Vietnamese Moonshine, Highlands and Sea

After a few beautiful days biking in the highlands from the Laos border, we arrived at the seaside town of Quy Nhon yesterday afternoon. We passed the 2,000 km mark yesterday and we thought it would be a good idea to take a few days off by the sea. Yesterday was the hottest day we’ve biked in so far – 40 degrees! It was a pretty painful morning heat-wise and we took plenty of shade and drink breaks but by mid-afternoon we were happily starting to feel the effect of sea breezes and knowing that we would see the ocean soon enough was motivation to keep pedalling.

Vietnam has been an interesting place to bike so far. Many locals have been very engaging and keen to invite us in for chats even though we have no common language. Using made-up sign language and drawings, we’re usually able to exchange some basic information. They’re usually most interested to find out where we’re from, if we’re married (the best way we were asked this was when a man drew pictures of hearts and pointed at us to ask), if we have children, where we’re going/where we’ve been and how old we are. Usually either before or after we’ve established this (and often before any interaction), they want to get us to drink. Beer, rice whiskey (most common), you name it, they want us to drink it. In Laos we were often waved over to groups who were drinking Lao Lao (whiskey) and we always gave a friendly wave and pretended not to understand that they were trying to get us to come over because we always knew that if we stopped, that would be it for the day. Here they catch us by surprise. We might be stopping for water, an ice tea, a meal or any other necessity and soon enough someone comes over with a shot glass. It’s practically impossible to say no to one. On one 0ccasion, a somewhat drunk local man was particularly enamoured with Kieran and wrote him a note (which we can’t wait to get translated).



We’re planning on taking a language lesson while in Quy Nhon to acquire some basics. The blank stares and unknown food orders are okay, but it’s time to learn some Vietnamese. Just about each time we’ve ordered food at a restaurant, we’ve received something different than we anticipated (it’s usually quite tasty though).

After a rest, we’ll start to face some headwinds as we bike north. We’re starting to realize that 100km + days are the exception, not the norm. With the heat, unknown road conditions (often rough and bumpy) and headwind, days over 100km will be difficult and rare.

For now, we’re looking forward to more time by the ocean, enjoying some fine Vietnamese cuisine and enjoying the ride up to Hoi An.

We’ve started a Vietnam photo album (at right).