To go or not to go ....... Another Road Trip (I) BBCT to Dai Lanh

I've slept enough by 5:30..... and there is the light.

By 6:30 I still don't know whether I should stay here tonight or just drive into the Unknown.... I have that nagging suspicion that I need some visual & intellectual stimulus.... the last remaining Valkyrie next door is unhappy here because she's not getting to see anything else and verbally lashes out at the Vietnamese and the tiny amount of flotsam & jetsam at the beach.... bad sign!

I've discarded the plans for a 5 day Blitz-Trip of Kuala Lumpur & Jakarta before the 25th.   Maybe I should just fly to Sai Gon as intended and check out Vung Tau ?   Makes more sense ;-)

By 7:00, the sun is up and glaring!

I reread the blog posts of my VERY FIRST arrival in Vietnam less than three years ago.....   and tears stream down my cheeks.....because I miss feeling like a child seeing an elephant for the very first time.......   and I realize something.....

I NEED to step outside my comfort one again!.... I have been at Bai Bien Cua Toi too long..... and with the wrong people...... Every place becomes a cage eventually ....

8:30

TAM IS BACK !   I recognize her instantly when she rolls into the yard on the back of someone's bike....and I'm surprised how DELIGHTED I am!

9:30

I think I might leave today but I'm still also tempted to be lazy and just stay.....

10:30

It's TOO HOT to ride a scooter for 3 hours, but Screw It, I'm going anyway.... I start packing.   NO idea which hotel I'm going to stay in......

I run into This FUCKING AMAZING Rendition of One of my Favourite Songs EVER on YouTube.   

I need to keep running..... tears flow down my cheeks as soon as I hear the Native chanting ....  

11:15

Very hard to leave THIS !

Why do I feel so tired all of a sudden?   

Could that empty wine bottle be responsible?

14:00

BITE the bullet !

When I see the bamboo bridge for the first time, about 25 km into the ride, I REALLY decide to turn around and go back to my beach.  A headache and feeling tired..... 

I turn back and fill up with gas a mile down the road on the way back..... 
....and then change my mind again.......... and turn around AGAIN
LET's go over that friggin bridge, LOL. I

Once over the bridge, I find myself on sandy dirt roads leading into tiny village paths, which eventually change to concrete roads.  Then the road heads straight into a T-section.  Which way to go?   I get out my cell phone to check the GPS and record this instead ;-)

LEFT is the correct answer to "which way to go?".  It gets me onto wider and wider roads...

GREEN !

I see signs..... Tuy Hoa 30 km.... Tuh Hoa 22 km..... Tuy Hoa 18 km...

Is that another Champ Tower contrasted in the back light?

I do NOT like Tuy Hoa....... everything about its promenades, advertising signs, and buildings only SHOUTS "WE HAVE MONEY!", so I'm happy when I cross the bridge on the South side of town.

I am so glad that I have a working GPS on my phone when I get 'lost' again, LOL. Easily fixed and the getting lost carries the bonus that I'm riding right through the middle of a very lively village market.   Foot-tied ducks and chickens squawk at me from one meter from my front tire ;-)
Later tonight, I will get an e-mail asking for travel advice from a friend in Vancouver.  Her family wants to visit Viet Nam but her maybe 12 year old son doesn't want to even remotely see ANY indication where his food comes from......   I already suspect that they're going to MISS the essence of this country and that they will not have a great time here ....

When I get to the brand-new Expressway, I am at first disappointed that the sign says NO Scooters!   I have to follow the OLD #1 route through the mountains...

Do I have enough gas ????

The gas is a continuing worry, but I know that the scooter barely uses any when I ride slowly....

And by now I am DELIGHTED that I had to take the old route..... 

Just look at that VIEW !

my destination: Dai Lanh

a never-finished hotel

During check-in the manager tells me that it's their promotion period and that I will have to pay less than advertised.   OMG, they are learning quickly from the dishonest West.  He is just camouflaging the fact that I'm NOT staying in the Deluxe Room that I ordered but in a Regular Room.  But at least he is giving me the correct price ;-)

A typical 'resort' for Vietnamese will ALWAYS have a GREAT playground ....

Dinner: Com chien