January 10th, 2023
On Jan 9, we woke up early to cycle out of Da Lat to Lao Bam - our first foray in a while back to our “planned” trip now that the air quality is good and the weather is warmer. We started the day with a nice breakfast and then hit the road. The first 8 km out of the city were rainy and the usual levels of stress through traffic and route finding, but the rest of the day comprised 107 km of absolutely sublime riding along the DT725 back road. Coming out of Da Lat we descended along a perfectly paved winding road through the vietnamese jungle, with minimal traffic. We must have had the biggest smiles plastered on our faces. We continued through farmlands and villages until another big descent into a river valley which was fabulous, followed by a big climb out of the river valley which was a serious grind. Our panniers are very heavy considering how few clothes we have - we brought a lot of emergency supplies and bike repair equipment. The humidity meant that even our pit vipers were fogging, which never happens in Canada. But it was still great and we continue to be celebrities. We have had people:
- Ask to take a photo with us or of us
- Cheer as we pass by
- Speak passionately in vietnamese to us, even though we gesture that we do not understand/speak vietnamese
- Scream “fuck you!” out of a passing car
- Try to high five us
It can sometimes be almost like harassment. And I am so worried someone is going to cause a collision with some of these antics!
It’s been a real time. People laugh every time we say hello back to them (which is continuous), and we feel like the funniest people in Vietnam.
After the big climb, Max got another flat tire - his third one of the trip! This time we couldn’t find the thing that caused the puncture, which is worrisome. I am not sure what is going on with his back tire.
We got lunch in a tiny town, and the people in the restaurant were fascinated by us. There was no menu so Max ordered two of “whatever these guys got”, and these guys were five older men shooting whiskey. The chef came back with two bowls of dark meat soup, with at least 4 types of pretty grizzly meat and blood sausage. Max tried the blood sausage and announced that the spring rolls were “not good, very chewy”. Too bad our cooking instructor didn’’t see that one. :P
We eventually made our way to Bao Lam, just ahead of the worst of the rain, and checked into a super cute little homestay owned by a guy named Spencer. He was very impressed by Max’s physical abilities and said that he was from Da Lat, but likes Bao Lam much better. We had a beautiful view from our window and the place was off the road and very quiet. A French couple in the next bunkhouse are doing our exact trip (including number of kms that day) on motorcycles.
We had showers, then walked into town to pick up water and snacks for the next day and get some dinner. We got some great food with enough leftovers for breakfast. We tried yet again to dry our wet things, but nothing here dries because of the high humidity. I am worried we will get some sort of foot disease from wet shoes all day every day. But alas - we do our best.
I booked us a place at the national park for tomorrow while Max cleaned our bike chains, and then we had some chill time. Max has started complaining that we don’t chill enough… uh oh.
The next morning was another rise and grind. We ate our leftovers then rode to town to get coffee. We also always get complimentary tea around this area! Then, we took off toward Cat Tien along our same DT725. I love love love this road. It’s so pretty. We had some more serious climbs in the morning, and at the top Max had another flat tire!! We replaced his rim tape, and pumped his tire a bit less - it’s tricky to pump it the perfect amount without a gauge, and it certainly feels more efficient to have a harder tire, but I worry we are overinflating.
One really nice thing was that a guy passed us by on his motorcycle while we were fixing the flat, then went down to town and came back with two bottles of water for us! It was such a lovely random act of kindness. He spoke zero English, but we thanked him profusely.
We cruised on and saw some more beautiful views, then a descent (Max’s proclaimed “greatest descent of all time”) then got a super cheap, delicious lunch just in time to miss some rain. We continued to Cat Tien National Park to stay at another homestay, including taking a brutal little short cut on a dirt road full of potholes. Our place is adorable again and 50 m from the park entrance.
We went on a night tour of the park before dinner. For the night tour we took a ferry across the Dong Nai River and took a weird little truck with a guide who flashed her flash light to show us many species of deer, birds, and also a civet cat and porcupines. It was a cool experience - she had an amazing ability to spot animals. Excited to go to crocodile lake tomorrow!
