Dalat to Nha Trang
Do we go to Nha Trang or not? There were mixed reviews coming from all the travellers we met. Some said it was the best night out ever, others said it was a scummy city with not much going on. In the end the map decided it for us when we zoomed in and found the twistiest road iv ever seen. That sold it to us and then someone reccomended a hostel so we were sorted.
It was a long hot slog out of Dalat passing millions of poly-tunnels. The city is the vietnamese favorite holiday destination in the mountains. It must be a thousand meters or so up and it noticably cooler, helped by the whole town being built around a massive lake. Im not sure if its natural or damed up but its a really lovely place to walk. Its also the city of love and has a massive flower production industry all grown in poly-tunnels.
Once we climbed out of the Dalat we got a view of the most amazing valley. There was a ribbon of tarmac pinned to the edge of the mountains curling through the trees. We all stood at the top looking off a cliff at the run down to the coast. There was a nice cool stream shooting off the edge which was great to dip my feet in. They get so hot and sweaty in my boots it was amazing to sit at the top looking over the amazing ride to come.
The ribbon did not disapoint. We hit about 70-80kmh coming down there. Not because the engine could do it but because the roads were so steep. I just had to pull in the clutch and coast to pick up speed. It was like a video game banking round wide corners keeping as much speed as possible, dodging pot holes and gravel, playing chicken with suicidal bus drivers. It was hilarious fun!
The road went from mountainous race course to flat farm land almost instantly. The mountains looked like wallpaper on the sky at the edge of a green carpet of rice fields. We blasted along a dead straight road towards Latrang.
The reccomended hostel was pretty easy to find and had 4 beds in a dorm which was great. A whole room to ourselves meant we didnt have to lock all our valuables away. We stuck the bikes in the compound and raced up to the roof for the sunset. They also had a happy hour where all the beer was free so we made use of that facility then went to get dinner. I’ve really enjoyed all the interesting food but my stomach is protesting so I had a bacon cheese burger and chips. It was exactly what the doctor ordered and was actually really good! We also made friends with the bar manager and he put the rugby on. Unfortunately the time difference meant we wouldnt see the England game. But we saw the other two and I got slaughtered at connect 4. Mike is a boss at that game!