I said goodbye to the great people at Thanh Thanh Hotel and headed off.
When I plotted a route out of Quy Nhon, I noticed a small road that went beside the coast for the first part, so that’s what I followed.
It was concrete but overgrown in places, with no traffic. As I descended the final hill to a beach village, there was a set of large locked gates. Oh no.
Luckily the barbed wire fence ended, and there was a walking path which I managed to get the bike on to and then back on the road.
When I came to the village, there was a boom gate but I followed the GPS instructions and kept going until I hit another locked gate. I checked Google maps and kept going, but the road on the map didn’t exist, so I had to back track to the boom gate. It was some sort of gated community and felt quite strange.
Outside the village, I found a coffee shop as the rain became heavier, so I pulled in and tried to work out how to get back to the main road. It was a nightmare. There were lots of small lanes that went in all directions and only one or two emerged from this village. I eventually found a slightly bigger road which I thought was the escape route. Unfortunately, it was blocked by a marquee as they were setting up for a celebration, probably a wedding. So I rode through the marquee – there was no other option. After a few more turns I made it back to a recognisable road. If I lived in that place, I’d never remember how to get out 😁
So much for short cuts.
Today is Saturday and there was a fair amount of truck traffic but after a few kms all of the cars and trucks were stuck in a traffic jam. When I eventually got to see the cause, a truck’s trailer must have detached going up a hill, and rolled back to block the entire four lane road. They had chocked the wheels and waited for help with five or six guys sitting under the trailer out of the drizzle – not where I’d be sitting.
There were lots of unhappy drivers on both sides, and when it cleared, there was a convoy of impatience barreling down the highway. Luckily, I’d stopped in a petrol station to escape a heavy shower, and I sat and watched them all roar past.
Rain was intermittent for the rest of the ride, so the poncho went on and off a lot. To me the ride resembled a triathlon – partially a test of athleticism and partially a test of getting changed as quickly as possible.
The recommended hotel was the Hafaza, down by the river, and it’s absolutely fantastic. The receptionist even had an English script to read from for the check in process. It’s one of the nicest rooms I’ve stayed in on this trip and it’s 330k VND.
I had a late lunch of Bun Thit Nuong about 50m away at the corner. It was so good, I had another one. That got the same reaction of ordering two coffees – what ? One more ?
After sunset, I walked into the town proper for some food but didn’t find much. I’m sure the rain kept a few street vendors at home tonight. However, I found a Banh Mi stall, and that was enough for me.
