As I've mentioned, I make it a point to look up some vegetarian restaurants before getting on the bikes for the day. This usually determines some good stopping points to break up the ride and reinvigorate our bodies. I see it as positive reinforcement—ride a little, eat a lot of damned tasty food.
Unfortunately the ease of finding chay/kieng meals is coming to an end. I was warned about the regional difference between South and North, but also there just aren't a lot of cities in between here (where ever we are) and Hanoi. Our last ditch effort takes us to a city called Vinh where I'm dismayed to find that neither of the two restaurants I found though Google Maps are in there actual location. Incorrect or outdated information. Damn. I also waste a bunch of time trying to find an ATM that doesn't have a ridiculous surcharge. Trying to save a few bucks costs us some time, but we cut out losses and eat Oreos for breakfast before pressing onward.
At this point we came back to the coast to head to Halong Bay, but the roads are so infuriatingly dusty and trucky that we reconsider our plan. The roads get more and more complicated and I don't like the idea of having to navigate all the way along the coast again, adding two extra riding days to our trip. Instead we head back to the DHCM which was treating us so well.
Unfortunately the ease of finding chay/kieng meals is coming to an end. I was warned about the regional difference between South and North, but also there just aren't a lot of cities in between here (where ever we are) and Hanoi. Our last ditch effort takes us to a city called Vinh where I'm dismayed to find that neither of the two restaurants I found though Google Maps are in there actual location. Incorrect or outdated information. Damn. I also waste a bunch of time trying to find an ATM that doesn't have a ridiculous surcharge. Trying to save a few bucks costs us some time, but we cut out losses and eat Oreos for breakfast before pressing onward.
At this point we came back to the coast to head to Halong Bay, but the roads are so infuriatingly dusty and trucky that we reconsider our plan. The roads get more and more complicated and I don't like the idea of having to navigate all the way along the coast again, adding two extra riding days to our trip. Instead we head back to the DHCM which was treating us so well.
We're happy with our decision and we get to return to that blissful state of absorption. We get some work done to Nicole's bike (chain tension adjustment) to find that she needs an entirely new drivetrain (sprockets and chain replaced). This adds an hour or so but we a nice restaurant owner fetches us some tofu and we have a basic but nutritious meal. All of the restaurant patrons stare as we eat, not entirely certain if we know how to use our chopsticks. I don't know what it takes to prove to them that we eat Asian food with chopsticks all the time. Maybe I need to start plucking flies out of the air. Our cook is an older woman who seems genuinely happy to take care of us. She fills us up with food and delicious apple juice and even hugs us as we say goodbye. These small towns are what it's all about, I decide. The tourist epicenters wear me thin at times, but these little random towns build me back up. This isn't always the case (meeting Hoa and Sophia in Da Lat), but I feel like I can let my guard down more easily.
We hop back on the bikes and see how far we get before dark, ending up in a small town called Cam Thuy.
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| Stretch break. Minus the break part. |
Stats:
Hong Linh to Cam Thuy. 229 km.
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