Epic Road Trip (II)... Tuy Hoa to Dai Lanh.... Riding that BEAUTIFUL Coast Road again

5:30
That means I slept about 9 hours.  That should be enough!

The weather forecast changed again.   

For an hour I consider turning back and heading back to My Beach..... But then I decide that I'm not THAT OLD..... I should be able to handle some rain.....

.... and YES, I'm fully aware that I might regret this decision BITTERLY ....

6:40
If I go early, I might miss the rain altogether .....

Breakfast: 

Cheese Sandwich with a can of Tiger beer and Groenemeyer..... 

Don't belittle it before you try it ;-)

I'm ready to leave at 7:00.....

... and the weather seems to cooperate ;-)


On y va!

Yes, it it is a Suspension foot bridge but WHY does it have to have that spike in the middle?

The Vietnamese ignore it, so why I should I heed it?
I suspect traffic signs in Vietnam only apply to cars but not to scooters!
My kind of thinking ;-(

From left to right on the top ridge:
Buddhist temple, Cham Tower, temple to ugly construction, 

heading South

Road building progress is slow, apparently.   I've witnessed this already last October....

The 4-lane divided highway ends abruptly to turn into a village road....

.... which means that these lovely old houses along the village road will be demolished in the not-too-distant future ;-(

it looks WET, but I will stay DRY until the end of today's trip !

Then:  Another bovine road block.

That cow is NOT moving !

At least some of the other ones have pity 

A fork in the road:   Paved on the right, mud on the left.   And a sign that I can't read.  After first intending to follow the paved bit, I change my mind to follow most other bikes and turn onto the mud road.  

Which is a GOOD THING, because the paved road ends abruptly at the top left of the picture below:

Yes, the straight black bit at the top left, that's the road I WAS going to take, LOL.

 It's not just the road that's washed out..... there are houses that lost their front yard....

 It's spooky looking how the landscape has changed.   A wash-out or a result of constructing the new highway? I don't know.

Back at the water's edge, building is progressing:

A divided 4-lane highway in the making !

Time for a stop, a break, a gulp of wine, a cigarette, and a look back....

This is when I notice Phap's e-mail, sent 15 minutes ago.
 He wants to know whether I'm still in Tuy Hoa.......  Damned.  Bad timing...

I've just passed the easternmost point of Vietnam....  and only because I already travelled this road last October, I am not completely blown away by what I see nextL

 But it's STILL good for a few WOW moments, LOL.

 And here are the goats again that last October in THIS VERY SPOT I almost ran over because I was staring at the gorgeous scenery and not on the road ;-)  

nhung con de

 If you have fishing boats, then there must be a village nearby !

Hai con heo va mot xe dap !  (two pigs and one bicycle)

 Believe me, these pictures are UNABLE to convey the FEELING of riding along the highway along this coast 

When I get to Dai Lanh (where I've stayed already last October) at 9:00 I notice that my neck vertebrae already are complaining about the bumpy ride.  
Do I really want to ride another 70 km to Nha Trang???

I ride into the resort with the intent to eat, drink a beer, and then to decide whether to drive on.  My decision is made FOR ME by two young women (from Poland?) who FLED here from Nha Trang to get away from all the Russian hubbub down there.  
I ponder the idea over a YUMMY bun cha ca ...

THE BEST fish balls ! (must be the MSG ;-)

...and the beer confirms it.  I did stay TWO nights here in October and the reason is that this place is comfortable and has a nice beach.  Isn't that more important than traveling as many km as possible?

Thought & executed (Toi muon mot phong, I say to the grinning receptionist ;-), Her English is MUCH better than my Vietnamese (What type room would you like?) and after choosing the same room class as last time, I am led to the exact same room that I occupied last October.

the new fancy resort is still not done..... I am relieved ;-)

11:30
I am ready for a NAP but planning thoughts and the wedding noise keep me awake..... but I fall asleep eventually.

What wakes me is the noise of the FEROCIOUS wind outside....

The re-erected canopy

There are about 7 Vietnamese guys pushing on a large canopy with 4 long metal legs (Tent?) that has been flipped on it's side legs with the other two legs sticking out into the air about 2.20 meters above.  The wind is still pushing into the canvas area so any pushing from behind that is pointless.   But I AM a tall guy, so I grab a children's highchair and point at the canopy legs up in the air.  The Viets get it instantly and start cheering.  Highchair under under the airborne legs, climb up, start pulling on one of the legs up there and the Viets double their efforts pushing on the canvas canopy.  
Within a few seconds the entire contraption has all of its legs on the ground again.    

 I have a hard time taking pictures..... it is WINDY !

What the hell has Western Marketing done?   

THREE Spider Man trinkets within 50 meters of Viet beach?

COLOURS !

16:00
7 hours for a bottle of wine.... is that excessive?  Naaa.
toi say lai (I am drunk again) but I want to ride into town to buy munchies .....
OMG, I am getting addicted to Vietnamese Pringles, LOL.

18:30
Time for bua toi?

com chien hai san (seafood fried rice)

Over dinner a plan is hatched.   There is someone I know who is growing up in a tiny Vietnamese village and a way of life that is placing a curfew on his abilities and desires. And I can do something about that!