Day 18: Ea Drăng – Buon Ma Thuot

Distance: 46.87

Time: 4:22

Average Speed: 10.7 mph

Before I set off this morning, I noticed that one of my pannier rack screws was missing. I’d fished one out of my bag for Pierre the other day, I should probably check my own bike more often, I thought. I rolled along looking for somewhere to pick up a Banh Mi for breakfast, but failing that I stopped outside a roadside restaurant. The sign seemed to say rice and then some other words I didn’t know. The woman said hello, so I took the risk and went in. She had beef. Beef and noodles and chicken. It seemed like I’d be able to find something to eat here.

The road continued much like yesterday, from Ea Drăng, at 600 metres, the road rose gradually to 800 metres, then whenever it dropped it would immediately start regaining height again. Also similar to yesterday, the horizon seemed to drop away on both sides, and straight ahead there always seemed to be blue sky just over the top of the hill, and yet the road kept climbing.

I’d had enough of these roads, they were wide and straight and bulldozed through the landscape. Never flat, there always seemed to be some almost imperceptible gradient, and it seemed ridiculous to be grinding along in first gear up what appeared to be virtually flat roads.

A couple on a moped stopped on the road ahead of me, then giggled when I passed. I thought they were maybe going to start filming me as had happened before, but instead when they passed again, the man handed me a piece of fruit, which I decided was probably a Guava as I rode along. Stopping to put it in my pannier another man stopped to ask if he could help me. When I said I was fine, he asked where I was from. ‘Scotland, I know Scotland’. Seemed unlikely, but he continued, ‘Robert son’. ‘Ok’ I said, unconvinced. ‘Yeees, Robertson, Liverpool’. ‘Ha, yes exactly!’ I exclaimed. Robertson, Liverpool, that’s us, Scotland.

I stopped for a Banh Mi during the morning, and then finally, after summitting 800 metres again, the road started to fall away ahead of me. Perfect, a gradual descent for a mile or so, then flat with a tailwind, then it dropped once more. It wasn’t as hot as previous days and it seemed like a waste to finish early, especially as I arrived at the hotel at 10 past 1, too early to check in. But tomorrow is Vietnamese New Year and most restaurants will be closed, so I chose a hotel that will hopefully have a great breakfast buffet, to see me through a long day tomorrow. And a great hotel it is too, in which to see in the New Year, again…