Central Highlands and Dalat

The ride out of Ho Chi Minh City was just as bad as the ride in, lots of traffic and tooting.  We rode for approximately 70 klms before we turned off to Dalat and we were still in the suburbs.  We were expecting a big change in the scenery as we took Highway 20 but we rode for two days before we saw any real countryside, just lots of small villages very close together and an incredible amount of traffic on a road with a very bad surface, potholes all the way.  We were worried we would not be able to find accommodation along this road but we need not to have because we found good guest houses all the way. Once we were in the countryside we passed rubber plantations, coffee plantations, many vegetable farms and then pine plantations.  There were lots of hills, first ups and downs then the last two days with lots of up, one stretch was 14 klms straight up, just to clear out the arteries.  We have not had hills since Perth so we were a bit out of practice. The hills and tropical lushness of this area made a pretty picture, making the effort to come up here all worthwhile.  As we ventured higher the traffic lessened, but the road did not improve with the exception of one stretch on our last day when we rode about 20klms of a six lane highway with a barrier between the motor/push bikes and the trucks, then it abruptly stopped.  We anticipated the trip would take about 4 days, but it took us 6.  We could not cover as many klms as we expected in a day because of the state of the road,  it was not possible to freewheel down hills because of the real fear of hitting a pothole and coming off the bike.  The weather was in the thirties each day but as we got higher the evenings became cooler and our early morning starts gave us an opportunity to ride for a couple of hours before the heat built up. This area does not see many westerners, the coaches bus people straight through so were a bit of a novelty and people openly stared at, some people on a motor bike rode up beside us, stayed beside us while they had a good look, then driove off.  The locals were very helpful when we stopped for a drink or to eat, they did not speak English and we did not understand Vietnamese, but with the phrase book and gesturing we were normally able to make ourselves understood.  Country people in both Cambodia and Vietnam stare at our legs and we thought it was because we wore shorts.  One day when we sitting at an outside café the woman serving us came up and touched Heather’s leg shaking her head then we realized it was our tan that disturbed her and others. Vietnamese and Cambodian women cover up from the sun always wearing a hat and face mask and when on a motor bike also wear long gloves and socks with their thongs, which they take off as soon as they are in the shade. Mike wears shorts sleeves and shorts all year round and always has a tan but above his shirt sleeve never sees the sun and the contrast is marked, so while the woman was worried about Heather’s tan Mike pulled up his sleeve and the poor woman was astounded, she burst out laughing and called others to come and have a look, so now he has a new party trick.  Food was again an issue for us, there is just so much Pho’, the national dish, you can eat.  One night we ended up in a karaoke bar eating finger food for a change, we did not sing, perhaps we should have had more to drink.  Beer is very cheap here a bottle of the local brew costs about 60 cents, it is never cold enough so ice is added. The last climb to Dalat was 7klms long so we were glad to get here.  Dalat was quite a surprise, this area was neutral during the war and people moved here because of the peace and has grown dramatically in recent years, a new, modern, clean city with a mild climate and no obvious poverty, some of the houses are mansions.  We booked into the Peace Hotel which has a café in the lobby and serves lovely food, it is here we have met some interesting people – Jamie, a 25 year old from England who is riding from Bangkok to London by himself and is raising money for a children’s hospital on the way and Adeena a young woman from South Africa who is riding alone on a motor bike through Vietnam.  Adeena has travelled a lot and is writing a book about her travels through the Stan countries by car a trip she did a couple of years ago. The weather is very mild and quite cool at night, such a contrast to the last six weeks, it has also rained each afternoon we have been here. We booked a trip with the infamous Easy Riders who took us on the back of their motorbikes further up the mountains to see a waterfall, a traditional Lat village and their weaving and the French Quarter. This area is the food basket of Vietnam, the cooler weather allows all types of fruit, vegetables and flowers to grow here and we discover this is the reason for the prosperity of Dalat. It was a cold day and for the first time since we left home on 25^th September we have to wear out warm coats.  Our trip down to the coast was a bit different to what we had expected.  First we had to climb up onto a higher mountain range, up into the clouds where it was cold and damp and vision was poor because of the mist.  This was a new road so the surface was good at first.  We passed more market gardens and locals going off the work, then the scenery changed to one of pristine mountains ranges, not a house or market in sight.  After riding 65 kms up we headed down past waterfalls and beautiful untouched forest for 35kms. using our brakes to slow us down as it was a steep descent, the road had been washed away in places and there were roadworks so we had to be careful. Once on the flat we cycled another 40 klms to Nha Trang, our longest day yet.