The adventure has begun - in a big way! We got our bikes around noon on Wednesday the 17th. Our rental guy brought one of them over to the hostel, went back to his house/shop for the second, and then had us follow him back to his house for the payment and final details (bungee cords, phone cases, etc.). I was a little overwhelmed by the drive from the Old Quarter to his house since the traffic was really bad, but Neil ended up driving my bike and I rode on the back with Hiep so that I didn’t have to drive through the craziness. Our journey began in earnest around 1 p.m. when we set out after strapping our bags on the back. The first destination was a town called Nimh Binh - it was only 95 km or so away so should have been a 2 hour drive (max!). However, as I was still getting my bearings set we didn’t exceed 40 km/hr and it took us quite a bit longer with all of the stops. I wasn’t confident enough to ride with my backpack strapped onto the front of the bike, so I rode with it on my back while my big bag was strapped to the back. This wasn’t the most comfortable position, so eventually Neil helped me out and took my bag so I could ride free of it which helped to speed up the driving a bit.
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| First day of biking! Quickly lost the phone case and learned my lesson about wearing shorts - I got a gnarly sunburn that day |
We eventually made it to Nimh Binh and towards our hostel in Trang An. The drive along the highway wasn’t the prettiest, so I almost cried tears of joy when we got off the highway and drove through a gorgeous valley with limestone mountains on both sides. There were temples set in the middle of lakes, rivers with colorful flags, and grand gateways to numerous attractions. I thought to myself “This is why we’re biking across Vietnam”. The hostel ended up being one of the nicest I’ve ever stayed in. It was set on a pond that was full of lily pads and had a couple puppies and ducks roaming around the property. Our room was exceptional and the staff was really helpful. Neil said the burger that he ate there was one of the best he’s had in Asia! Green Mountain Homestay for the win! It’s almost always sold out, so if you’re heading to this region make sure to book in advance.
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Our beautiful homestay
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Sunset at the hostel
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Boat races in Nimh Binh
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Boat races
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Gorgeous lakeside temple
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Lake full of lily pads
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Exploring pagodas and temples in Nimh Binh (in the 100 degree weather!)
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We desperately needed to get some laundry done since we hadn’t gotten it done since Nepal, so we dropped off our bag right when we got in and were told that it would be ready by 5 p.m. the next day. Our original plan was to take a night bus from Nimh Binh to Phong Nha, but we learned that it was rather expensive to put our bikes underneath the bus and decided that we’d bike it instead. We figured we’d stay in Trang An an extra night and leave early the next morning, but we were able to get our laundry back early in the morning after our first night and decided to start the journey in the afternoon instead after we explored around Trang An in the morning.
Trang An was awesome - we went to Binh Dai and another Pagoda, watched boat races in the river, and explored a mini cave with a temple set inside of it. It was HOT - 100 degrees, so we didn’t explore for too long before having lunch and hitting the road. The initial plan was to try and make it to Cam Thuy, a small town that is on the edge of the Ho Chi Min road - our main highway from the north to the south for biking (different from the one we took to Nimh Binh which is more of a freight highway). However, we made it to Cam Thuy around 3 p.m., so decided to push a little further before stopping for the night. We figured that it’d be nice to make it to Phong Nha the next day so that we didn’t have to travel on Neil’s birthday, so we pushed ahead. We made great distance that day - all the way from Trang An to Thai Hoa which was about 170 km. We stopped at a hotel on the side of the highway right as the sun set for the night and slept on a board of a bed. It was a truly local experience. We tried to go to a restaurant but they rejected us (still not sure why), so we had a dinner of snacks from a mart and called it a night. We woke up at 5:30 a.m. the next morning and were on the road by 6 to make it to Phong Nha. The total distance was 280 km, and we made it into town by 1:30 p.m. Our first stop was a place called “The Duck Stop” where you got to feed ducks - it was such a unique experience!!! They ate out of your hands, nibbled at your feet, and followed you like the leader. Very very very fun stop, and the food that they served was amazing too. We ate peanuts with home grown peppercorns and salt and this delicious Vietnamese spring roll thing. It was a crunch pancake that you rolled into rice paper with marinated carrots and cucumbers. The best thing I’ve had in Vietnam so far!
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Binh Dai Pagoda (note the long sleeves)
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Funky hats for the duck stop
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After the duck stop we headed to the hostel, decided to splurge on a private room (or really a 3-bed room since doubles were sold out), and we collapsed for a few hours. It was tough to be high energy for the rest of the day, but I had a really nice massage ($8!), we ate some pizza, and had a few drinks at the hostel with the other travelers. We were asleep around 11 p.m. after our marathon of a day.
The next day was Neil’s birthday!! We had a wonderful day. Started it with coffee and delicious avocado toast (basic, I know), played some monopoly deal, went to a water park thing with zip lines, an obstacle course and kayaking, ate a big burger for dinner, played drinking games at the hostel and ended the night dancing at a bar and eating Banh Mi’s from street vendors. It was a big night! Today is a bit of a recovery day, but I’m hoping we’ll get to see some caves before heading out of town tomorrow to make it to Hue.
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| Exploring around Phong Nha |
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| Birthday boy biking |
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| Phong Nha from across the bridge |
