After miscalculating the days left in Vietnam, and realising I had to leave by the 30th of November, I was actually looking forward to going somewhere else. Vietnam can be exhilarating but also very irritating. Although I’ve enjoyed my time here, there are plenty of places I’d rather be.
For starters, they are the worst and most inconsiderate drivers that I’ve encountered. Today I saw the immediate aftermath of an accident that must have happened minutes before I got there. A poor old guy was knocked off his motorbike by a 4WD and he was lying by the road with a growing crowd around him.
My plan today was to enjoy the coastal run down to Tuy Hoa and then arrange a train ticket to Ho Chi Minh City. The highlight was going to be crossing the rickety bridge about 14kms south of Song Cau. Alas, it was largely underwater when I passed by, and I was forced to spend more time on the Highway as a result.
It also meant getting off the highway and going through a few villages to join back up with my intended route. In one of these villages, I stopped for my daily Banh Mi. The lady warned me about the price, holding up 10 fingers – 10,000 VND, and then hastily adding another 5,000 which I put down to tourist tax, and have no problem paying. I think they are entitled to it.
Another lady came over and told me, no no no you only pay 10,000, and she gave the stall owner an earful. (The other ladies in the background wanted to marry her off and thought we’d make a great pair). It got a bit tense until I got the message across that 15,000 is fine. Then she ‘forgot’ to give me my change and I had to ask for it. Not good, but the Banh Mi was very nice and that’s all that matters.
The rest of the ride was the usual, winding secondary roads with school kids and old people around – very peaceful except for the 4wds and vans speeding past.
The run into Tuy Hoa was quite strange. This is yet another place enjoying a coastal resort / condo building boom. There were a couple of kilometres of largely unfinished buildings near the beach. They’ll need a tourism and population explosion to fill them. Add these to similar building works all the way down the coast from Dong Hoi, and I simply can’t see everyone being successful. I just hope it works out and they don’t simply become abandoned buildings at the beach.
I rolled up to the station and got my ticket for 8pm tonight. Unfortunately I have a top row bunk in the first class sleeper carriage, but I think I’ll survive.
I dropped the bike off at 3pm then got a cheap hotel for 3-4 hours rather than hang around at the station until 8pm. I badly needed a shower after the ride and it was great to have a nap.
The train trip was interesting. There were 4 of us in the sleeper cabin and one guy was snoring before I had even got up to my bunk. Through the night, there was a pattern – train stops at a station, snoring guy goes out for a cigarette, comes back as the train pulls out and fills the cabin with his stench, starts snoring 3 minutes later, train stops at a station …
Next morning …
When I got to Saigon station, I waited a while, then asked about where to collect the bike. I went there and waited, then one guy shoo’d me away and suggested to go back towards the station. Everyone else at the station said to go back there. When I did, he was exasperated, shouted and shoo’d me away again. It was only 7am but he was already having a bad day.
I finally found a guy who understood and then waited 45 minutes. It took another 15 mins for the bike to arrive, and I was so relieved.
Next adventure was the ride to the hotel and that was a lot of fun. Unfortunately, I couldn’t check in until 2pm. It was only 8am, so I walked around for hours.
