I've hit the coast.

Spot the truck

I left Dien Bien Phu around midday enroute to Son La.  The ride was relatively uneventful with the exception of Oscar starting to play-up.  I’m not sure what was causing it but the engine seem to bog down whenever I opened the throttle more than halfway.  I put some fresh fuel in the tank thinking I may have got some dirty fuel and/or was running low and the engine was sucking up sediments in the bottom of the tank.  Either way, it didn’t fix it so I swapped the spark plug over thinking maybe I had a weak spark…. this didn’t fix it.  A young local guy came up on his bike through and helped me out and got Oscar going smooth again. He checked the spark plug, the leads, the fuel flow and then he revved the crap out of it.  Whatever was wrong with Oscar taking it past it’s un-marked redline seem to fix it.  I'll store this tip for later.  Once Oscar was running smoothly again the young guy got back on his bike, gave me a wave and was off.  I have to say, so far that’s the nicest display from the locals I’ve got with a lot of those in the more rural areas wanting nothing to do with me and for the most part ignore my existence.  A bit strange but then when I speak no Vietnamese and they speak no English I guess they avoid the hassle of trying to communicate.  I don’t mind the ‘hassle’.

Son La is a pretty small place.  I’m pretty sure I was the only westerner in town.  Although I tried my best in Vietnamese to order food given that my tones are no doubt incorrect and the older lady at the ‘restaurant’ not familiar with an english’ified version of Vietnamese it made getting a meal an interesting experience.  With no menu’s to point at, no pictures and no-one else eating of which I could simply point at and say ‘same, same’ it meant a game of charades was in order.  I think I asked for beef… I think I got beef initially but after a little while I was convinced it was pork.  Once finished though I had no idea what it was.  I’m trying not to dwell on it too much.  It was food and given that when I’m on the road I only seem to be getting one meal a day (simply because going hungry is easier  when I’m so remote) I don’t see it as too much of an issue.  As long as it’s food.

I climbed into the mountains from Son La and after an epic road that just seemed to keep going higher and higher I eventually got an awesome down hill where I could throw the bike into neutral and coast down at 80 clicks with the engine off.  I then stayed in a stilt house in Mai Chau for a few days for a much deserved break.   Coincidentally I was able to have my first conversation in English for three days here.

My lodging in Mai Chau

I’m now at Cua Lo beach just north of Vinh.  I was meant to get Vinh by nightfall from Mai Chau (an 8 hour ride) but got completely lost which tacked on a few hours to my trip.  Coming down death highway at night I decided to pull over 16 kays short and find a hotel here for a few nights before making my way to Hue.  I’ve since learnt this seems to be a bit of a ‘rub ‘n tug’ town and most hotels offer ‘massage’ as well.  I’ve opted for a more expensive government hotel at $20 a night but it means I won’t get any knocks on the door come late at night.  Ordering food at the restaurant next door was amusing though.  I sat down and was asked what I wanted to order… in Vietnamese.  I stare at the waitress blankly.  She laughs “silly me!” she must have said in Vietnamese and promptly brings me over a menu… which is also in Vietnamese.  I stare at it blankly and point out some words at total random.  She then continues to talk to me in Vietnamese most likely telling me that what I had ordered was just an appetizer.  I shrug my shoulders and she went and got me my food.  A short time later my small fish cakes had been devoured and I was still hungry.  Someone else had come in at this point so I pointed to the fried noodles they had on their table.  This led to me being handed the napkins from that table… then the box of chopsticks, then a beer… then finally they went out the back to fry up some more noodles.

Rice paddies in Mai Chau

I walked around the place this morning and there’s not much to see.  The beach looks ordinary and the roads are pretty void of cars, motorbikes and people.  It’s a bit of a ghost town.  I guess it must really pick up during the summer months but this must be a destination for Vietnamese tourists from Hanoi as I can see no real drawcard for internationals.  I will happily leave tomorrow morning.  Hopefully I’ll make it over the DMZ and into Hue without too many hassles.

Cua Lo beach... ordinary.