We figured it was two 60 mile days or three 40 mile days to get to our final destination, Ho Chi Minh City. We were keen to get it done so we opted for two 60 milers.
Dragon Fruit Central
It was a hot ride out of Mui Ne, the sun was shining and we noticed an abundance of dragon fruits piled high on the sides of the road. There were also miles and miles of funny looking cactus like plants lining the roads. After a while we realised some of the funny plants were bearing dragon fruit. We were cycling through dragon fruit farms! How exotic, we'd have to try one!
Half Way – Gia Ray
The half way stop was a lone Nha Nghi (guesthouse) in Gia Ray aka the middle of nowhere. As we were pulling into the little town we started to feel drops of rain, by the time we were ready for dinner it was absolutely bucketing down. Luckily there was a restaurant right at the back of the hotel so we didn’t have to run far.
After a tasty dinner, a few Tigers and the tastiest dragon fruit we’d ever had, we hit the hay in what we hoped would be our last stay in a grim guesthouse in the middle of bloody nowhere. We were ready for a change, ready for the civilisation of a big city.
Home Straight
The second day of riding was far less exotic and pleasant than the previous, you could tell we were nearing a big city from many miles away. It was another hot day and the pollution hung thick in the air as we got closer to HCMC.
Although it was an unpleasant ride into the city, there is a completely separate lane for 2-wheeled vehicles. Concrete bollards separate you from the cars and trucks so you don’t feel unsafe at all, just a little suffocated from all the pollution.
When we finally got to our hostel my face was black from the pollution. After a good scrub we were ready to hit the town for a celebration. We'd done what we set out to do; Hanoi to Ho Chi Minh City in 6 weeks, all on our own steam...well almost.
Cycling into HCMC - lots of buildings under construction
The Route
