristy” food!

Our day started out with the discovery of another flat tire. Number 3.  A slow leak. This time we inspected it in the comfort of our hotel room under some good lighting and found a micro-sized staple just a few mm long embedded in the tire.  It couldn’t be felt from the inside and likely pierced the tube when the tire was under impact. Hopefully the problem has been solved

There’s street food here in Hỏi An! But we walk the straight & narrow and only indulge in banana Nutella crepes. We were initially intrigued by a BBQ food cart we spotted until we noticed those twisty turns things were big octopus legs on a stick, sitting next to jumbo toads (maybe frogs…who knows) all flattened & crisped up, and full-body quail-on-a-stick—crepes were looking mighty fine!.

Today we met Hannah. Hannah met Dane (yes, Dane!). All four of us met up and over a few drinks we wiled away the afternoon sitting across the canal in Lily’s Pancake Restaurant watching the world go by, talking bikes, routes, bike shorts, food (or lack thereof), cockroaches, traffic, dogs, and the mental lows that can sometimes grip us when touring. Hanna is from Seattle and on a year-long cycling tour having already done Europe and South America. It was nice to share the commonalities of our experiences in Vietnam and inspire each other. Both Hannah and Dane are rolling out of Hỏi A tomorrow while we stick around an extra day.

The alleyways of Vietnamese towns are where the undiscovered treasures lay. They are narrow—you’d think nothing of interest would be taking place—but a little stroll through reveals tiny restaurant gems, kids flipping about at taekwondo classes, little tailor shops with sewing machines abuzz, stores that just pop out of a hole in the wall, and kids playing with friends on their bikes.

Hỏi An has a LOT of buzzing sewing machines. It was once rated as having the fastest and cheapest tailoring services in the world. You can walk into any number of tailoring shops, get measured up, choose fabric, design your look and return hours later to pick up your custom garment for a fraction of the price at home. We noticed a lot of snazzy shoes too. While snapping a picture of some we were advised “No photos, please” then noticed a sign saying that you can design your own shoes too and they’ll custom manufacture them for you. You can also just walk in with a sketch—they’ll make it happen.

There’s more to see here in Hỏi An so we won’t roll out tomorrow either, opting instead for another day of off-bike adventure.

Checking into our hotel, there was a notice about day trips we could book—for the cost of  two nights stay in a hotel we could have signed up for the “Countryside Bicycle Trip” for a day—ahhhhhhh hahahah—that’s not happening!

Distance today: 68km
Total distance to date: 921km
Temperature (max): 30°C
View the stats on Strava

The moment we stepped out of our hotel this morning we were dumbfounded by what lay directly in front of our eyeballs—Where the heck did those amazing awesome mountains come from? They weren’t here yesterday!  Perhaps obscured by a layer of clouds, they were now revealed in all their shocking glory and it was a spectacular way to start the day.

The Hai Van Pass—10km+ up, up, and up into the mountains. Switchbacks and steep inclines. Honestly, they should give out medals to those who cycle it. There are buses to take you up, or you can rent motorbikes. For efficiency you can pay to transport you and your bike through the mountain tunnel.  But we didn’t come to Vietnam to take the easy way out so we climbed that beast, oh yeah! Push! push push harder!….drip drip sweat! Grip those handlebars cuz we were sharing the two lane road with buses, motorcycles and vans. Of course we didn’t see a single other cyclist, though we know at least one tackled it earlier—Dane, of course. Plenty of motorcyclists were out to experience the Pass, capturing it on their iPhones as they climbed and climbed. Many gave us big thumbs up and more than a few captured us on camera too, sweatin’ our brains out.

Many times we wanted to stretch our necks long & tall to peer at what lay beyond the guardrails but the elevation made it impossible—take our feet off the pedals, we might not be able to get moving again. Touring bikes are heavy & roll like a freight train—slow like molasses uphill but fly like snot down a mountainside.

Huffing & puffing and legs screaming, we reached the top and discovered I sprung a flat tire. In mid-repair the wind suddenly began gusting, practically blowing the hair off our heads and effectively engulfing the top of the mountain in a misty cloud. We prepped for the downhill—slow, controlled, squeezing the heck out of our brakes. Swish, swash, wheeeeeeee! A few times we screeched to a halt just to take in the spectacular earth’s surface that spread out before us—jungle greenery, rocky jutt-outs, salty ocean and white sand below. And in the distance—Danang.

Mountain pass over, we approached Danang by hugging the coast, happy as clams. At the edge of the city we paused to step onto that beautiful white sand that stretched for miles—it was completely, utterly deserted at that point. We whizzed right through the heart of the city along with gazillions of motorcycles, marvelling at its world-class pristine beach with big rolly waves on one side, big luxury hotels glistening on the other. We both agreed it was a pleasure riding across Danang

We made our way to Hỏi An.  The old part of the city delights us with tiny alleyways and street food everywhere—but we broke down and went to a Craft Hamburger restaurant that we were told is owned by a Canadian. Hamburger, onion rings and pulled pork sandwiches for us!!

Today was an epic day. The further south we head, the more we love Vietnam.

The view right outside the front of our accommodations last night.

There’s the tunnel…the one we didn’t take, opting to go over rather than through.

About two thirds up the Hai Van pass—sweating like crazy, leg muscles like jelly.

Heading into the heart of the city of Danang

Distance today: 71km
Total distance to date: 853km
Temperature (max): 26°C
View the stats on Strava

We had some of everything today. Leaving Hue was a madhouse of motorcycles headed in every which direction—literally. Entire families crammed onto motorbikes, farmers transporting cages of chickens layered on top of each other (chickens no longer squawking…we’ll leave it at that), mountains of boxes, bags, trees, coolers of squishy seafood, wire cages transporting piggies to market, chest freezers, furniture and other goods piled sky high on their motorbikes. There’s potential for a reality show here—Motorcycle Wars—Vietnam.  We were part of the hairy traffic lunacy—weaving in and out like basket-weavers—fittin’ right in. 3-feet space? Hardy har har! It’s 3-inches here!

Sometime you gotta ride on the highway with the evil-gargantuan-tyrannical-buses and transports. After sharing a long tunnel with those fast moving metal beasts we felt vulnerable, like little ants—enough was enough. We skedaddled off that route and hung a right (or was it a left?).  No matter—it was the right choice. Green & glorious, tranquil and still—our inner selves delighted in the fresh new direction. The lush, vast mountainsides painted a beautiful picture in our memories. Google Maps pointed us down miles & miles of pristine road surface. We saw more cows & goats lingering on the road than motorized vehicles or human activity. There were vast stretches of formerly grand hotel complexes looking post-apocalyptically abandoned—not a soul to be found. Our own little slice of never-never land pie.

Our little coastal resort is located in a quaint little village where locals harvest messy mussels from the muddy salt-water floor, seafood restaurants abound, and a few handfuls of tourists stroll the street. Not long after we arrived, so too did Dane, having travelled a different route to get here.   Yep! Dane again. His little hut for the night is right next to ours, so we are neighbours. The three of us searched out dinner—fries, spring rolls, green spinachy-sautéed stuff, and seafood rice. No Pho! That alone made us happy. Afterward, newfound friends Randy and Dane retired to the proverbial cigar lounge to talk beer & bikes. Another Happy Day here in Vietnam.

Hue has everything. Historic sites, food selection for adventurous appetites, hustlers, and amazing culture.

We visited the Imperial City, a walled enclosure within the Citadel of the city of Huế, the former imperial capital of Vietnam during the Nguyễn dynasty. Within its walls are palaces that housed the imperial family. The decor on the walls, ceiling and floors are swirly, elaborate, and ornate—better told with pictures rather than words.

We sought out a bicycle shop only to find it closed so we headed to another. Only one other person was in the shop—Hey whoa! Is that you Dane?? (the cycle tourist we met the other day). In this country of millions, in this city of a half million, we manage to meet up with Dane once more, in a city almost a hundred kilometres away from where we first met! We also discovered ironically, that we are headed to the same location tomorrow.

As we sat at dinner tonight, a young man approached us looking for a monetary donation. We made a little contribution to alleviate his circumstances, whatever they may be. As he hobbled away, grateful for a little kindness, we noticed he moved with the aid of crutches and had only one leg. In a country where motorcycles rule, cars are beyond reach for many and public transit is poor, we could only imagine the mobility difficulties he must encounter. We are very aware of our own fortunate lives that allow us to adventure these far away places.

There are hustlers here. We have been offered taxi service on the back of motorcycles (both of us….on one motorcycle!), coaxed into bars, night spots and restaurants, and pressed to take rides on cycle rickshaws, propelled by petite Vietnamese people. (Really? Randy and I together probably weigh the same as three Vietnamese!)

Food—it’s always a topic of great interest to us and we are open to trying new things—but in our quest for some street food we found deep fried chicken feet to be out of our comfort zone. Just bein’ honest!

Distance (yesterday): 103km
Temperature (max): 28°C
View the stats on Strava (Dong Hỏi to Dong Ha)

Distance (today): 72km
Temperature (max): 21°C
View the stats on Strava (Dong Ha to Hue)

Total distance to date: 782km

Yesterday we had glorious sunshine, which has eluded us much of the time here. We made hay while the sun shone and covered big distance. Mid-day we rounded a bend in the road and spotted a fellow cycle tourist and wheeled  up to say hello.  We learned that we had a mutual acquaintance with Dane, in this country of 94.5 million. Ironically, he is the same individual that Michelle, who we met days prior, had told us about. It’s a small world, this bicycle touring one.

Today it was cool, grey & overcast. Then it drizzled. And it rained. And it kept raining. In fact, it didn’t stop. We were the only two people in all of Vietnam who didn’t have a rain poncho to wear. Coffee drinkers sitting under shelter eyed us with sorrow….shop workers smiled at us with pity on their faces. Motorcyclists exuded silent condolences our way. Bus drivers though—Bwahaha, not my problem, sucker!—as they barrelled by us hurling water, road grit, and grime from the sides. We have fenders—fenders are our friend—but NavCom guy (Randy) rides in front, while I ride behind where his wheel sprays grit & grime all up and down the front of me. Split, splat, splodge, spray. All day long. When we pulled into a service centre a man waiting with his family was enormously amused at my dirty appearance in particular and offered to hose me down with the nearby hose.

We checked into our hotel, acutely aware of  stares from lingering guests. To place our bikes in a secure location we would have to wheel them across a pristine, shiny lobby floor. With what remained of our dignity, we asked if we could hose ourselves and our bikes off before wheeling them in. Hotel Guy brought us to an alley where someone had a pressure washer. He offered to blast me down clean along with the bike, but I declined. Randy got his feet & shoes blasted clean, because he’s far braver than I am. And with that, we were able to hold our heads up high as we walked back through that hotel lobby.

We are in north central Vietnam, in Hue, a city of 455,000. Our room is in a little hotel on the 4th floor in the centre of the city. To get here we sloshed through puddles, veered lefts & swerved rights, weaved our way through oncoming vehicles in our lane, squeezed through the eye of a needle to make left turns and we came to a realization—we have assimilated to the traffic chaos and barely react to anything!

Let’s talk Food: We are Pho’d out so on the advice of a friend of a friend, we sought out a great restaurant tonight (Madam Thu Restaurant) that allowed us to sample some tasty regional foods we might otherwise have missed. We dined on a delectable variety that we’ll never be able to pronounce. Crunchy little rolls of veggie-fish-pork thingys, little round balls of squishiness, and long skinny meat on lemongrass sticks—all tasting exotic & new. Randy, being the food adventurer is responsible for eating all that I will not—so he had double portions of the white jelly-like substance (bánh bèo) and the strange thickened gel-suspended something-or-other wrapped up in a green leaf (bánh Lộc).

And finally, let’s talk public washrooms—or rather, let’s not—a single picture at the end will let you draw your own conclusions.