Vietnam cycling tour - 2000km unsupported cycling challenge from Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City

On finally arriving in Ho Chi Minh City I was glad we had finished the tour. We had spent 19 days cycling & staying in different accommodation every night with the one planned rest day in Hue. Because we had put extra kilometres in cycling combining various days we also had an extra unscheduled stop off and rest day in Danang, an afternoon & evening stay over in Hoi An, a rest day in Buon Ma Thuot & an additional stop off and rest day in Dalat. Vietnam is a really diverse country in all aspects, from the lower temperatures and rain in the North to the sun baked beaches on the coasts and the further south you get, to the scenery and how it changed so much every few hundred kilometres. The Vietnamese people despite going through much hardship many years ago I had found to be so friendly, helpful and engaging, especially in rural areas along the HCM trail. I will never forget the children's smiles, waves and Helloooooows. So many experiences and memories I have gained o

We set our alarm for 6am and as usual we didn't need it as we were already awake. After a quick shower and change into our cycling clothes we were out and on the road by 06.31 with our sights firmly on reaching Ho Chi Minh City today which was still over 120ks away. The road out of Phu Lam was extremely busy with many motor bikes and kids on electric bikes going to school as they start at 7am in Vietnam. The road was also very busy with many trucks, mini buses and the dreaded buses with madmen drivers who stop for no one. We stopped for breakfast of the usual Bahn Mi ( baguette with pork, eggs, herbs & spicy sauce ) after just over one hour in and we both had two each which seam to do the trick and fuels us for quite a few hours. The scenery was, well pretty awful really as the road cut through towns and was extremely busy and polluted with fumes from the many veichles on it heading down to Gia Kiem and the main Highway 1. We just kept our head down and peddled on and tried

The rest day in Dalat was certainly worth the extra cycling to get there. At 1500 meters above sea level the temperatures were in the low twentys with blue sky's. Dalat is the capital of Lam Dong province in Southern Vietnams Central Highlands and has a huge lake in the centre of the city and is surrounded by pine forests, golf courses and lovely manicured gardens all over the city with hydrangeas and roses growing. Known as the "City of Eternal Spring" for its distinctive temperature and climate, Dalat was developed by the French in the early 1900s, and many reminders of its colonial heritage remain with beautiful ornate buildings and villas. We walked around the city in the morning and in the afternoon taking in the sights and generally resting as today's ride would be our furthest of the tour so far. Myself and Alex discussed that we both really enjoyed Dalat and we were so glad we made the extra effort to get there which was in fact a lot extra kilometres and cli

We set our alarm for 6am but we didn't need it. We woke at 5.30 after staying in one of the worst guest houses of the tour. It was filthy, stunk of smoke and it's the first time I have ever stayed in a room were you get to hear the termites actually eating the bedroom furniture as your trying to go asleep. The furniture had wood dust on it at all the joints were the termites were devouring it! Before we slept, Alex covered himself in insect replellant and I slept fully clothed. The bed was rock hard with a blanket that had never been washed in a year but we did manage to grab a few hours sleep despite dogs barking all night long, and the community village speaker system blurring out weird music and talking from like 5AM. We have found this a lot in towns in Vietnam, at road junctions or in towns tanoys play music or sometime talking. On waking I had a shower and immediately put my sleeping clothes in a plastic bag ready for the laundry. We checked out 200,000vnd ( £ 6.00 ) a

The day's rest in Buon Ma Thuot was very good and the hotel we stayed in was also very comfortable compared to the last few places we have stayed in which were really basic.  In Buon Ma Thuot we even managed to have look around the "Coffee Tour Village" in the City and learned about coffee production and heritage in the Central Highland regions. The tour wasn't brilliant but it passed a few hours away and we also managed to have a small ride around the city having a look around. Today we woke early and did an hour in the gym lifting weights followed by breakfast in the hotel which was superb. We checked out of the hotel and started cycling at 10am and today's ride was actually supposed to be to Lien Son which is located on "Lak" Lake and is around 50ks south of Buon Ma Thuot, Lak lake is the largest freshwater lake in the Central Highlands and the region is home to the Mnog tribe who live in the Long Houses on stilts scattered all around this area.

After our ordeal of not finding any suitable food last night after the days long ride, combined with a poor hotel and sleep we woke extremely early and decided to get out on the road and to also find some food. We set off riding to Buon Ma Thout at 06.31 and for the first kilometre was a short stretch downhill. Scattered all over Vietnam  and particular the more south you get are little roadside glass fronted trolleys with bread loafs in and the ladies tending them warm the loafs up and you can add pork, herbs, fried eggs, greens and a selection of spicy sauces. These have been our lifeline over the last few weeks and this morning was no exception. We pulled in to the first one and ate two fully loaded sandwiches each - we were really hungry after last night famine. After we ate we started riding again and the road had a gradual climb but nothing too strenuous, but a steady 4/5% for probably about ten kilometre. Like yesterday,  initially the landscape wasn't to spectacular and