Huế to Lăng Cô

It was a nice sunny day today and I didn’t feel like leaving the hotel. They are such nice people there – husband, wife, daughter, and grandma. they were so nice that I did a review of the place, and that doesn’t happen often.

I went to the nice coffee shop around the corner. Everything here is so convenient. I was quickly out of the city with a couple of Banh Mi in the bar bag and one just eaten. These may be the best I’ve had here, but I say that all the time. Regardless, they were very nice.

Komoot had some highlights marked, so I routed that way and boy, I was glad I did. It was classic Vietnam with rice paddies, villages, narrow lanes and water buffalo all the way.

At one point I was behind an old lady riding her bicycle one handed. In the other hand she held two chickens by the feet. I thought they had been freshly killed but then they started looking at me. I was amazed at her skill for her age. Hope I can ride that well then.

There was some roadwork that blocked the road completely, so I backtracked and chose between east and west roads to go around it. There was no other traffic, and of course I chose the wrong way. My sandy road disappeared under water after a couple of kms. I was surprised at how bad Google maps could be in this area.

Back on the right road, it was school’s-out-for-lunch time and the road temporarily filled with happy smiling kids all practicing their three sentences of English. Some of the older boys practiced extending their middle fingers to me, but they got the cold shoulder and quickly left.

I eventually came to the hilly part and there was a tunnel that would have made things easier, but I’d been warned about cyclists not being allowed through with officials on my side of the tunnel. I was feeling energetic, so I did the first climb. So glad I did, as the view on both sides was fantastic. I stopped and finished my lunch, sitting on the guard rail of the almost deserted road, and then of course, the downhill was fantastic.

A few kms further on, there was another tunnel, but I didn’t see how it could be avoided, and the locals told me it was fine to go through. As I got closer, an official told me to ride on the narrow, elevated walkway which suited me just fine. It was pretty short but as loud as it could possibly be.

The run into Lang Co was pretty easy after that and when I arrived, I checked the accommodation options. Not much between a guesthouse / hotel and a resort, so I opted for the recommended guesthouse on the main road. Again, very nice people who let me park the bike in their living area 😁

After daily chores, I went for a walk to the beach. mmmmm. It’s definitely seen better days, and the waves and water were rough and ugly.

I wondered what else there could have been in this place to justify resorts and hotels, until I walked back and saw the big sealake at the back of the hotel. It was beautiful but as usual here, everything has a purpose, so the promenade was full of fisherman’s gear etc, along with the usual broken pavers and garbage. However, there was no disguising the natural beauty of the place.

My issue with restaurants in coastal areas here is that they are almost exclusively seafood places, which doesn’t suit me. So, I was relieved to find an alternative about 10m from the hotel.

I sat and had dinner while watching the sunset over the mountains and marvelled at the changing colour of the sky and lake. I kept leaving my meal to dash across the road and take another photo. After the second time, the owners of the restaurant worked out what was happening and weren’t concerned.

And that brings me to a point I’ve raised previously – the natural beauty of some places in SE Asia is in real danger of being ruined by garbage and broken everything, which creates a backdrop of eyesores in a place that is really above that. It’s easy to photograph beautiful scenes and crop out the ugly bits but it doesn’t always reflect the sad reality – that so much here is dilapidated.

I slept lightly while listening to the truck traffic on Highway 1, just 30 metres away.