The real fun begins from here! Where we'll be riding out of Ho Chi Minh bustling city to Đà Lạt, Southern Vietnam's Central Highlands surrounded by hills, pine forests, majestic waterfalls and lakes.
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| pc: vietnam original travel - Pongour waterfall |
Doesn't it sound like some fairytale wonderland?
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| pc: vietnamwonder |
Well we're about to find out!
Today's route: Ho Chi Minh > Madagui > Elephant Waterfall > Da Lat
With about 330KM to cover today, we're looking to take approx 8 hours to complete excluding lunch break and a little sightseeing at the Elephant Waterfall.
05:28AM
Strapped on our bags and moved off early in the morning while Ho Chi Minh city is still asleep, avoiding the traffic at all costs. When it comes to the city, the difference between riding in heavy and clear traffic is huge, I tell you.
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| Throwback to riding with Royal Enfield in the Himalaya, beside Quang |
It was great to be able to catch up with my local friend, Quang, whom I got to know during the Royal Enfield Himalayan ride to Khardungla back in Aug 2017 and we're so glad that him, along with Bang and Luan from Touratech Vietnam decided to join us just for today's ride!
That's the awesome thing about having such hospitable biker friends around the world. They're always more than happy to ride with you and show you around abit when you visit their country.
By 6:45AM, traffic started to build up and it was easy to lose each other. Getting lost in that kind of traffic condition and scrambling to find each other can be a real bitchhh.
Thankfully with our Cardo Packtalk Bold comm set that had great connectivity and zero interference, I was able to constantly communicate across to Mel the upcoming left or right turns she has to take even though she lost sight of me for a short while.
Not forgetting laughing with each other on the go when we see something funny like this mobile live fish tank haha.
Vietnam bikers are amazing. When the roads got too congested, they simply took the pavement to continue their journey lol how convenient! I wonder what will happen if we did that in Singapore. Probably end up receiving expensive love letters from LTA HAHA.
Bikes are not allowed on highways here so it's B roads, mountain passes and coastal roads all the way from South to North Vietnam.
With over 2,000KM to cover under about a week, there are actually plenty of scooters for rent which we could have used for our ride. They're so cheap that some bikers end up buying the scooters, ride it over a few weeks or month, and sell it off without much loss when they're done.
But given the distance we'll be covering, scooters would be too slow, plus I read on forums that it's common for them to breakdown halfway due to little servicing maintenance.
Apart from wanting something reliable, we also wanted a bike that is lightweight, agile, easy to ride yet has enough torque to get us out of tricky traffic situations.
Hence, we decided to go with the friendly KTM 390 Duke and trust that it'll serve us well.
From what I found out so far, KTM Vietnam seems to be the only motorcycle dealer that offers bigger CC motorcycle rental. What's great is that they have a showroom in HCM, Da Nang and Hanoi as well, so you can pick up the bikes in Ho Chi Minh, and return it at Da Nang / Hanoi with a one-way drop off fee applicable.
Touratech Vietnam offers BMW R1200GS for rent but only available with their tour packages that are customisable.
Quang took us to Petrolimex station to refuel and told us this is the most reputable petrol station to go when you're in Vietnam with the type of fuel to select is the orange color 98.
We also had breakfast at a random stall nearby which served up bowls of surprisingly delicious noodles! Can never get enough of roadside food stalls, they're cheap and almost always taste so legit! :D
Once we were out of Ho Chi Minh city, the roads were pretty much clear!
Before we know it, we were leaning left and right, from corner to corner, gliding through the beautiful mountain pass.
165KM clocked in and we stopped nearby Madagui Forest City for lunch.
Vietnamese their greens haha great to get some fibre intake! And while everyone was enjoying lunch,
I was happily feeding myself to these Garra rufa fishes hahaha.
Never tried this "Fish Manicure" before and it felt pretty ticklish. Fish Pedicure was available too but I think the fishes will probably faint the minute I put my feet in. Feet that has worn boots and riding for hours. They sure cannot take it. Hahaha.
The weather was superb, sunny yet cooling at just 22°C!
Oh how I love riding without sweating buckets.
After lunch, we continued our way towards Da Lat. Trailers was a common sight, and at times they send sand and even small stones flying towards us. One rather big rock hit my feet which did hurt even with my boots on, and a few smaller ones scratched Mel's helmet visor.
Such encounters are inevitable when touring so it is important to have all the right gears on.
Did another 100KM before taking a pit stop at this cute little hut cafe by the roadside that had comfortable hammocks for drivers/riders to grab some power nap.
What better way to hydrate than sipping on some fresh coconut juice!
See, another awesome roadside experience :))
There are a couple of other waterfalls near Da Lat but during the dry season, Bang told us that some of them may not have any water at all!
5:12PM
By the time we arrived at Da Lat, it was already evening and the current weather temperature is around 18°C! Never knew a day's ride out of Ho Chi Minh would bring us to much cooler climates!
Instead of the usual hotels, Quang brought us to this Airbnb Homestay called La Maison De Truc and it was beautiful.
Situated on top of the hills overlooking padi fields, this 3-storey private landed house was tastefully furnished down to the smallest decor,
and it can sleep up to 18 people with 7 spacious rooms.
Plenty of private outdoor area, with a functional kitchen area and a large living hall for gatherings, its great for children to play or have your own BBQ session!
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| pc: vietnamtimes |
But by the time we came to Da Lat and explore the city, it was already night time so we can't see any fancy flowers LOL.
BUT!
We found some fancy street food! Hahaha.
This Vietnam thin-crust pizza is really damn good. It's cheesy and so savoury, each mouth you take is just bursting with flavours. Just thinking about it gets me drooling already. Best part is its made freshly on the spot for you, warm warm shiok shiok in this chilly weather.
Their next popular street food which plenty of street stalls sell is their Cheese Yoghurt. Not too rich, just the right amount of cheese flavour and its creamy texture makes it perfect for dessert.
Da Lat's Night Market has many stalls selling apparels, handicraft items, to fresh vegetables and strawberries.
Had some sweet dough buns and tried their local soy milk before hopping on a 6 minute taxi ride back to our Airbnb home for some BBQ food!
One of the most satisfying way to unwind after a day's ride is to fill our tummy with mouth-watering food! Cuz when your tummy is happy, you'd definitely have a good night's sleep! Hahah.
Had a great time chit chatting with Quang, Bang and Luan around our warm, mini BBQ pit before bidding them an early goodbye because tomorrow Mel and I are setting off real early on our own, to Quy Nhon!
[Singapore. Ho Chi Minh. Da Lat.]
[Mileage Clocked: 362KM]
[Terrain: Tarmac Roads, With a few Mountain Passes]
[Traffic: Clear]
[Terrain: Tarmac Roads, With a few Mountain Passes]
[Traffic: Clear]
[Temperature/Weather: 17°C/Cooling]
Next stop: Quy Nhon