"Oh my God, I'm so hot,"Ginny says at 6am before we've even started riding for the day. It's an auspicious sign that we're in for another long, hot day in the saddle. At least we're riding along the coast with ample opportunities to jump in the ocean to cool off! We have hit some incredibly beautiful beaches the past few days and many of them have been deserted as the Vietnamese prefer to stay out of the sun as much as possible. If they have to be in the sun, they cover up from head to toe to protect their skin. I honestly don't know how they do it because I would be sweating like a pig if I wore all the clothes that the locals wear.
My navigating skills have been put to the test the past few days and as Ginny will attest, I might need to pay a little more attention to where we are going to avoid riding extra kms each day. After a pretty sterling performance for most of the trip, I've managed to make wrong turns three days in a row! In my defense, the roads are not well signed and we have a major language barrier to overcome which makes way finding extra challenging. Ginny is very good at asking for directions but that's not fail proof either as we struggle to pronounce many of the towns and cities here (we've also learned that it's best not to ask anyone under 10 for directions). While the ''bonus kms" are not usually appreciated at the time, all of the wrong turns have gotten us to some beautiful, off the beaten path locations!
Bike maintenance is often a challenge on long bike trips such as ours particularly with rough road conditions and limited bike shops. Knock on wood, but our trustworthy steeds have served us well so far! Ginny has only had one flat tire and broken one of her clipless pedals. I've had about 6 flats, had to replace both tires, broken a spoke and also managed to break one of my clipless pedals. Let's hope our bikes continue to serve us so well!
I thought it would be interesting to list how much we spend on a typical day bike touring in Vietnam:
Accommodation: $10 (small towns) - $20 (bigger cities)
Coffee: $1
Bahn Mi: $2
Fruit (mango, dragon fruit): $2
Lunch (fried rice + cold drink): $2
Cold beverages (coconut water and electrolytes): $2
Dinner (we mostly eat street food - delicious): $4
Beer: $1.50
Daily total: $24.50 to $34.50 - what a bargain!!!
My navigating skills have been put to the test the past few days and as Ginny will attest, I might need to pay a little more attention to where we are going to avoid riding extra kms each day. After a pretty sterling performance for most of the trip, I've managed to make wrong turns three days in a row! In my defense, the roads are not well signed and we have a major language barrier to overcome which makes way finding extra challenging. Ginny is very good at asking for directions but that's not fail proof either as we struggle to pronounce many of the towns and cities here (we've also learned that it's best not to ask anyone under 10 for directions). While the ''bonus kms" are not usually appreciated at the time, all of the wrong turns have gotten us to some beautiful, off the beaten path locations!
Bike maintenance is often a challenge on long bike trips such as ours particularly with rough road conditions and limited bike shops. Knock on wood, but our trustworthy steeds have served us well so far! Ginny has only had one flat tire and broken one of her clipless pedals. I've had about 6 flats, had to replace both tires, broken a spoke and also managed to break one of my clipless pedals. Let's hope our bikes continue to serve us so well!
I thought it would be interesting to list how much we spend on a typical day bike touring in Vietnam:
Accommodation: $10 (small towns) - $20 (bigger cities)
Coffee: $1
Bahn Mi: $2
Fruit (mango, dragon fruit): $2
Lunch (fried rice + cold drink): $2
Cold beverages (coconut water and electrolytes): $2
Dinner (we mostly eat street food - delicious): $4
Beer: $1.50
Daily total: $24.50 to $34.50 - what a bargain!!!
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