Riding at night is an option

   6:14 and Van Gia was in my rear view mirror.  Only thirty-five miles to Nha Trang.  By 8:30 the heat  and humidity were turning me into sweaty a mess.  Trying to ward off dehydration I kept pouring down the water. A brief stop to wash the salt out of my eyes, I pedaled on.  Mountains on either side of me, I was expecting another mountain pass but somehow the road twisted around them.  Only as came down the last few miles did I hit a mile of climbing.  The road looked flat but it was an optical illusion,  I had to keep downshifting, slowing down to a creep.  Finally Nha Trang can into view with all its shoreline high rises.  Only 10:00 and it felt it was the mid afternoon.  At a cafe, I search and found a hotel in the center of town.  Dan Potter had put me in touch with two of his Vietnamese friends who recommended a Homestay.  Checked it out online and it was way out of my budget. They claimed it was the another site but I wasn’t about to wait to have them (Vimala and Ud) figure it out, given my overheated body and desire to find a place to park myself.  A two night stay will help fortify me for the last stretch to Ho Chi Ming City, 260 miles.
      Cleaned up, washed the clothes, took a nap and headed to the beach waterfront.  Strolled down both directions before stopping at a beach Tiki bar for a beer.  Round eyed westerners were everywhere, particularly the fat Americans, hard to miss. One seat down, a Vietnamese guy (Peter Doan) and I struck up a conversation. He started a interior design business ten years earlier where he designs layouts for large office buildings and hotels. He now employs sixty employees and works with dozens of subcontractors.  I filled him in about my doings in return. Next thing we were in a cab headed out for dinner where we would meet his friends at a Vietnamese fish restaurant.  His meditation/yoga instructor, her husband and twelve year old son joined us.  A very gay friend/follower of the meditation instructor arrived next..  It was interesting to get the gay twenty/five year old’s take on being gay in Vietnam.  The long rectangle table filled with one dish after another, an amazing spread of food. My chopstick practice paid off. Our conversation was lively.  The gay kid, Peter and the mediation instructor’s command of English kept things moving.  Peter had a plane to make back to Saigon so he called a cab and got me back to my hotel and he to the airport. Pictures taken, Facebook connections made and I hope we meet again.
     What a day. Tomorrow I site-see and rest up for my ride to Cam Ranh.  I need to start off earlier to minimize the heat and humidity.

Still fighting the heat and the mountains

    A shorter ride of forty miles changes nothing, the strategy remains the same.  I got an early start at 6:40 from Tuy Hoa. Flat and steady for a good hour before mountains appeared and the road was heading right for them.  Hugging the coast helped but I still had to climb a modest mountain pass.  The heat and humidity were my constant companion. Spectacular views interspersed with islands and house boats out in the distant bays made for a good visuals while I made my way up, down and around following the coast.  A break for lunch at a third world roadside restaurant set me up for the last eight miles to Van Gia.  I drifted through town and decided to visit the shoreline where I thought the hotels would be located. Being a fishing village morphed into small city, the developers have not come to town yet.  Hotels were not readily apparent even online while cooling off at a cafe.  As I was leaving to wander the streets, a waiter (Hein, pronounced Hing) approached me and offered to fill my water bottles.  Returning with water and ice in each of my bottles, I asked if he know of any local hotels.  He pointed to the waterfront.  Five minutes down the road, he suddenly appeared on his motorbike and motioned for me to follow.  Winding through the back side streets, he led me to what was the only decent hotel in the city.  Without much ado, he rode off.  Later that evening I had dinner there and thanked Hein again. He let me take his picture for the record.   Dinner was a feast and I will need the fuel for tomorrow’s ride to Nha Trang forty miles south.  I will rise st 5:00 and try to get off by  6:15.

Long day, hot day

My earliest start ever, 6:25. Just out of Quy Nhon, the hills began and heat and sun bore down.  Following the shoreline was scenic, boat houses spread out along the bays, but I could have done without a few of the hills. Trying to cut down on the miles covered,  I broke away from route one and went straight through a town.  I cut down on the miles but not the time.  A killer hill hit me which had me walking for ten minutes.  Enough of trying to out smart the road configuration.  With thirty-four miles behind me and twenty-four to go, I pulled off: one mango, four cheese sticks, bread, tea vitamin drink and finishing it off with dark chocolate.  What to do with my trash?  Vietnam has no trash receptacles and trash is everywhere so I carry mine until I get to my destination. The country is on the move but trash is everywhere.  I see people cleaning up their storefronts and in front of their houses but that is it.  Not a National priority, I guess.
    Back on the road, 10:13 and the heat was pushing ninety.  Hugging the coast cut down on the monsters hills but not enough for the hills to go away.  I keep hoping.  No shade, blazing heat, climbing over the heat radiating road surface, sweating profusely, pouring down the water, on and on it went. With sixteen miles remaining, I pulled over after a tough grind to the top of a hill to a small store and took a second break for three sodas and a grapefruit. Hydrated as much as possible, I pushed on until I arrived in Tuy Hoa, 58.74 miles. The town is new essentially and not much flavor to it other than the waterfront.  Found a good place, did the usual, bought some road food and dined out at a chain restaurant, the same as the one I went to several days back with the grill built into table and a buffet.  Nha Trang is seventy-two miles and too far for one day, so I will do two short days.

A lazy day mixed with a little site seeing

   Slept in to 6:30 and drifted down stairs and sat around talking to the various westerners and Vietnamese lounging about on the tiny outside patio just off the quiet side street.  While it was still cool enough I rode over to the other side of town and visited the brick towers which date back over a thousand years ago. Two sixty foot brick structures that seem to be large ceremonial chimneys.  Several very steep stairs brought me up into this ten by ten foot room which was open to the sky.  One of these two towers leans slightly, adding to its charm.  The indigenous people (Khmer) who were pushed south by the northern Vietnamese tribes, built several of these towers in this general  area.  UNESCO has designated these structures as world heritage sites and the remaining indigenous  people are active in their preservation. Yesterday,  about twelve miles out of town, I came across another such ornate structure atop a large hill.
      Once back at the hotel, I had lunch and just lounged around.  Went out for dinner and then sought out a sweet dessert across the main plaza/park by the waterfront.  Tomorrow the heat index will be spiking upwards so I will be up early to get my riding in before noon.

From rice and fruit to coconuts and wheat

   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.

Early start, good ride, amazing evening

 A sleep on a rock hard mattress made it tough getting up at 5:30.  Nevertheless, the pedals started turning at 6:40.  I record I believe but anything to beat the heat and humidity.  Fifty-five miles went fairly effortlessly.  Hugging the shore, the road narrowly skirted a series of mountains.  A few short hills but I was spared.  I passed Bông Son thinking the small town I passed could not be the right place. Quickly realizing I was about to head back into countryside with nothing in sight, I spotted a hotel on the outskirts and pulled in.  A 11:50 arrival, 55 miles traveled and the heat had just started to crank up.  Not more than ten minutes after checking in and bring my gear upstairs, a van showed up with ten college student and two faculty members.  Taking the rooms next to mine, we hit off right away.  An invitation to dinner followed, 18:00.  
     With my clean up routine complete and tomorrow’s route determined, I zonked out for and hour. Later, I decided the bike needed a wash, it was layered in dirt and grime.  The guy at the counter gave me the bucket and soup.  Sitting on one of those small plastic chairs with my hand brush in hand, I scrubbed for about an hour. Later, I filled the water bottles and picked up a few tea drinks for the road.  The group of students and I rendezvoused and headed into the small town of Bong Son where we found a restaurant specializing in these Vietnamese pancakes.  Sitting me in the middle, the food and beer began arriving. One of the girls showed how to make the rice wrap with the pancakes and veggies inside.  It looked easy but I made a mess on my first and only attempt. The girl across from me took over and kept making them for me for the entire meal.  We all talked while the students squeezed out a bit of English with the two faculty, Huy and Binh, translating.  It was a scene, pictures flashing, toasting with our beer glasses and on it went for a good hour and a half.  I was seated in the front of the van as we drove back and forth from the restaurant.  A nice little town with a colorfully lighted bridge and other street pole decorative lights added to the character to the place. Back at the hotel we all Facebooked each other and more pictures followed.  As I am learning, they love Americans, as odd as that may sound.  Me being on a bicycle intrigued them even more.  Perhaps someday when the government allows students to do exchange programs, I may see a few of them on my door step.

Rain instead of heat

  5:45  I was up before the alarm played Bolero.  Thinking I was the early bird, I looked out the window about 6:30 and saw kids playing soccer on a a rough field of grass.  Now I have figured out why I see schools letting around mid morning to noon.  They are doing what I am catching onto. Get up around 5:00 and beat the heat and humidity.
    I was on the the road out of Tam Ky at 7:06 with seventy kilometers to Quang Ngai.   An hour into the ride, the sky darkened and the rain and wind arrived.  Nothing serious but enough to put on my hi tech poncho.  Actually, no kidding, it is a made of a very light material with loops for the arms, a strap for the bars, draw straps to tighten up the skirt and hood.  It wasn’t cheap but a lot less than the sleek riding jackets which only turn you into a sweaty mess.  My poncho allows the air to circulate and cuts down on the accumulation of body moisture. Moving right along, I bucked a head wind a light rain for two hours. A short stop for some noodle and beef soup gave me the mid morning boost to finish the ride to Quang Ngai.  In the center of town, sipping down mango tea I found a nice hotel a short ride around the corner. An Englishman happened in and we talked a while.  The My Lai massacre site is s short ride which he thought I should see. There is a museum there commemorating the event. I passed, not needing to relive what was a very dark day in our military involvement in Vietnam.
      The hotel fit the bill despite the four floor walk up to my room.  The owner sat me down with her family and feed me watermelon, nice friendly way of starting things off. The usual clean up followed, i.e, washing clothes in the sink, mapping out tomorrow’s ride and finally a nap. Out the door to check out the town brought me to an a large four story building housing a shopping mall.  Second one I have seen, not the usual sprawl we are accustomed to seeing.  City land is tight and so the buildings go up and not out.  Bought some road food at the supermarket and then spotted a restaurant. An amazing experience, a Vietnamese style Benihana arrangement with a grill set into the middle of the table.  A wattress helped me through the whole process. First the buffet table filled with Vietnamese food, followed by the delivery of a three layer rack of different meats thinly cut.  Twice, wattresses came by to replace the grilling grate.  Two beers, a kiwi ice smoothie followed by a self service soft ice cream finished off the meal. The wattress offered me a fork but I stuck with the chopsticks. I loved the scene, it was so much fun. This shopping plaza was alive with everyone with the accompanying cacophony of noise.  The play areas for the teens on down out did anything I have ever seen at home.  You have to experience this place first hand to appreciate the energy packed into this building.
     Tomorrow, I rise at 5:30 to get off before seven.