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.