Day 16: Dak Ha – Pleiku

Distance: 46.58 miles

Time: 4:58

Average Speed: 9.4 mph

The area around the hotel had transformed into a bustling market this morning, and Pierre arrived back from taking pictures while I was loading up my bike.

The cafe at the hotel opened up onto the street, so the manager of the hotel suggested we get a coffee, and grab some street food from one of the nearby food stalls for breakfast. We opted for the rice stall right in front of the hotel. The dish on offer was sticky rice with shredded fried chicken, slices of an almost chorizo like pork sausage and quail’s egg, so that’s what we had.

We took our time and discussed the day’s plans. I was fairly happy, that, if I made it to Pleiku, then I’d be able to reach Buon Ma Thuot after another 2 days. After that, it was 3 high mileage days to Saigon. I had a day in hand so could take 4 if accommodation options allowed. Pierre’s route would see him leaving the Ho Chi Minh Highway shortly after Kon Tum and heading for the coast at Quy Nhon, then towards Nha Trang and continuing on round the coast.

Setting off around 9, conditions were perfect, it wasn’t too hot, with a light breeze, and the tarmac was smooth as silk. Hills? Yes, well, you can’t have everything. The road featured a series of long climbs and quick descents. After 12 miles, we reached the busy little town of Kon Tum, wandering around the grounds of a Buddhist Temple, lured in by a large Buddha that towered over the west side of the town.

Kon Tum was such a busy little town that Pierre took the opportunity to get his gears fixed, and after several days of making do with 9 gears, he was back to 27. We stopped for lunch, having Bun Bo Hue (beef with vermicelli noodles) on the way out of town.

Another stiff climb and quick descent and it was time for Pierre and I to part ways. It had been a great few days together, despite the steep hills and poor road conditions, the scenery had been fantastic, and we’d had some great food and met some lovely people.

Pushing on, after Pierre turned off towards the coast, the temperature reached a new high of 33 degrees and the headwind grew steadily stiffer.

The long climbs continued, but the downhills had been replaced by long straight false flats, and when I reached Pleiku I was back up at 800 metres altitude.

After several nights of budget guesthouses, I opted for a more upmarket option, with Amazon Prime and Netflix on the TV and great views from the rooftop bar.