As I rode out of Bong Son at 6:34, the sun was shining and the sky was blue. Less pollution revealing the blue sky for a change. It could be a hot one. Mountains to my left and having to climb a few hills had me a little worried but I moved along at over eleven mph all morning. Craving fruit I kept looking for fruit market stands. Coconuts everywhere but no fruit. With just over thirty miles ridden, I spotted a tented fruit stand down a side street on the other side. Fruit in Vietnam is amazing, many varieties I don’t have a clue as to what they are. Mangos, green oranges and grapes are my preferences.. Pulling up a chair in the shade of the stand, I devoured a bunch of grapes, a mango and an orange. A tea drink followed and I was off to finish the last twenty miles to Quy Nhon. All morning, mile after mile all I saw was wheat raked out over the road shoulders. A few individuals had used tarps under the wheat but most of it lay directly on the road. The chaff was also laid out for what looked like future food for the live stock. In Vietnam nothing is wasted.
As I closed in on Quy Nhon, an older adolescent pulled up by me and started speaking English. He lived up way a short way and wanted me to come to his house. With heat rising, I had to keep going. However, he explained that the area I was riding through was the original capital of Vietnam inhabited by people related to the Cambodians and Laotians. The Vietnamese pushed down from the north and took over. Further south there is an area when these people still exist and speak their own language. The state has television shows in their language in order to help preserve it. As well, this original group of people built various towers of stone, two of which I got a glimpse of in the distance.
Once in town, I reserved a room at a hotel while decompressing at a cafe with a coconut and straw. And of course, goggle ran me around in circles. Down a small side street, looking for the ‘Luxury Hotel’, two girls young school girls pointed down the road. Creeping along I came across a hotel with several westerners hanging out at a very inviting patio. I stopped, looked and one hippieish guy spoke out, “You look like you need a beer.” Different hotel but this was where I was stopping. The hotel was completed a month early and was modern and perfectly laid out, credit cards accepted. With my gear stashed in a very nice room, I parked myself on the patio and proceeded to hang out and talk with at least half a dozen people, all in their twenties and early thirties. Often on my trips abroad I meet young adults who have quit there jobs and hit the road for foreign lands. One American guy
, former navy enlistee, was running a small restaurant with his Indian girlfriend, cooking on the rooftop. Great food at prices so low it was a crime. Four days on the road, I deserved two nights at this place. After cleaning up and doing the usual, I walked down to the waterfront where I found a huge beach filled with swimmers and such. Across a large boulevard hotels abounded. Small mountains on either side of a two mile water front gave the town a nice feel. And of course, there was a huge park with an enormous gold leafed statue of two leaders of the revolution with a equally huge granite mural back drop. Keep in mind the motorbikes were everywhere with horns beeping. Set back from the back street were chairs and tables where everyone faced the water drinking fruit drinks from funky fruit drink stands lined up along the sidewalk. The city is a vibrant place. Walking back to my hotel, I walked the small back streets, taking in all the open front restaurants. The small chairs and the low tables with people eating and talking away. Real local flavor that makes Vietnam so interesting.
Back at the hotel Matt (the expat navy guy from Colorado) and his exotic Indian girl friend cooked me up an Marsala and rice dish, a bit hot but delicious. Now for a good nights sleep and a tour of the city and ancient towers tomorrow.
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