Day 2

The little bike stated right up and I got the headlight on with no hassles- great when things work! No time like the present so off on the road again...
The naigation today would be much easier because most of the trip was on one road- Hwy 20. Hwy 20 passes through a couple of medium size and one large town before reaching Da Lat and I had 190 Kilometers of it to cover.

I continued my practice of following sane drivers when I could and I felt much more comfortable and even more vigilant than yesterday. Experience is the best teacher and I expect to improve each day. After riding for about 45 minutes I decided to stop for coffee and gas at a very neat and tidy gas station/restaurant with several grinning kids playing with a couple of dogs. Somehow I ended up ordering coffee and a pot of tea, which was fine- you just can't get enough fluids here! A full tank of gas cost me 130,000 VND which may be a little steep, but it was a nice station with good gas and locals were using it. Back to the road! Construction is going on constantly all around but at a low level- 3 guys working on a house or one backhoe on a road project. No mass, 100 man project like you see in the States and Austrlia. Almost looks improvised although I am sure there is patronage and central control in the mix. I haven't seen many military or police around so the impact of the government is hidden from me in that sense.

Now the terrain was changing and I made my way up a steeper winding road with some great views that I had to mostly ignore while I watched the buses and cars come at me on my side of the road when they passed slower vehicles. But it was pretty and cooler and the rain had stopped.

There are old red and white painted stone signs with the distance to the next major town and I finally saw Da Lat 88 K on one. There in a couple of hours and after a lunch of more Pho I passed through another large town, Di Linh, where I saw the first obvious backpackers on motorbikes. They had big packs with raincovers on the back and were riding Minsks, a Russian two-stroke bike that Richard Hammond rode in Top Gear's VN Adventure.They were riding a little more aggressively through town then I was comfortable with so I never caught up to see where they were from, but they are the first I've encountered.

Mostly, the motorbike traffic is slow and local and they keep to the right. The speed limit in town is 40 k and outside 60 or whatever. I ride in 3rd gear in town and outside of town if the traffic is heavy. The engine brakes the bike pretty quickly to help in tricky situations. Outside of town in the open areas I can get a little Top Gear action in 4th and let the bike unwind. I keep to between 50-60 when everything is PERFECT only or I ride at a lttle over 40 so 200 kilometers takes awhile. And I am climbing to 5,000 feet which makes me shift to 3rd so the little bike can carry me and the gear up the steep sections.

On one stop I had a very pleasant visit with a family while I drank a coke. Grandad and two grandaughters wanted to chat and play respectively. Grandad took my language book and we used it to practice his English and my Vietnamese- a fair trade. One of the GD's was only three and cute as could be and she sa next to me and poked me every once in awhile and I would poke at her back and we would laugh and laugh. I gave her a guitar pic and the whole family ha fun pretending we were Rock Stars! A bellyfull of laughs from that one!!! You make a small investment of yourself and you get a huge return of joy and connection- awesome.

I was well and truly in the mountains now and the sun came out revealing the green all around me. Even though the trees are different it reminds me of home and Melbourne with the green hills. Beautiful.

I finally came to the main road into Da Lat- only about 25 k to go. The road divided into a Tollway for cars only and a narrow, old road for motorbikes and anyone too cheap to pay the toll (which is ALL the buses, taxis and some cars!). But the big vehicle are on their best behavior for once and drive sanely. I guess they figure the hassle of an accident here would delay them more than sharing the road!

Coming into Da Lat there are very stately old archetecture hotels with pefect lls and gates and all about are manicured lawns and flowers. Flags are clean and everything looks very tidy. I hit a traffic circle and randomly picked "Left" and slowly picked my way down the street looking for the lower rent district. I saw a sign pointing down a much smaller street and turned in to find a brand new hotel called the 'Hotel Kim'. The owner, named 'Mai' was very proud to show me around the rooms and made sure I had good wifi access (so I can report to you all) and the room was clean with A/C, HOTWATER and a western style toliet WITH toilet paper! JACKPOT!!!!We negoiated a price and helped me arrange a Guide to take me to a mountain to climb tomorrow. The Guide, Mr. Chen, says it is a 3 hour trip up and back a well defined trail so I will get a Vietnamese summit in! More Motorbike adventures in 3 days when I head for Nha Trang on the coast- about 130 K. Til then, My friends and family!

written by  Mike_Veine on June 9, 2013 from Da Lat, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Top Gear Adventure 2- Vietnam Boogaloo!
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