24 June 2016

We woke fairly early in the noisy hotel in Quảng Ngãi and decide to pack up and head on towards the Central Highlands. As we get downstairs we find both of our bikes have been moved from where we were told to park them, for no particular good reason. We then have the usual audience of people watching as we pack the bikes and make a move to head out of town. On the way out we take the chance to stop and grab a banh mi sandwich with freshly fried egg in it also. We manage to find a quiet ish area on the side of the road just out of town to eat our delicious breakfast.

Banh Mi

The road itself is exceptionally busy with a lot of motorbikes and small trucks. Thankfully the condition of the road is reasonable, but with all the traffic it’s a very dusty start to the ride. The traffic begins to ease up after about 10-15km as we get to increasingly more rural areas in the foothills. We are planning to connect up to a route recommended by Jamie and Bec a few days earlier, and with that are aiming to shortcut across the first range of hills to meet the QL24. As the road begins to wind gently up the hills, the traffic drops off and the villages become smaller and more sparsely populated. Then as we turn a corner with the hills in front of us, the road deteriorates to a very rough rocky dirt track. We both ride a few hundred metres up the track, but it becomes difficult to handle even in 1st and 2nd gear, and leads to Tracey getting an exhaust burn on her leg. I take my bike up another few hundred metres to see if the road improves, but unfortunately it gets even worse, and descending back down in a fully laden bike over the rounded loose rocks and gravel was a tricky affair. We make the decision to back track and head round further to the north hoping for a better road.

We opt for the TL625, and begin to wind up an amazing climb through rain forest on decent Tarmac and almost no traffic. A couple of beautiful waterfalls on the left on the ride up and some stunning views back towards the east. Once we cross over the top of the pass and begin the descent we are on the look out for somewhere to stop for a break in the shade.

We luck upon a small stream that passes under the road and park up. Is a perfect place for a break, dangling feet in the cool water and some snacks and drinks before heading off back down the road in the heat. There is a fair amount of road repairs being undertaken on the western slopes, with he road single lane in many places and freshly laid concrete roads. The new surfaces are dusty and quite slippery, which leads to Tracey having a small bike drop incident on one of the steeper sections. A local helps her lift the bike, and we then park up for a break to check the bike over and tighten a few things up. Tracey got away completely unscathed from the drop thankfully.

After finishing off the descent on the TL625, we turn to the south and join the QL24B as it winds its way along the valley floor alongside the river and beautiful views. A great section of road and very little traffic except for locals.

As the QL24B becomes the QL24 it begins to climb steeply with lots of twists, turns and switchbacks. A total climb of over 800metres over the next 5-10km in some fantastic sections of road.
The switchbacks continue for many many km and the road is living up to the hype Jamie had described it with. Unfortunately however the weather in the late afternoon begins to close in and get damp, making for slippery riding conditions. Out of nowhere we arrive in an area high in the mountains that has exceptionally wide perfect Tarmac and huge mansions on the side of the road. It’s in this small development we spot a hotel at the side of the road and choose to pull in and stop for the night.

The hotel itself had a karaoke out the back, and a few floors with hotel rooms. We had a nice room on the first floor with plenty of space. Whilst we were showering up and working out what to do for food, we realised quite how cold it was, and dug out proper jackets for the first time on the trip.

After checking on the internet there appears to be a decent rated restaurant within a few km, so we take one bike and set off to find it in the dark. When we eventually get there we find its closed and is clearly a daytime venue at what looks to be a tourist area with waterfalls and the like. We back track towards where we are staying and then head on to the back roads through the local town. This area is not so well developed and has a very local feel. There are a few restaurants, but they appear to be closed when we pull up. We then ride past a street side stall that has a bbq rotisserie and a bunch of locals. So we stop and choose a duck from the bbq which is then served with some delicious rice dish and vegetables and beers served over ice cubes.

The family that own the stall are all sat around chatting and laughing, and have a really small puppy that they are all playing with. After dinner we are passed the puppy and spend some time holding it and playing with it before handing it back and heading back to the hotel just as the rain starts.

Full days route here:

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1227397292