Day 9. July 3.
The town we ended up from the previous day wasn't very noteworthy and the hotels were overpriced. It was really just a place to sleep and take stock of our gear. We're well ahead of schedule so we take some time to get minor repairs to our bikes, too. They were both running pretty rough but an oil change made mine sing and a new valve cover for Nicole's bike resolved a disconcerting pinging sound. Hers continued to lurch dramatically as we got going so another mechanic along the way fixed the loose exhaust fitting and tuned the carburetor until it performed satisfactorily. It's easy to get a second opinion and the bikes usually get a good look over if you take them to a few mechanics. Everyone notices different things. These little repairs don't take long and we're getting pretty comfortable with them. Even trivial issues would feel so much worse just a week ago, but now we know what to expect from Vietnam.
We race up the coast with no detours and arrive in Hoi An with plenty of time to find our friends Sam and Michael (for our third or fourth meeting now?). They invite us to stay at their little hotel they found and we get a stellar rate on a stellar room. The four of us have the place to ourselves and we decide this will be an optimal halfway point to change our figurative oil as well. Rest day, coming up!
Journey stats:
Tam Quan to Hoi An. 196 km.
The town we ended up from the previous day wasn't very noteworthy and the hotels were overpriced. It was really just a place to sleep and take stock of our gear. We're well ahead of schedule so we take some time to get minor repairs to our bikes, too. They were both running pretty rough but an oil change made mine sing and a new valve cover for Nicole's bike resolved a disconcerting pinging sound. Hers continued to lurch dramatically as we got going so another mechanic along the way fixed the loose exhaust fitting and tuned the carburetor until it performed satisfactorily. It's easy to get a second opinion and the bikes usually get a good look over if you take them to a few mechanics. Everyone notices different things. These little repairs don't take long and we're getting pretty comfortable with them. Even trivial issues would feel so much worse just a week ago, but now we know what to expect from Vietnam.
We race up the coast with no detours and arrive in Hoi An with plenty of time to find our friends Sam and Michael (for our third or fourth meeting now?). They invite us to stay at their little hotel they found and we get a stellar rate on a stellar room. The four of us have the place to ourselves and we decide this will be an optimal halfway point to change our figurative oil as well. Rest day, coming up!
Tam Quan to Hoi An. 196 km.
No comments:
Post a Comment