Month: February 2024

Decided to try and do at least 90 km planned per ride especially as its so flat most of the time! Heading north at first then E SE, it was a nice cool day to start I saw 3 Vietnamese tourers and we passed each other at various pit stops through the day.

I found sugar free milk pouches and Yen Mack (instant oats) at small shops en route although I have to show them the words, my accent must be dreadful – but I am trying.

There were large graveyards with enormous graves as well as slat water flats opposite fertile small holdings. The people work so hard on their bits of land, growing veggies and fruits, you seldom if ever see any mechanisation but there are many people young and old heading off to their plots with hoes and shovels attached to the motorbike or over their shoulders. The shallow draft boats are of woven bamboo covered in tar and bitumen.

One notable section had a hill of Robin Hoods Bay steepness. I just managed it and even stayed ahead of a large labouring truck but I thought what if the Hai San pass is like this – I’ll be pushing up for sure. The dear old QL1A loomed large and Phuoc Thuong tunnel 357m long said no bicycles allowed and no chance of nipping in due to an awake guard. The latter helped me up the almost vertical set of steps onto the incredibly noisey walkway akin to a canal tunnel walkway.

Exiting the tunnel down two steps and onto a shiny slippery? pipe was not the easiest of tasks literally a leap of faith as the pipe was at least 2 feet lower than the last step. A roadside lunch after the tunnel was a welcome stop but proved once more bananas, chocolate bars and bikes in the sun do not go well together.

The long thin coastline leading S to Lanh Co was very strange surreal even. Vast areas of sandy hillside fenced off SCG (Prime) and many many abandoned, incomplete or falling down resorts and properties including one Movenpik and a vast Eurasion club complex. I tried to climb the water tower but could not get up to the staple-ladder on the first level.

The beach by the resorts was really clean and nice with a few BBQers. Loads of western kids went past in a flotilla of jeeps, kicking up sand and dust

Lanh Co waterside was lovely, oyster beds and fishing huts plus enormous restaurants on stilts, in season this place must be heaving. Delightful night out with Randy and Anita, large mosquitoes but good food on the ever present QL1A highway. Randy was a brewer so enjoyed thebottle of Hanoi Thom Brewery’s barley wine 13% that I’d bought from Hue for us to share.

Hue is a nice town to cycle around, enormous roads and tiddler side streets. First I needed some replacement gloves I am sure the originals were swept up unnoticed in the great laundry pile at Mr Phu’s and left in the drying shed. I also wanted a new bottle rack & some dry chain oil as the wet stuff is so sticky. Guess what, in walks the noted stalkers Randy and Anita who were seeking wet lube!

The outer citadel was an impressive structure dating back to about 1800 when Hue was the Vietnam capital until 1945.

Beer o’clock soon came around and I had the pleasure of meeting this kind and enterprising young lady at the Empire Beer bar. She’d volunteered to teach English and culture in Ha Giang Province. If you read this I’d love to hear how you got on and your future plans comment below please with your email.

We tucked in to dried micro-shrimps and freshly pickled fruits.

Miss Minty recommended a lunch venue on a small island. The charming lady there cooked two kinds of pork bbq sticks with amazing peanut sauces and salad. I had 2 courses.

Some tasty comestibles in Hue

Off to Lanh Co – El Passo land tomorrow.

Insects to craft beers in one day. Hero taxi driver in Hue.

Yesterdays blog will be simple to write! It was cats and dogs and then some. But, and every rain cloud has a silver lining – the magical tail wind persisted AND it was flat AND well tarmaced (except the village roads) and tomorrows forecast looks better. The limestone was far behind so the roads are much less dusty and fewer gravel trucks.

The worst night ever, it took half my can of bug spray to silence the bed cockroaches, there was no cold beer in the hinterland at all, facilities not good, the balcony door did not lock and the toilet was open to the outside’s flying foe. Luckily for me the lovely Miss Giang, who booked the telephone only Nha Nghi, had warned the friendly receptionist to lay in some cold beers or expect Mr Grumpy.

It went from sandy dunes with the ocean and lots of camping picnic areas along the coast to paddy fields passing the usual collection of linear shanty buildings. It is wonderful though to see the variety of crafts and things available in every commune along the way. Picnic areas are easy to spot as the VN leave almost every piece of rubbish behind when they leave.

Caped crusader time – the faithful Raleigh cycling cape stopped me, tool bag, Noddy, alibangbang and Kate the cater-pillar from getting really soaked and it kept the chill of wet clothes at bay. As did the two coffee stops.

Detoured to the village side roads for coffee and got swarmed and warmed. Found a welcome lunch stop and the weather started to ease but it did not stop until almost in Hue, the tall Vinpearl building indicating the city centre through the gloom.

Found the hotel first time cleaned up luckily a young lad helped carry everything upstairs to floor 4. It was cheap and actually good as the room is not over looked and very central.

Out to savour some of the best food in Vietnam but after a month of eating spaghetti in soup with 2 sticks I opted for a burger and fries. Then off to the real ale place Imperial Craft beer. Having but one tee shirt for R&R I was easily persuaded into buying a tee shirt and several excellent real beers – an oasis after a month of fizzy lager!

I wandered back and found the wonderful Cham bar just a few minutes walk away. Thom brewery ales for sale at 3 quid yes please. Be warned google translate is battery hungry. Thanks to the totally honest cabbie who rescued me from pimps on motor-bikes and Bangkok like street girl approaches and eventually we found the correct Jade Hotel and he only asked the original 11k. I tipped him really well for his honesty and help.

Tomorrow get bike cleaned professionally cos there’s sand and sticky grime all over it. Work out the next week’s route – can I avoid Danang entirely? Nails need doing. Explore some of the historic places but avoid HCM and rusty relic war museums.

Having explored Dong Hai last night and partook of the excellent street food at the nearby bridge area I was able to overcome my tendency to explore – 80km is not so far now my legs are getting stronger. Arnie Mk2. I went through the bustling street market at the foot of the main southbound bridge and then saw another a few km down the AH1 road.

I popped in for some banh my for coffee later and peanuts. A very friendly man wanted a photo with me – he was 54! The ladies were selling their home produce and there’s a definite change in dialect now. The next thing, I meet Canadians Randy & Anita who even had business cards – they were going Hanoi to Saigon. They’d met Dutch Michelle (northbound) who’d told them she’d met me a few nights prior. Small world.

I was heading off to the seaside Hai Ninh so we parted company. Hai Ninh was 8km away over the Ql1A highway and along a traffic free road with sand banks either side. My hope was to travel as far as possible along the shoreline. It was a pleasant linear holiday town and at 1030am there appeared another swarm of home-bound kids, this time I managed to get to the far side of the main entrance and rode the wave rather than having to push through it.

I asked a builder if there was somewhere to get Caphe Den and he took me to Cafe Dan which was most welcome. I was soon joined by some of the swarm who helped me to count to ten then they had a go in English. The kids were young and start school at 7am.

Sadly the road petered out into a sandy track. The adjacent road had brand new street lighting and another commune’s foundations were going up. The local golf course was to my left. The Ql1a was newly tarmaced, 4 lanes wide plus bike lanes either side and empty. Plus this was one of the most deserted pieces of road I had been on with sand dunes and windmills either side of me Plus no linear shanty town shacks. BLISS.

Just about the right time I saw a large roadside eatery on a lake so tootled back and took a breezy window seat. Wonderful service and amazing food Ret Nguon. The lake was full of hungry catfish who enjoyed my rice. I wonder if catfish S of the equator circle anti-clockwise?

The trucks are longer here than at home and I did see several broken down. With around 25km to go I found a mum and dad Cafe, we chatted via Google translate, they took pity on me and gave me quite a few biscuits to help get me there.

A second swarm erupted a few km from my Nha Nghi. Last image is of a bird enticing tower to lure birds in so their nests can be turned into gold – birds nest soup. Bird spit soup does not entice me – just like live oysters!

Tomorrow is an easy ride to Hue for two nights. There I’ll plan to avoid Denang which has been described to me as the Sihanoukville of Vietnam.

Morning started with a romantic vista. The main highway was quiet but I wanted to get off and find the old road (assuming there was one). My forays to the west was bone jarring old concrete roads past homesteads, great for Hello where you from but too slow. I went down to the east but ended up in several backyards with wee timorous mousie dogs all bark and no bite. I gave up and went back to the main highway. A good section of today’s ride would be in the hills and forests anyway

What a relief to be away from traffic and the infernal mindless use of the horn. Up we went, not too bad and the heart kept going. Found a graveyard with some pricey carved items that reminded me of what my mother said near the end of her life (having not spent much for years) you cant take it with you.

Many undulations later I noticed some scarred pine trees. Seems they collect the sticky sap like rubber and chicle hunters. As I got back on my bike, with one very sticky finger, a farming lady stopped for a chat, in the absence of conversation I gave her a coffee sweet, sadly kopiko, not the posh ones the charming Miss Minty, in her wonderful guest house in Thang Hoa gave me to keep me going. I kept going but the sweets ran out.

Miss Minty also set up a Whatsapp group of aspiring VN cyclists who’d had the good luck to stay with her. Hi Dutch Michelle heading north and complained of a headwind – rubbish, it was a good tail wind (for me).

After a delightful foray into a market looking for food – No, 5kg of mangousteens is far too much for me! I do enjoy the markets where the ladies sell home grown and other produce. I wish my VNese was better so I could join in with the obviously naughty and crude banter.

I arrived after an embarrassingly short time cycling arrived at Ju’s in Dong Hai. I dropped my bags and went for 2 hours/20km exploring. The adjacent island was being trasnformed with a new small town and shops being built. Thank goodness for gps or I’d never have found my way out again.

Had a lovely chat with my cousin at a small bar and on the way back an old lady flagged me down, she was selling spectacles. Yippee a replacement clear pair of dust and bug stoppers that also gain me free entry to any gay bar.

A closeup of the hand-woven tarred warp and weft on a very heavy working 2-man coracle.

I put the bike under a veranda last night as it looked like rain and sure enough pitter-patter. Laundry all done by hand by the courageous hotel house-maid as Miss Minty had commented on various odious foot, shoe and clothes odours. So, fully rested after 3 days in the vicinity of Ha Thinh (splendid double spire church nearby) I was ready to set off about 75 km south to a Nha Nghi nestled romantically on the main N-S highway.

Crossing the huge estuary where yesterday I’d met a cackle of hardy old fisher-women bearing long bamboo poles, split at the end to hold a small battered laundry basket and a bar of metal in it – shell fish catcher perhaps. They were all chewing areca / betel nuts with lime so they were salivating red spittle as they spoke through heavily stained teeth. One demanding money – for what I wondered – not today (or tomorrow) Josephine.

The stunning misty rainy views with houses dotting the sea-line were reminiscent of Scotland. I thought the micro-shrimps that I’d eaten in my spinach soup were kicking in. 26 27 kph with no effort, normally 20-21 or 9-14 in a headwind.

It’s a tail wind laddie. Yippee, I widened my hardly used yellow Raleigh cycling cape like a sail and hummed oops there goes another lollipop tree.

At about 11am I pulled off the almost deserted road and immediately entered a swarm of schoolkids heading home for lunch on ebikes, no helmets and 2 or 3 per bike; I stood my ground and, as anyone who has driven in Asia knows – size really does matter. Being twice their size and probably three times their weight I was like moses parting the Red Sea. Responding to the hundreds of hellos whats your name I cornered one vehicle and got the three lads to show me the way to a cafe for caphe and warm tea. The demure lady of the cafe I think said no but my charming smile and repeated questions Caphe? won her over. Good timing as it really peed down cats and dogs.

I arrived so quickly in the welcome afternoon sun that I went off the main road down to the coastal area little expecting the pristine empty beach.

My guest-house bedside guide gives the rates for nights and for by the hour – Oh do please hurry up Thony darling you never normally take this long & we’ve only 5 minutes left on the timer and I really must shower before meeting mummy ………….

Tuesday I’ll hopefully be in Hue – midway line in the Vietnam/USA war.

Traveled from the posh resort xxx where they had no cold beer and only 3-in-1 instant coffee. Wonderful location on a beach on an isthmus! Great bed and plenty of space for the bike indoors.

New laptop purchased damaged one in for repair. Rest day after yesterday’s (for me) marathon especially hard with the sun and the headwind.

Went to Mr Phu’s delightful Nha Nghi Guest House some 30km NE of Ha Tinh. Great food each evening and some ‘wine’ with Mr P. There was some discussion via google translate over the differences between wine and home-made whisky (they call it wine).

Yesterday’s slow puncture was caused by a tiny fracture in the valve stem. Tube replaced by a spare, manual pumping is good for one. Last night I’d managed to travel the last 25km with help from the splendid roadside puncture repair guys, not one would take any money, one offered me a mighty hit on his bong.

received yet more friend and family bad news. My cousin Tom died of a sudden heart attack aged but sixty two.

Leaving the lacklustre and dirty hotel in a cool pea-souper with my screen shattered laptop (yesterday’s rocky tracks) I headed out for the longest planned ride yet to a great looking resort in the middle of nowhere.

I was soon on the coast, the surf sounds gave the game away. Again a long open wide empty road. Ignoring the ridewithgps advice I found an empty old concrete road close to the sea which went on and on plus no dogs or honking cars but a few happy ruminants. Rwgps was going ape, the map showed a long peninsular with a dead end then an estuary rwgps of course wanted the long way round, this possible new road once again too recent and unfinished to be on available maps. Yet there was massive road construction heading north towards me. No one surely would build a tarmac 4 lane elevated (flood defence?) roadway starting from nothing – would it have a bridge yet?

Three ladies cutting forage assured me (I thought) the road crossed the nuoc / water. They also offered me food which was touching.

The bridge had been tarred, getting off to photo and get over the metalwork toothy junctions was a sticky affair. I recall Hastings pebbly beach, mum always took margarine to remove the inevitable tar lumps dropped by passing boats. It also had an intriguing sewage tunnel to explore while mum was reading a book.

After the bridge, and again ignoring the lost route squawking I made my way back to the original shoreside road. Trees, fields, surf and occasional cafes and not yet sunny made for a great ride

Fish farming was on a monumental scale, the lagoons contain devices to make the water circulate. Lots of shrimps being dried on the roadside, waiter there’s grit in my meal. Having no sense of smell was beneficial on this stretch.

Many local fishing boats and I saw my first motorised rigid coracle. Happy days indeed. 1230 I need to eat, the hotel’s breakfast was scant and a very noisy Korean slurping noodles did not help. Being low season the Bun n Pho places were all shut so I gorged slightly on candy and fruit.

As the sun got hotter I was tiring and at 1330 with 65km left I found a welcome tasty lunch in a spotless roadside cafe. Nice chat with dear Miss Giang xx. 200m from a large high bridge.

Ignoring rwgps’ attempts to route me around towns n fields on old concrete I carried on with the main road, again wide and relatively empty. Headwind knocked me down from an easy 22 kph to 14 or less. I went through a town to escape it and get a caffeine lift. All shut! A nice church with a welcome chocolate Just one Cornetto.

Time for true grit keep those legs pumping. As the sun was going down I saw a busy tavern, an oasis of pleasure 16km left but on quiet country mud roads but needs must. I did my creaking gait John Wayne walk and got 2 “beers” served by two of the charming bar maids. Based on a guys comments it may have been a pickup joint as well. I told the drunken twat the girls looked young enough to be his daughters.

I finally arrived safely with headlamps on full beam. A massive empty resort, and the food was eye wateringly expensive. Spare ribs with garlic fried pumpkin did the trick and were excellent. Imagine no cold beer ffs and an empty fridge. Cold box and ice plus patience paid off. Staff were having a party haha no guests, the receptionist gave me rather tasty local whisky in a coffee cup.

After 12 or more years of abuse my offside and favourite ortlieb pannier lost a Tor screw. All nuts tightened now but missing one.

Nice room and premises with the surf outside the bedroom window.

Off to find new laptop and a roadside motorbike mechanic for new ortlieb bolt. Bit of a rest day, no route planned.

A placeholder. Editing on a phone is tricky

Being sad to leave the delightful Miss Minty Ha, her willowy friend Nam and her gleaming establishment but greatly consoled by having my helmet decorated by her fair hand (now now, don’t chortle). The alibangbang and caterpillar mounted next to Noddy and the fixed bottle-cage nice mementos.

Today would prove to be one of the finest riding days, small city streets, mud tracks by the canals and rivers, a railway track plus good weather.

I tried a pristine white road, it went parallel to the RWGPS prescribed route so twas bound to join up later. Wrong. I ended up at a small shack at a watery dead-end. The lady warned me to stop but I went on to have a look and consider a wade…

Whilst still in the outskirts I met a man who looked like he’d just stepped out from Belsen, he was slowly pushing a child in a home made trolley (with chair castors instead of wheels) over the rough concrete roadway. Right next to him was a curious place where they made pony sized decorated wicker ponies and dragons. The ladies were all too shy to be photographed. Any idea what these were for gratefully received please.

Deep in rural countryside I saw lots of frames pointing sunwards. Solar panels perhaps? I realised afterwards that it must be tobacco drying

Annoyingly I realised that I had a slow puncture at midday. Whilst pumping as best I could, I attracted half a dozen curious well wishers including the garbage-lady. A young girl was sent to fetch a footpump that turned out to be more of a deflater than inflator so I started again whilst not in the shade. I made it to the rather dirty, out of the way Hotel due to the admirable roadside Rua Xe puncture and motorbike maintenance guys. Not one would accept even one dong but offered Tea and a hit on a bamboo whistling bong.

I left the puncture repair till the morning at 430 am. Early to bed early to rise. Turned out it was a very slow puncture caused by a fractured valve stem.

The reception toilets looked like a rural Indian railway station. Breakfast was dire and noisy with the other guest, a Korean noodle-slurper, sounding like a small herd of cows walking through a muddy field. New inner tube inserted and it was off we jolly well go.

Before leaving the homestay I went up to the Primate Rescue Centre nearby in the National Forest Area. They recue many monkeys taken as pets mostly by the chinese and also to make their medecines, as if CV19 was not enough to hoist on the world. It’s a vast place but you are allowed to cycle round. As I was the first tourist in I was welcomed to the sound of the gibbons’ breakfast chorus

The wooded scenery soon gave way to a very agricultural vista with hectares of pineapples and so many new roads being built all the maps are out of date. Noticeable how may houses had catered for pitched roofs but had not built them.

The gradual descent through farmland and small villages was ever accompanied by kids shouting hello what’s your name.

The last 30km were a nightmare due to being unable to escape the dusty wide QLIA main highway. I did find a few pleasant side roads and it was obvious that blokes like me were unusual visitors.

There was one place on a side road I managed to get to that had a strip of stones monolithic, carved and even some made to look like cactusville villages with bonsai trees and cottages.

Once into Thanh Hoa outskirts it was big smiles cycling again. Large wide roads with lots of men in lycra cycling gear riding around.

I found the Bijou Mint Homestay tucked away on a smart boulevarde adjacent to the city Railway station, everywhere was clean and vibrant. Miss Minty Ha, the owner built the house which is decorated to a very high standard. The beautiful and charming owner Miss Ha took me off to eat and meet some of her friends, many were completely myopic but charming with it.