Day 12 Hue to Dong Hoi, June 19

Today is sunny and hot. The road is dry and in fairly good condition especially along the shoulder where the little motorbikes ride. I left Hue City just after 8 for a 176 k ride to Dong Hoi which is a beach town with a small harbor.
After I clear the city I find myself riding with open fields on my left side leading to layers of hills with mountains with sharp peaks behind. The fields are bright green and the mountains in the distance are bkue-grey. To my right are palm trees and occasionally sand dunes that are 60 feet tall and have ground cover and scrub growing on them.
The kilometers roll past uneventfully through towns, roadside villages, and open areas. The sun is pretty relentless and I am glad to have a long sleeve sunshirt and sunscreen on my hands and face.
Today there is a head wind with a bit if a left front quarter component that's stiff enough to move the little bike. Definitely more wind noise and when passed or passing on the right you feel the winds blast when you come out of the shadow of the vehicle on the left ( truck or bus). It gives you something to think about.
Rougher road equals more need for a break so I stop for a tea break after 1 1\2 hours and again for a leg stretch with about 33 k left on the day.
When I pull in to Dong Hoi I can quickly see that there are many hotels and I choose one about 1 k from the beach that has a view of a picturesque canal that leads to the harbor. My room looks South along the canal which has quaint streetlights along the right bank stretching for 500 meters or so. There are hotels, coffee shops and restaurants lining both sides of the canal. Not so bad a view. Later I walked to the beach and watched the fishing boats going out to sea for some night work. Back to the hotel with some supplies purchased from a local market and watching soccer on TV before turning in early for another day's riding. Easy life.
Tomorrow to Vinh, 196 k.

written by  Mike_Veine on June 19, 2013 from Dong Hoi, Vietnam
from the travel blog: Top Gear Adventure 2- Vietnam Boogaloo!
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