18 May 2016

A very broken nights sleep. Hot, broken air con (that turned itself off every 20 minutes), and exceptionally noisy. Note to self – don’t stay in a hotel that also advertises karaoke in the same building!

Up and away early this morning, for the reasons mentioned above. A quick stop off to pick up some bread (banh my) and donuts for snacking on. We roll out of town heading south in search of somewhere to pull over and have a bite of breakfast. After 30km of cruising through country towns and fairly heavy traffic and we find a place overlooking a river. A small boat is ferrying people and motorbikes to and fro across the river. We enjoy our breakfast of fresh donuts and watch the world go by. A lot of beeps and waves from passing lorries and bikes. Then a bike pulls up with two women and a table top on board. The women dismount and walk over to us. They seem determined to have a conversation (despite language barriers), and we manage to share where we have come from. They then suggest a photo and as one of the women gets out her camera phone, the other joins Tracey and I for a picture. First picture – Eddie, Tracey and then the other lady on Traceys right. It seems this picture didn’t cut it…. So the order is changed – lady on left, then me, then Tracey. It becomes apparent when the photo is being taken that this photo is being skewed to just me and the lady. Seemed to make their day, and gave us a good giggle.
Breakfast done with, and we set off down the road towards the big Coc Lake area. A huge amount of road works being done in this area. Roads are busy but are in excellent condition. Next to no pot holes and on the whole freshly surfaced. The contra flow arrangements at the roadworks however are exceptionally interesting. Whilst there is a man at both ends waving a stick to advise who has right of way – this is merely a gesture. Reality is that at most roadworks, all traffic just continues at will and the largest vehicle then demands right of way, forcing other vehicles in to either the freshly laid bitumen or the rough at the side of road. Best bet in these situations…. Place yourself behind an articulated lorry!
A rather random scene presented itself as we rolled along these sections of road. As we enter a small town, there is a completely naked man at the side of the road. Everything around him is going on as if this is a normal every day scene. A slightly odd sight!
Shortly after our brush with nudity, I look in my mirrors and see Tracey is stretching legs on the bike, so decide it’s time to pull in for a rest. A nice little stop at the side of the road for some fresh sugar cane juice. Absolutely delicious and completely refreshed us.
I’m noticing more and more through the day that my bike is difficult to handle at low speed, and have been putting it down to bad weight distribution or a slightly buckled wheel from previous day’s rough track riding. As we stop in a small town for a toilet stop at a garage, I decide to check the rear wheel. To my horror, I immediately spot a broken spoke. Closer investigation shows 4 broken. We ride exceptionally gingerly to try and find a mechanic – weight on the front wheel to save the rear. Thankfully it’s only a few hundred metres and we find a mechanic. We pull in, and through pointing and sign language I explain the problem. I unload the bike, and then we’re offered tea whilst we watch the mechanic set about removing the rear wheel and tyre, and replacing the spokes and truing up the wheel. A 30 minute job end to end and a mere 50,000 VND (for the 5 spokes that it ended up needed replaced).

Five spokes!

Feeling like I’m on a brand new bike, we tear off towards our final destination for the day. A mere 15 km along the road. Traffic picked up to fairly hectic levels. Rolling in to town at around 3.30 p.m. we stop for ice cream and a drink before finding a place for the night. A search on google and we locate a Nga Nghi less than 400m away with good reviews. A touch harder to locate than we anticipated, but after a few loops of the block we find the place. A quick check of the room and we check in, shower and make a few calls home.
Dinner time! Absolutely starving, we set off around the block to find a place to eat. A few options, all very very local. We step in to a small local place with a few patrons in there. Ordering is a case of walking to the kitchen and pointing. What then came out way was delicious – spring rolls, pork with cracking, steamed morning glory, lamb stew, rice and a couple of beers…. All for 140,000VND. Perfect end to the day.

Full route for the day :

https://connect.garmin.com/modern/activity/1173429294