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February to April 2017
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World Travel Blog - February to April 2017
27th April 2017
Dalat Photo Gallery
I just got back from a quick trip to Dalat (1 night) - the road is
much better than it was when I last went up but still not good. The
weather was wonderful both up and back, which is unusual. I stayed
at the Thanh Thao Hotel for the third time and it has become my
regular Dalat hotel as it is good value ($15 US/night) and in a good
location. I had lunch (Banh Mi Chả quế - Pork Roll - which was
20,000 dong), dinner (Seafood Fried Rice - 40,000 dong) and
breakfast (Bún bò Huế - Hue Style Beef Noodle Soup - 35,000 dong) at
the Lien Hoa Bakery and Restaurant, which I believe is the best
value in town - the Banh Mi's range in price from 10,000 to 30,000
dong (44 cents to $1.32 US).
Banh Mi Menu (Think Subway)
Lien Hoa Bakery & Restaurant
Bún bò Huế
Dalat Eiffel Tower
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20th April 2017
Moving Again
At the end of this month I am moving again - I have found a place
that is within 200 metres of a quiet beach at the northern end of
Nha Trang well away from most of the tourists and traffic. The bonus
is that it is new and cheap -
Nha Trang Apartment Rentals
I had planned on going to Vung Tau for a week to "Trial" living
there but I got sick and have postponed that for now.
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1st April 2017
Moving Out of Town
Today I am moving back to
Five Continents House in the
suburbs as I have had enough of the volume of tourists, traffic and
traffic noise that is now constant in Nha Trang's "Tourist Area".
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17th March 2017
Home in Nha Trang
I am now back home in Nha Trang after my epic bike trip from Nha
Trang to Tuy Hoa, Pleiku, Kon Tum, Quang
Ngai, Hoi An, Danang, Hue, Khe
Sanh, Phong Nha, Dong Hoi, Danang, Quy Nhon and finally back to Nha
Trang - total distance covered was about 2,500 kilometres.
----
16th March 2017
Danang to Quy Nhon
I am spending the night in Quy Nhon after another long day (around
320 kilometres) made worse by the fact that it rained for a good
portion of the way (the first rain I have encountered on this trip).
I chose Quy Nhon simply because it was the only real town between
Danang and Nha Trang and I have never been here before. I was
surprised to find that it appears to be a modern well laid out city
and it also has a wonderful beach - long and wide with clean golden
sand and no crowds. Tomorrow is the last leg of my marathon
motorbike road trip and I am looking forward to some rest.
----
13th March 2017
Ho Chi Minh Road
Today was another hard day in the saddle covering around 300
kilometres - more than 200 of which was on the Ho Chi Minh Road from
Khe Sanh to Phong Nha through the endless mountain ranges that run
along the Vietnam and Laos border. The surprising thing about the
road to me was how good it was as it was concrete all the way.
I am now in Dong Hoi staying at the Geminai Hotel and Cafe and it is
excellent - I am staying here for two nights and will have a rest day
tomorrow. I had planned to return to Nha Trang from here by train
but have decided to ride back down the main coast highway stopping
overnight in Danang and Quy Nhon.
Ho Chi Minh Road Village
Ho Chi Minh Road Valley
Fishing Boats on Nhat Le River - Dong Hoi
----
12th March 2017
Khe Sanh
Today I had an easy ride from Hue to Khe Sanh as the road was in
excellent condition and very smooth (at one stage I was cruising at
100 kph) probably because it is the main trading route between
Vietnam and Laos (Khe Sanh is only about 15 kilometres from the Laos
border).
I met up with an American guy at my hotel and we rode out to the old
Khe Sanh Combat Base which was a major American base during the
Vietnam War and was involved in continuous heavy fighting from 1967
to 1968.
----
11th March 2017
Hue
I am after now in Hue (Hway) spending yesterday in Hoi An. I stayed
at the Hoi An Trust Villa which was good. I am not really a fan of
Hoi An (I visited once before) as I just don't understand what the
attraction is. The place has always been popular with backpackers
and has now got to a strange similar to Nha Trang were it is simply
being swamped by tourists. I also noted whilst riding along the
coast from Hoi An to Danang that the entire coastline between the two
place is being developed into "Resorts" again similar to what is
happening between Cam Ranh Airport and Nha Trang.
----
9th March 2017
Quang Ngai
After a tough day riding (more than 6 hours) from Pleiku to Quang
Ngai (245 Klms) over three mountain ranges and roads that varied
from very good to dirt tracks with hundreds of potholes. The plus
side was that the scenery was absolutely spectacular. I am spending
the night at the Ma Tra River View Hotel and my room ovrerlooks the
river.
Most people have the impression that Vietnam is a "Backward Asian
Economy" and that is not the case as there is obvious prosperity and
progress everywhere. I had started to get the feeling myself that
Vietnam had decided to become a "Tourist Destination Only" but I
have spent the last three days visiting areas that are totally
tourist free and they are thriving.
----
8th March 2017
Pleiku
I am now in Pleiku staying at the Hoang Vu Bien Ho Hotel which is
much better than I had imagined - it is a large, modern hotel on the
main road - I booked a single room with breakfast for less than $14
USD and have been upgraded to a VIP Room on the 6th floor.
Pleiku town covers quite a large area and is well laid out. It is
not a tourist destination and in fact I have not seen any foreigners
since I left Nha Trang. The people here are very friendly and most
of the kids speak English to some degree (more than just Hello). The
road to Pleiku from Tuy Hoa was very bumpy and on two occasions my
helmet cam mounting fell out of level - the gyro stabilising of the
video camera is great and watching video footage of the trip you
cannot tell how bumpy the road was.
----
7th March 2017
Tuy Hoa
The ride up to Tuy Hoa was good and on the way I passed Dai Lanh, a
small fishing village with a great beach.
There were many lush green fields of rice but some had already
turned golden and were being harvested. The beach a Tuy Hoa is
clean, long and deserted - there seems to be work in progress to
rejuvenate the area.
Rice Harvest
Tuy Hoa Beach - No Crowds Here
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6th March 2017
Road Trip
Tomorrow I leave for my big road trip to central and northern
Vietnam visiting Tuy Hoa, Pleiku, Quang Ngai, Hoi An, Danang, Hue, Khe
Sanh, Phong Nha and Dong Hoi. The plan is to then come back to Nha
Trang by train from Dong Hoi but I may keep going all the way to
Hanoi.
The route is a combination of coastal and mountain roads and covers
1249 Klms on motorbike and 795 Klms on the train.
----
26th February 2017
Dalat Trip
I am back in Nha Trang after taking my
new bike on a trip to Dalat and
back - I rode up yesterday morning and returned this morning. The
bike is exactly what I wanted and performed better than I had
expected (I think Honda have a "Winner" here). I tried a new
restaurant in Dalat and it was wonderful (and cheap) - I have been
to Dalat eight times now (I like Dalat) and find new things
each visit. The fruit and vegetables in the market change with the
seasons and I found the healthiest/freshest looking cauliflower and
broccoli I have ever seen - I also saw the largest grapes I have
ever seen (I had to taste one to make sure they were grapes), they
looked like bunches of plums - but they were expensive at around
$10US/kilo so I passed.
Dalat Roundabout area at Night
Al Fresco Dining Dalat
Street Food Dalat
----
23rd February 2017
Phu Quoc South Day Tour
Today I took the Red River Tours "South Day Tour" and it was better
than expected. Whilst it was nothing special it was quite
informative - visits to a Pearl Farm, a Pepper Farm, a Fish Sauce
Factory, the Sim Wine Factory, a Fishing Village, Sao Beach and the
old Coconut Prison. I took a few photos and will post them when I
get back to Nha Trang if I have time before I leave on Saturday for
a trip to Dalat to trial and run-in my
new bike.
Pepper Trees - Phu Quoc
Fish Sauce Fermenting Vats
Sao Beach Phu Quoc
----
22nd February 2017
Phu Quoc
I am now in Phu Quoc (a Vietnamese Island off the south coast of Cambodia)
for four days. I arrived yesterday and spent the afternoon down the
beach followed by a trip to the local "Night Market". The beach is
good with calm seas, warm water and a gentle breeze - there were
not a lot of people around and so far it has not been swamped by
tourists.
The night market was nothing special mainly consisting of
restaurants targeting tourists. I ate at the busiest restaurant and
the service was bad, the food was terrible and the price was about
double that of Nha Trang.
So far the best thing about Phu Quoc is my hotel, the Hiep Thoai
Hotel, as it may well be
the "Best Value" hotel I have stayed at in Vietnam (and I have
stayed at plenty), it is across the road from the main beach and a
short walk into town, it is clean and my room is good and it only
cost me $7US/night (Mr. Cheap) for a double A/C room with Wifi,
cable TV and a mini bar.
Today I rented a motorbike and rode around most of Phu Quoc and to
be honest there is very little to see as the whole island is bland
and the same. There are several tourist developments in progress
especially in the North near
Vinpearl Amusement Park.
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