DA LAT & MUI NE
DA LAT
Night rider & a broken bike. We have a longer drive today than usual, so we are on the road from 9 am. We don’t have time to stay in both places, so we will drive through Da Lat and stay in Mui Ne. We had two options: keep to the amazing coastal route or head over the mountains. We thought a change in scenery was the way to go and look forward to some windy roads.
HIS BIKE FELL APART
My bike didn’t like it, to say the least. At times, I thought it wouldn’t make it. Phil’s bike wasn’t much better, but he has the Honda Wynd, so I couldn’t keep up with him on the incline. We stopped at some brilliant views to give the bikes a break, but we knew we couldn’t stop for long since we had so much ground to cover.
WHERE IS MUI NE?
Mui Ne
YO!
Heading down to Da Lat was fun. We stopped at a random shack of a bar/shop and saw a group of Vietnamese in fluorescent green jackets. We had actually seen them earlier when we were getting my bike looked at. The guys were keen on photos and very nice, while the girls just stared and giggled. We took a few photos, and they loved that we knew how to say ‘cheers’ in Vietnamese, so they said it all the time (Yo).
The leader spoke the best English and was interested in what we were doing and if we liked Vietnam. He then asked us to join them for lunch, which happens surprisingly often. We had just arrived and only opened a beer, so we said we would leave in five minutes and catch up with them.
THE LONG DAY CONTINUES
As it was mostly downhill, we put the foot down and tried to catch up but never found them. Not sure if they stopped early and we couldn’t see them because there is no way they were faster. Most of them were sharing bikes! We were so gutted! Probably another thing we missed out on because of time restraints.
I would have loved another experience with the locals because staying at the guesthouse was so nice! Could you imagine that happening at home? Not a chance! Anyway, we made it to Da Lat, had a drive around, and got my bike looked at again. The guy was busy and didn’t seem too interested. Bite to eat, FaceTime the rents, and then off to Mui Ne. Today is turning into a long, long drive!
DA LAT
Da Lat is in the mountains, so it’s pretty much downhill from now, and we can enjoy giving it a good go, and that we did! It was like a racetrack with no other cars on the road, and before long, you could smell the brakes. But we couldn’t hold off as we were trying to get off the mountain roads by dark because our headlights are so ineffective.
BROKEN BIKE
Heading down the mountain, Phil’s bag rack snapped off, taking the tail light and Phuc Yoo (the teddy) with it! I couldn’t stop laughing; it was hilarious! I stopped immediately, but he didn’t notice and kept going until he eventually realized I wasn’t behind him. It took at least another five minutes for him to come back, and even then he didn’t realize. He thought I had crashed when he saw the luggage thrown across the road and my bike on the ground. Then he looked at the bag and where it should have been!
NIGHT RIDER
It was getting dark, and we had planned to finish the mountain roads before nightfall, but darkness came quickly. Before we knew it, it was pitch black, and I mean pitch black. Our headlights were useless, and Phil’s tail light was causing problems. Without a red cover, his brake light was like a full beam in my eyes. I couldn’t stop laughing because he didn’t realize he was blinding everyone behind him.
Luckily, the roads weren’t busy and reminded me of country roads in Northern Ireland. Most of the time, you couldn’t see anything. Cars coming the other way gave the only clue to where the road was. When they got close, you couldn’t see anything, so you just hoped for the best! We ended up following two couples on their bikes as their headlights allowed us to see. But their bikes were much better than ours, so we had to put in some effort!
NUI NE
When we got to Mui Ne, we experienced another problem. The place is a sand zone, and often sand covers the road. You don’t see this until it’s nearly too late. The final part of the descent to the coast was fun and more relaxed. The roads were good, albeit still dark. We found a lorry to follow, but it sped down the roads faster than we could. It was good fun, though.
We found a hotel (Sports Hotel) that was pretty good considering it’s a quiet town. Not sure Phil likes the local accommodation or the dorms. After the long day, it’s the dirtiest we’ve both been. Since it’s his holiday, I let him choose where to stay and what to eat as he normally disagrees with me! The first restaurant was decent, but he wanted to shop around, which is fair enough. 30 minutes later, we decided to head back to the original restaurant, which was closed by this stage! Haha.
FINAL THOUGHTS
Another long ass day on the road but I wouldn’t have it any other way!
NEXT UP
Ho Chi Minh, Cu Chi tunnels and a stabbing tomorrow, another day in Vietnam. Click to read.
SAFE TRAVELS, DS x
27/229
This post is part of the Vietnam Series, click to explore
To watch the video of my trip, head to my highlights on my Instagram.
