Day 8: Phong Nha – Dong Hoi

Distance: 32 miles

Time: 3:12

Average Speed: 10 mph

I had a big decision to make today, I had reached Phong Nha right on schedule after 7 days cycling from Hanoi. I was fatigued after some hard days and thought about the possibility of staying in Phong Nha for another night. I knew the people I’d met on the road up until now were staying here for at least an extra day, and that seemed appealing. Thinking about future days, I was aware that the best parts of the inland Ho Chi Minh route lay ahead, but would require a big commitment. There was a 100 km stretch with only one guest house. I would need to do a 60 mile day, followed by an 80 mile day, and I was very sure that what constituted the most scenic, remote, part of the route would not necessarily mean easy cycling. I’d probably need a day off to recover before that, and I wasn’t sure I had time for one. The alternative, and my original plan, was to head directly to the coast at Dong Hoi and head along the coast towards Hue. That seemed like the option to go for, I was at the closest point between the Ho Chi Minh Highway and the coast, and it felt like a natural transition in the journey to head for the coast now. The problem with that was, the only accommodation I was aware of was at Dong Hoi after 26 miles and then at Dong Ha after 80. I was tired and needed a rest, and some clothes washed, so Dong Hoi it was.

I awoke at 8 and headed down for breakfast, the couple from Yorkshire were already there, so I joined them.

Both chefs, her originally from Australia, they work hard all summer and spend the winter holidaying. They’d spent 2 months cycling around Spain and Portugal, and now were spending another 2 months in South-East Asia. We talked about their previous trips in New Zealand and Tasmania and also about hiking in the Himalayas which they’d done on several occasions. By the time we’d finished breakfast, it was 10 o’clock. I was definitely heading for the coast.

Worried about my soft back tyre, I looked out the £6 pump I’d bought in Hanoi and set about pumping up my tyres with trepidation. Luckily the pump worked brilliantly and even had a tyre pressure gauge which my previous pump didn’t have. As I loaded up my bike, Matthijs who I cycled with yesterday stopped to chat as he walked passed the hotel. He was staying in Phong Nha for 3 or 4 days before heading for Laos, so we wished each other well.

Finally setting off, I undertook a lap of Phong Nha, heading along to the river, passing numerous backpackers flying about on mopeds as I went.

Back out of town I was heading south-west for the coast, exactly the opposite direction the 13 mph wind was travelling. It was a slog, up and down little inclines into a brutal headwind. Not only was I feeling physically tired, mentally I’d written this off as an easy day, and this wasn’t as easy as I’d hoped.

Reaching the outskirts of Dong Hoi, 20 miles from Phong Nha, I turned off the main road and onto some awful backstreets. I was wishing I hadn’t been quite so enthusiastic with the pump this morning as every lump and bump was forced through the rock hard tyres.

Arriving at the riverfront, it was an array of colour as a huge market was underway, with stalls selling all sorts of produce and wares, and some on-site butchery taking place.

My hotel, the colossal 5* Vinpearl Hotel was just feet away. It was a classy place, as you’d expect for £35 pounds a night, and the views from my room on the 20th floor were astounding.

Heading along the street to get a late lunch I had the best Banh Mi to date, filled with pork, cucumber and chili paste amongst other things, it was an intoxicating mix.

Then I retired to the hotel bar where I spent a while talking to a coach party of tourists from California. I was able to tell one couple that I’d enjoyed a great Milkshake in ‘Ruby’s Diner’ in their home-town of Corona Del Mar.